Why Did The Absolutist State Of Russia

Durands thesis is partially correct because although the kings had almost complete power it was never absolute. Some of the shared attributes of the “absolutist” states were a standing army, and a need for a centralized power to strengthen the country.
In France Absolutism was justified by the divine right of kings and the people themselves wanted a strong monarch. A unique feature to the absolutist state of Russia was that Peter had control over the Church. He did this by getting rid of the role of patriarch and establishing the Holy Synod a group who would lead the Church with his control. In Austria, the Habsburgs were broke and wanted to regain their power, the nobles only allowed an absolutist state because their cooperation would let them keep their money and lands. Also, the people needed order and unity.

Being a soldier became a lifetime job and by the time Peter died the army was about 200,000 men. In order to pay for the soldiers Peter imposed heavy taxes. In France, they had a large army that had the goal of expanding. It began to be hard on the people because of the high taxes. There was a war against France in 1701 which ended in the Peace of Utrecht. This made it so France had to stop expanding. Austria had a standing army was always at the ready to squash rebellions. They focused mostly on pushing the Ottomans out to gain control of what was formerly Hungary. In all three countries, in order to have a stable enough country they all had a strong army even though their techniques were slightly