How Did Peter The Great Modernize Russia

Peter the Great realized early in his 43 year reign that the countries to the West were very successful. If he wanted Russia to be as successful and advanced as well, then he had to improve Russia’s military force (specifically the building of a navy), educational system, and its culture, and by making them more western, he believed that this was a positive contribution to Russian society. He admired the western countries since childhood, and as soon as he became sole tsar (and later Emperor) in 1696, he began to modernize Russia in ways that helped to shape it into the country it is today. He dedicated everything he was and accomplished most, if not all, of his goals. Without him, Russia may have stayed an isolated country inhabited by people

living in wooden houses (all buildings were made of wood), but instead he turned that outdated Russia into the enormous empire that takes up a large portion of the world, that also has an educated army that can defeat almost anyone that dares to challenge it, and then he built the magnificent stone palaces to replace the old wooden ones. If someone looked at Russia before and after the reign of Peter the Great, it would seem as if it was two entirely different countries. Peter made such a positive contribution to Russia’s military, education, and culture that he deserved the title of “Peter the Great”
For many years Russia’s navy was essentially non-existent, but Peter knew how to overcome that and turn his navy into a force to be reckoned with.

Firstly, he knew that in order to make this goal come true, he had to get access to shipping ports that wouldn’t freeze when the weather got cold. Because the winter essentially landlocked Russia,” Peter acquired territory in Estonia, Latvia and Finland.” These were all countries that had access to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, as well as the Black Sea. By taking over these countries, Russia was so large that it was declared the Empire of Russia and Peter was made its emperor in 1721. Most importantly, Russia now had the water access that it needed so he could now have a northern navy built. Next, Peter wanted to gain access to shipping ports in the south and, in 1696,”through several wars with Turkey (Ottoman Empire) in the south, he secured access to the Black Sea.” This gave Peter an opportunity to build his naval forces in the south. Furthermore, the conquest of the Black Sea allowed him to order not only Russia’s first southern Navy, but also its first naval base, Taganrog. Lastly, Peter modernized his fleets continuously over the remainder of his reign by using his own previous knowledge of boat building and brought in foreign experts. Robert Massie wrote that:” The chance discovery of this old boat and Peter’s first lessons on the Youza were the beginning of two compulsive themes in his personality and his life: his

obsession for the sea and his desire to learn from the West. As soon as he was tsar in power as well as name, he turned toward the sea, first south to the Black Sea, then northwest to the Baltic. Impelled by the will of this strange sea-dreamer, the huge landlocked nation stumbled towards the ocean. It was strange and yet it was also partly inevitable. What is remarkable is that the drive sprang from the dreams of an adolescent boy.” This quote shows that Peter the Great saw an area of Russia that was problematic and he did everything that he had to do to solve it. His naval reforms can be seen as a positive contribution to Russia’s military.
Peter’s greatness can also be seen through his belief that if Russia was going to thrive, then it had to gain a western education. Firstly, he believed that in order for his soldiers to be as effective, they had to be educated in subjects relevant to their positions. He then had them trained in sciences and math: “The correct use of artillery needed a knowledge of angles; the building of fortifications needed a knowledge of engineering. Naval officers needed to know how to navigate.” This quote proves that Peter did this so that he would have a modern army and navy that had educated soldiers, that would be able to challenge any army in the world. Next, Peter encouraged the young noblemen in Russia to follow in his footsteps and travel to, and study in, Western Europe. He wanted them to see how great it was and hoped that they would come back determined to westernize/modernize their own country. This determination took place in Peter’s childhood, when he was walking with his tutor, Timmerman. He saw an old boat that was made in European style. A carpenter, Brandt, was the person who taught the young tsar how to sail and he restored the boat that had been found “These Dutchmen who had repaired the boat and were showing him how to use it came from a technically advanced civilization... Holland had hundreds of ships and thousands of seamen; for the moment Timmerman and Brandt represented all this…He wanted to be near the two old men so that they could teach him.” Peter knew he would become Tsar and because of this he wanted to learn as much as he possibly could, especially from foreigners, and he encouraged others to do the same, so that they would hopefully bring back even more western ideas that could be incorporated into Russia’s society. Finally, Peter ordered the construction of schools dedicated to the advancements of sciences and maths. Iulia Basu-Zharku said in an article: “He knew that Russia could not sustain its reforms unless it was able to generate ideas of its own. To that end he placed a great emphasis on education. Under his direction, Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Navigation and Maths were founded” By building these schools he allowed much of the general population to get a better education than they could have ever had before he came into power. Peter’s contributions to western education in Russia was extremely important for his people and because of his actions, Russia thrived.
Peter saw how the culture of the traditional Russians had caused advancement to plateau so when he came into power he sought to westernize the cultures and traditions of the Russian citizens.

First, he believed that in order to westernize, Russians had to look more European. He forced boyars to shave their beards and adopt western style. Ursula Kampmann observed that this order spread quickly, saying that:” At first, the shaving skills of the Tsar were restricted to those living closest to him. But shortly afterwards, Peter gave the order for the ordinary people to follow the example of the big wigs. The Tsar imposed a prohibition for every inhabitant of his country to wear a beard.” This quote demonstrates how quickly westernization spred and how it was relevant to everyone, not just nobility. Next, Peter believed that:” beards were out, Western fashions in. Peter went on to modernize Russia’s military and administrative structure, simplify the alphabet, and change the calendar to make it correspond to European standards.” This changed Russia’s society even more by making it easier for people to travel, do business in, and communicate with other countries. This also aided the educational reforms by having a standard westernized system. Finally, Peter the Great wanted to showcase how far along Russia has come in its Westernization, by building St. Petersburg. In an article titled “Peter the Great”, it is explained further as to why St. Petersburg being built was an

important factor in Peter’s cultural reforms:” Also in 1703 Peter set upon his most dramatic project. Having disliked Moscow since childhood, he longed for a brand new city, his European paradise, to be built from scratch on the Gulf of Finland. Over the next nine years, at tremendous human and financial cost, St. Petersburg sprang up, becoming Russia’s new capital in 1712.” This quote shows that Peter wanted a clean slate for his westernizing reforms and by using all of his country’s resources he accomplished this. The people living in St. Petersburg dressed and acted European and to visit was like a visiting another city in Western Europe. Throughout his reign, Peter the Great ordered Russia to undergo a series of western cultural reforms that made a positive contribution to Russian society.
Peter the Great believed that to westernize Russia’s military, educational system, and culture was the key to success. He continued to make reforms that caused advancements in Russia until his death on February 8th, 1725. He was the cause of the great military, educational, and cultural reforms that sent Russia forward into modernization. Without him, Russia would have taken even longer to catch up (if they ever did) to the European countries to the west. Peter strongly believed that the only way for Russia to be successful was to become more western like and thus becoming a strong and educated empire that other countries should fear. Critics say that the way Peter went about these reforms was too harsh but other tsars before him also tried to change Russia and didn’t succeed. Even though Peter the Great’s way of doing things was harsh it was also the most effective way to get things done in such a large country. While somethings that were ordered during his reign were pretty negative (such as the forceful cutting off of his boyar’s beards without any warning), the majority of Peter the Great’s contribution to society were positive ones, and therefore he deserved the title “Peter the Great”