The reign of Peter 1 is full of events and reforms like no other. During this time, Russia has made an unprecedented breakthrough in its development, so powerful that it was not and probably will not be in world history. Historian experts conducted a conditional experiment and roughly calculated that without the reign of Peter the Great, Russia would have achieved the same results that were realized by the end of the reign of this outstanding monarch, only by the end of the 19th century! Therefore, books about Peter 1 are especially interesting to study. It is doubly interesting if the book is not of an educational sense, but an art one, where you can plunge into the atmosphere of the beginning of the 18th century and go along with the heroes the difficult path of fateful events for the whole country.
We offer you to get acquainted with some fascinating works devoted to various fields of activity of an outstanding person. Below is a list of books about Peter 1, which are unlikely to leave anyone indifferent.
"PETER THE GREAT". Alexey Tolstoy
Not one rating of books about Peter 1 can do without this work. The novel was conceived as a detailed description of the whole life path of Great Peter, but, unfortunately, the author did not have time to finish his work. The classic historical novel covers only the first half of the reign, but perhaps the most turbulent and crucial moments in the history of Russia in the late XVII - early XVIII centuries.
The novel is included in the list of the best historical works, was awarded the Stalin Prize and, on the whole, was highly praised by the Leader of the Peoples and all socialist power. It was created by state order. Which, however, does not prevent him from being historically reliable. Of course, the figure of Peter is idealized, and all his reforms and political decisions are justified by the state good. But a modern reader who is familiar with history is quite capable of making his own conclusions and assessments. The novel is written in a simple fascinating language, interestingly describes, in addition to the personality of Peter himself, his growing up and becoming Great, the life and life of different classes of the population of that time. In short, a work from the category of classics, a must-read.
"Young Russia." Yuri German
The two-volume novel, although not directly dedicated to the first Russian emperor, is nevertheless included in the list of books on the reforms of Peter 1. The work describes the great transformations and undertakings of the reformer: building the Russian fleet, preparing for the Russian-Swedish war, laying and building a fortress, and then the future capital is St. Petersburg. But the most valuable thing in the novel is a description of the characters and life of the simple Russian people. The reader will see an uncompromising picture of those unimaginable trials and hardships that our ancestors went through for the sake of embodying the grandiose designs of Great Peter. These ordinary people continued, in spite of everything, to love their country, the land on which their ancestors lived, were ready to give everything for it, and even their lives.
"Evenings with Peter the Great" by Daniel Granin
The book is about Peter 1 from beginning to end, moreover, it is more specifically about the man of Peter, and not about the king, emperor, reformer, and so on. On the pages of the work, the reader opens up a simple and straightforward man with his passions, weaknesses and numerous hobbies, not always decent. Readers note that the author was able to easily and naturally create a sense of liveliness and reality of the described paintings, as if the reader were indeed spending the evenings with Peter the Great himself.
Dmitry Merezhkovsky. "Antichrist. Peter and Alex
This work is not only included in the list of books about Peter 1, but also is the third part of the trilogy “Christ and the Antichrist” - a philosophical work on the Christian religion based on great events and great personalities of world history. However, all three books are interconnected by the idea, but not by the narrative, therefore they are quite digestible and separately.
The novel reveals the relationship between Peter the Great and his son Alexei. Behind the plot-forming conflict, the main problem is clearly visible: the clash of the reformer with the general unwillingness to transform. Tsar Peter personifies a new order of life, breaking with its radical reforms the old Russian ways. Son Alexei is a supporter of the old habitual thinking and views on everything, including religion. What this dramatic clash led to is the novel narrates about.
A lot of books have been written about Peter 1, both journalistic and biographical, as well as fiction. All of them are worth reading if only because such a ruler in world history did not exist and, probably, will not exist. The scope of his designs is grandiose even by today's standards. The readiness at all costs to realize what was intended should become an example for all future generations.