Peter the Great
What did he do to the outstanding success of Russia?

Den Lauzon

History 10
Ms. Newton
December 3, 2012

“If my advice is just lost on the wind and you will not do as I wish, then I do not recognize you as my son.” These were spoken to Peter the Great’s son, Alexis. It symbolized Peter the Great’s love for Russia. He did not let his laggard of a son detract him from his love for his country. Peter the Great is a good example of one person who took many different actions to achieve absolute power over Russia. He accomplished so many things such as the formation of St. Petersburg. He created and implemented domestic reforms and reformed a powerful army and navy which fought many battles for Russia especially the Northern War. He was credited for dragging Russia out of medieval times. It was eventually considered as a leading Eastern European state. He did not want his country left behind, much less to be left vulnerable to the power of other European countries that were attempting to take away each other’s territory through wars. He planned a modernization strategy for Russia that led him to success. Peter the Great spent his life improving his outdated country through his revolutionary ideas that modernized Russia into a powerful European nation.

Peter Romanov was the son of former Tsar Aleksey with his second wife Natalya Naryshkina. He was born in Moscow, Russia on June 9, 1672. During his first four years of life, his father Aleksey died and left the throne to his brother Fyodor III ruled until his own death in 1682. Ivan V and Peter joined together to rule the throne. Unfortunately, Ivan V died and Peter was obliged to take over and rule Russia. Peter grew up in palace life with his mother. He enjoyed and showed interest in military affairs as well as shipbuilding. In addition, Peter studied mathematics, fortification, and navigation. As it turned out, Peter’s interest in Military and Nautical subjects provided a good foundation for him. He was the man with unwavering willpower, extraordinary energy, and supreme vision. He propelled Russia to the rank of major European power, while his personality and reforms have been an inspiration to generations of historians, writers, and ordinary Russians. With all the challenges that Russia faced, Peter assisted and helped his country overcome them. As a result, Russia accomplished the power that is every country’s wish.

Peter the Great became one of the most talked about Tsars in Russian history The brute determination and longing to create a successful country led him to form a strong military leadership. One of the most important reasons for the success in military initiatives was because Peter was determined to fight the other countries that they were not fortified and was unprepared. By the help of the first’s Russia’s professional soldiers called Streltsy, Peter gathered tons of Russians to join the army and follow him. The second reason was he educated his soldiers by hiring foreigners to enhance their capabilities by teaching military tactics. He also ordered men of upper classes to send their family to attend Western-style social events. Lastly, the educated army and navy fought against the Ottoman Empire that result a new route for trading. Therefore, Peter the Great produced a marvelous foundation for his military actions.

Russia became one of the most visited countries in all time because of the fabulous and astonishing place it is. It has beautiful churches, big and admirable schools, and a wealthy and centralized economy. During Peter the Great’s term, he reformed the church, founded school for education, started a newspaper and transformed Russian’s economy. By the help of his travelling in disguise with his group called The Great Embassy they adopted the Western style and ideas. He was influenced to build churches, schools, museums, factories, hospitals, and others. One of the best supported institutions of Peter was the