The reign of Peter the Great is a landmark era for the history of our country. Why did Peter 1 change his life in Russia? First of all, because I wanted to turn the country from a distant European outskirts into one of the leading states of my era.
The beginning of the transformation
The childhood of Peter Alekseevich fell on the fierce struggle of the boyar groups for power and influence at court. The mother of the young prince, Natalya Kirillovna, took her son away from the Moscow turmoil in the village of Preobrazhenskoye.
Although Peter was officially declared king along with his brother Ivan, due to the infancy of the first and dementia of the second reins of government, the elder sister Sophia took control of herself, who was declared regent until Peter's coming of age.
The young prince was rather unpretentious in everyday life, he became close to a domestic servant, including foreigners. Among the latter, there were smart educated people who had a strong influence on Peter. In such an environment, the young tsar grew up, more and more confident in the need for radical transformations in Russia.
War games and training in the Preobrazhensky camp allowed Pyotr Alekseevich to master military skills and helped a lot in seizing power from Sophia, who was in no hurry to give the reins of government. Nevertheless, in the course of the struggle, Peter wins and becomes the king not formal, but completely sovereign; his co-ruler Ivan had already passed away by then.
Why Peter 1 changed life in Russia
Peter dreamed of the sea, so in 1693 he paid a visit to Arkhangelsk, which at that time was the only port of Russia. It was this event that served as the beginning of the formation of the future of the Russian fleet.
In the years 1696-1698. the king as part of the "Great Embassy" traveled to Europe. There, he watched the life of both ordinary Europeans and the privileged sections of society, and became increasingly entrenched in the thought of the need for reforms in his homeland.
That is why Peter 1 changed life in Russia. And he began on his return with a change in the calendar established in the country. Before the tsar’s decree, years were counted from the creation of the world, while in European countries Christmas was the starting point .
At the time of the reform, 5508 was in our country. According to the new law, the year began on January 1, and not on September 1, as before. The decree issued on December 16, 1699, marked the offensive of 1700, as throughout Europe.
This was one of the 5 prohibitions of Peter I that changed the face of Russia. Then there were orders to introduce European-style caftans to replace Old Russian ones, to ban the wearing of a beard. These innovations of the king shocked the boyars, some even tried to resist the will of the ruler. However, Peter, with the cruelty inherent in autocratic power, compelled him to carry out all his commands.
The Triumph of the Reformed King
Many believe that this was a kind of struggle of Peter I with the Russian people and its traditions. However, in fact, this opinion is erroneous. Here was the stubborn desire of the tsar to modernize Russia, and not only by internal systemic reforms. He sought to change the appearance of the Russians and their way of thinking.
Soon after the conquest of the Nyenschanz fortress from the Swedes, the tsar ordered the construction of a new city, later called St. Petersburg. Peter wanted to turn it into a real European center of Russia, so only stone construction was carried out in the city. But how did you manage to ensure that high-class specialists were not attracted to other facilities? The country introduced a ban on the construction of stone structures.
This was the fourth ban, and then a fifth decree appeared on the inadmissibility of violent weddings. The innovation allowed weakening the patriarchal order. This was also one of the reasons why Peter 1 changed his life in Russia.
The country is becoming great
All reformist ideas, of course, were not implemented. But even the part that they managed to realize allowed the country to dramatically accelerate economic development. And the question arose of expanding Russia's influence, for the sake of which Peter I (the Great) started all this.
The northern war with Sweden, which our country triumphantly completed in 1721, just indicates that the course chosen by the king was right. He brought Russia to one level with the leading powers of Europe.