Comparing and contrasting peter the great and Louis XIV

Firstly,they were both autocrats,in that all decisions of state had to be approved by them.Secondly,they both wanted to curb the power of an ambitious nobility.However,they achieved this aim differently; Louis made his court at Versailles the centre of power,so the nobility had to spend all their time there if they wanted to have any influence.This kept them away from their own provincial power bases,making it hard for them to plot against the king.Peter on the other hand tortured and murdered any nobles he suspected of disloyalty.The main difference between the two was that Louis was ruling a cultural advanced,modern state - Russia under Peter was still very backward compared to major European states,so Peter worked hard to modernize Russia.Finally,both built up strong armies and used them for territorial expansion, thus increasing the prestige of their countries. Firstly,they were both autocrats,in that all decisions of state had to be approved by them.Secondly,they both wanted to curb the power of an ambitious nobility.However,they achieved this aim differently; Louis made his court at Versailles the centre of power,so the nobility had to spend all their time there if they wanted to have any influence.This kept them away from their own provincial power bases,making it hard for them to plot against the king.Peter on the other hand tortured and murdered any nobles he suspected of disloyalty.The main difference between the two was that Louis was ruling a cultural advanced,modern state - Russia under Peter was still very backward compared to major European states,so Peter worked hard to modernize Russia.Finally,both built up strong armies and used them for territorial expansion, thus increasing the prestige of their