(1672–1725). The Russian czar, or ruler, Peter I is called Peter the Great because of his outstanding career as a statesman, organizer, and reformer. Russia became a modern power under his rule. Early lifePeter I was born on June 9, 1672, near Moscow, Russia. (His birth date was May 30 according to the calendar in use at the time.) He was the son of Czar Alexis and his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter was only 3 years old when his father died. The new czar was Fyodor, Peter's half-brother. When Fyodor died in 1682, Peter and another half-brother, Ivan, were made joint czars. Neither was ready to rule: Peter was still a child, and Ivan was not healthy or mentally fit. In 1682 Ivan's sister Sophia stepped in and took control. Sophia did not allow Peter to get involved in government affairs. During the years that Sophia ruled Russia, Peter lived in a village outside Moscow. ReignIn 1689 Peter took advantage of political unrest in Russia and removed Sophia from power. The country he took over was vast but had no direct access to the sea to the south or the west. Determined to change this situation, Peter built up Russia's navy. In 1696 the Russians captured Azov, a Turkish fortress near the Black Sea. Around this time Ivan died, making Peter Russia's only czar. In 1697 Peter went with a group of ambassadors on an unsuccessful mission to request aid from the European powers. Peter traveled in disguise as a commoner, working in English and Dutch shipyards. He picked up the kind of knowledge about Western Europe that he never could have gotten at diplomatic receptions. He studied everything from anatomy and engraving to European industrial techniques. Military campaignsPeter returned home after hearing news of a revolt in Russia. He then reorganized and modernized his army. By 1700 he felt ready to attack Sweden. Sweden controlled the Baltic Sea, which Peter wanted to make Russia's route to the west. He formed an alliance with Poland and Denmark and then started the Great Northern War. The war lasted for more than two decades. As early as 1703 Peter began construction of a new capital city on captured territory by the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic. The new city was called Saint Petersburg. After Russia's victory in 1721, the Russian Empire was formed. Peter was acclaimed Father of the Fatherland, Peter the Great, and emperor of all the Russias. Peter's other military campaigns were in the south. In the Turkish War of 1710–13, he had to give up Azov. In the Persian campaign of 1722–23, however, he won the western and southern shores of the Caspian Sea. ReformsAt the beginning of Peter's reign, Russia was an undeveloped country. Peter devoted much of his attention to reorganizing Russia's institutions. He broke the political power of the nobility under the feudal system and carried out many reforms. The changes that Peter introduced affected the administration, commerce, technology, and culture of Russia. He modernized the calendar, simplified Russia's Cyrillic alphabet, unified the currency, and introduced a new tax system. Modern hospitals and medical schools were built. Industry was modernized and trade was expanded. Many new schools were opened, and education was made a requirement for all government workers. Peter's reforms even influenced the way people looked. He made Russians adopt a Western appearance by taxing people who wore beards and Asian clothing. DeathAlways a man of action, Peter put great strain on his health over the years. In the autumn of 1724 he jumped into the icy Gulf of Finland while trying to rescue some soldiers whose ship had become stuck on a sandbar. He caught a chill and fell seriously ill during the winter. On February 8 (January 28 according to the calendar used then), 1725, Peter the Great died in Saint Petersburg, the city he had founded. |