Peter the Great
Based on the information in the above sources (you do not need to use all of the sources but just some of them), the textbook and lecture notes, address the following questions:
1. Peter the Great sought to Europeanize Russia, but what aspects of European civilization did he admire and desire to import?
2. What aspects of European civilization did Peter ignore, and why?
3. Did the reign of Peter the Great bring a "revolution from above" in Russian life, or were these only "reforms," continuing earlier trends and preserving the fundamental Russianness of politics and social life?
4. What earlier patterns of Russian history do you see present in Russian politics and culture today?
1. I found Peter the Great’s ambitions to Europeanize Russia quite inspiring. After taking over as tsar and fighting several battles he headed west to Europe to educate himself on newer methods on a broad range of subjects. Peter the Great admired the shipbuilding of Europe and even worked as shipbuilder to better understand the craft hands on. He loved ships and from his experience in Europe he would help Russia build a fleet from warships to merchant boats. Peter also admired the everyday life of the European lifestyle, he would force Russians to change the way they looked by cutting off their beards and changing their clothing to better fit the European look. What I liked most about Peter the Great was that he wasn’t satisfied with how things were, so he mimicked others who were successful to get the results he wanted. 2. The Western influence Peter the Great had on Russia was very selective, he did in fact leave out several western ideas that he didn’t want apart of new his Russian culture. He wanted to keep Russia’s economic structure intact with serfdom and landlords rather than implementing a wage based system. He felt the agriculture and landscape of Russia better fit the serfdom system. He also did not embrace the parliamentary monarchies of the west, which
1. Peter the Great sought to Europeanize Russia, but what aspects of European civilization did he admire and desire to import?
2. What aspects of European civilization did Peter ignore, and why?
3. Did the reign of Peter the Great bring a "revolution from above" in Russian life, or were these only "reforms," continuing earlier trends and preserving the fundamental Russianness of politics and social life?
4. What earlier patterns of Russian history do you see present in Russian politics and culture today?
1. I found Peter the Great’s ambitions to Europeanize Russia quite inspiring. After taking over as tsar and fighting several battles he headed west to Europe to educate himself on newer methods on a broad range of subjects. Peter the Great admired the shipbuilding of Europe and even worked as shipbuilder to better understand the craft hands on. He loved ships and from his experience in Europe he would help Russia build a fleet from warships to merchant boats. Peter also admired the everyday life of the European lifestyle, he would force Russians to change the way they looked by cutting off their beards and changing their clothing to better fit the European look. What I liked most about Peter the Great was that he wasn’t satisfied with how things were, so he mimicked others who were successful to get the results he wanted. 2. The Western influence Peter the Great had on Russia was very selective, he did in fact leave out several western ideas that he didn’t want apart of new his Russian culture. He wanted to keep Russia’s economic structure intact with serfdom and landlords rather than implementing a wage based system. He felt the agriculture and landscape of Russia better fit the serfdom system. He also did not embrace the parliamentary monarchies of the west, which