Peter the Great
Derek Wilson
Language: English
Pages: 256
ISBN: 0312550995
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
There has never been a more remarkable national leader in modern history than Peter the Great (1672–1725). He was a giant in every way. In physical stature, willpower, enthusiasm, energy, libertinism, and refusal to accept old conventions, he stood head and shoulders above his contemporaries. He grew up in an atmosphere of fear, suspicion, and court rivalries that often assumed violent forms. He only gained power, at the age of seventeen, by ousting his half sister, Sophia, and shutting her up in a nunnery. As a product of the system, Peter was, of necessity, ruthless and tyrannical, personally carrying out the execution of defeated rebels and even effecting the death of his own son.
But there his identification with Russia’s past ends. For what has earned Peter his place in history is his tearing his country, kicking and screaming, from its traditional, oriental customs and beliefs and integrating it into the life of Europe. He removed the privileges of the medieval aristocracy, brought the church under state control, and rejected the old Russian calendar in favor of the dating system used in Europe. He even ordered his courtiers and officials to shave their traditional beards and adopt Western dress codes. He avidly studied the latest scientific and technological advances and employed them to build a modern army and to create from scratch a Russian navy. These tools he used to devastating effect by destroying the Swedish Empire and making Russia (with its brand-new capital, St. Petersburg) master of the Baltic.
European leaders did not know what to make of this eccentric, unsophisticated tsar who loathed pomp and ceremony, served as a junior officer in his own armed forces, and indulged in rowdy, boorish behavior. Yet, by the end of his remarkable reign, this man, who had made a servant girl his own wife and empress, had married members of his family into the royal houses of Europe. Thanks to Peter the Great, Russia was profoundly changed. So was Europe.
Derek Wilson tells his extraordinary story with a verve and atmospheric detail that emphasizes vividly the impact this one man made not only in Russia, but in the wider world. Peter the Great created a new Europe in which, for good or ill, Russia was to play a crucial part. His contemporaries were obliged to come to terms with him. And today, it is perhaps even more important for us to understand the historical context and the pivotal role Peter played in the creation of a whole new order.
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let-up in the stream of directives that issued from the Tsar’s office. Day after day he bent himself to the task of cleaning up his realm and making the state mechanism more efficient. Whenever anything occurred to him that required attention, he issued a ukase, often without considering the implications. Thus, he ordered a change in the width of cloth being made by peasant artisans despite the fact that their looms could not produce material of the required dimensions. He paid much attention to
accession of Charles XII, 44 Peter’s hostile attitude towards, 62, 70 discussed by Augustus II and Peter, 62 and Great Northern War, 71, 72–3, 74, 75, 79, 80, 85–6, 87, 89, 90–100, 103, 108, 116, 117–18, 119–20, 129, 131, 134, 149, 150, 152–3 and Åbo conference, 146, 150 death of Charles XII, 149 new government headed by Ulrike Eleonora, 149–50 alliances, 151 signs treaty at Nystad, 153 Peter learns from, 160–1 last attempt to regain Baltic supremacy, 191 brief references, 3, 20, 21,
did not necessarily imply top quality; mercenary officers were, after all, only in it for money), and the nobility continued to provide most of his officer corps. But he could ensure that the rank and file owed him their prior loyalty. In 1699, he called for the creation of eighteen new infantry regiments and two of mounted dragoons. Some of these were made up of volunteers, attracted by reasonable pay and rations. They did not have to augment their income with other business activities, like the
the exchange.’21 Overall improvement was thus frustratingly slow for Peter, but this did not prevent him from prosecuting the war with every resource at his disposal. He provided Augustus with auxiliaries to keep Charles XII busy in Poland, and sent fresh recruits into Livonia, which the Swedish king had left poorly guarded. But it was at sea that Peter enjoyed his first victory over the Swedes. In May, Charles sent seven well-armed ships to attack Archangel, with the objective of cutting Russia
exercise – the people were told that the Tsarevich had been debarred from the succession in favour of the infant Peter Petrovich, and that any who disagreed with this decision would be treated as traitors. Alexis was, in effect, being made a surrogate for the nation. Just as the Tsar exercised both a father’s love and discipline towards his son, so he cherished and chastised his people. If Alexis thought his ordeal was now over, he did not understand his father. During the following days, he was