Compare And Contrast Russia's Relationship With The West By Marc Raeff

In his study of Russia's relationship with the West, Marc Raeff highlighted the difficulties of comparing two nations geographically and historically distinct.1 However, looking at how Western and Russian civilisations overlapped through time offers an insight into the history of Russia, and helps understand the political, social and administrative changes which occurred during the eighteenth century. That is not to say that Western influence was not perceptible before, but that Westernisation, that is the adoption of modern European models, usually with the intent of modernising the State, was intensified throughout this century.2 The goal of this essay is not to list all aspects of Russian life which were westernised, but rather to summarise the most important
Only in 1709, after Peter's victory against the Swedes at Poltava, did Europe recognise Russia as a European military power.3 The reasons for this success are multiple, but they all pertain to institutional reforms. The West influenced many of these reforms, or more specifically, Russia borrowed Western military, judicial and bureaucratic technology for the purpose of modernisation.4 One of the hallmarks of Westernisation was the founding of the Navy in 1696. This proved a great military advancement for a country which was until then unable to compete on sea with other European powers. To palliate the lack of Russian experts, Peter organised a tour of Europe in 1697-98 and hired British shipbuilders to build his navy.5 He also set up a new conscription system in 1705 to expand his military power, directly inspired by the Prussian model.6 Foreign officers were recruited to lead Russian soldiers, and in 1712 Peter sent some of his military to train in France. Peter therefore not only improved the Russian military, but also bought and imported Western knowledge to Russia to increase his country's