Peter the Great Essay AP Euro
Westernizing the East: Peter the Great
AP European History
27.11.2012
The lands of Tsarist Russia once stretched from Scandinavia to the Pacific. The largest landlocked Empire in the world, stretching thousandths of miles across woods, plains, mountains, deserts, and the endless Siberian Taiga. 1The Russian people consist one of the most diverse ethnic groups in the world. In the west, descendants of Europeans known as the Kievan Rus founded Kyiv and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Yet these former Europeans are distinctly different, both physically and mentally than Western Europeans. 2The Eastern Steppe consisted of various Central Asian races such as the Tatars, the Mongols, the Ugurs, and the Turks, who occupied various regions of what would become the Russian Empire. One aspect of the Russian Empire that always seemed to remain constant was its path of warfare, whether it was defensive or conquering other Empires. The Russian Empire always wanted to increase the size of their land for economic reasons. 3The political philosophies of the Russian people and State constantly changed due to the position that the Empire was in. The story of Russia is dramatic, ruthless, and most importantly a failure. Authoritarian governments have ruled the Russian people, since the creation of Kyiv. 4Whether it was the Mongol Empire, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, The USSR, or the Russian Federation, all these governments oppressed their citizens. Peter the Great is an independent thinker in the history of Russia, he saw Europe as the centre of knowledge and culture in the world. He, unlike so many of his countrymen, wanted Russia to be fully incorporated in European society.
The Kievan Rus were the first to settle Western Russia. 5They established their empire around their capital of Kiev in the 9th century. The Kievan Rus expanded their empire both geographically and economically. They traveled long distances,
AP European History
27.11.2012
The lands of Tsarist Russia once stretched from Scandinavia to the Pacific. The largest landlocked Empire in the world, stretching thousandths of miles across woods, plains, mountains, deserts, and the endless Siberian Taiga. 1The Russian people consist one of the most diverse ethnic groups in the world. In the west, descendants of Europeans known as the Kievan Rus founded Kyiv and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Yet these former Europeans are distinctly different, both physically and mentally than Western Europeans. 2The Eastern Steppe consisted of various Central Asian races such as the Tatars, the Mongols, the Ugurs, and the Turks, who occupied various regions of what would become the Russian Empire. One aspect of the Russian Empire that always seemed to remain constant was its path of warfare, whether it was defensive or conquering other Empires. The Russian Empire always wanted to increase the size of their land for economic reasons. 3The political philosophies of the Russian people and State constantly changed due to the position that the Empire was in. The story of Russia is dramatic, ruthless, and most importantly a failure. Authoritarian governments have ruled the Russian people, since the creation of Kyiv. 4Whether it was the Mongol Empire, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, The USSR, or the Russian Federation, all these governments oppressed their citizens. Peter the Great is an independent thinker in the history of Russia, he saw Europe as the centre of knowledge and culture in the world. He, unlike so many of his countrymen, wanted Russia to be fully incorporated in European society.
The Kievan Rus were the first to settle Western Russia. 5They established their empire around their capital of Kiev in the 9th century. The Kievan Rus expanded their empire both geographically and economically. They traveled long distances,