Peter The Great Personality

Peter Alekseyevich Romanov, more commonly known as Peter the Great, was a 17th century monarch of Russia, or Czar, meaning Caesar. He is known for his various political, economical, and social reforms that would later forever change the once barbaric and backward Russia, into a modern state. He created a powerful navy and westernized Russia, changing most of its ideals into western beliefs, despite public outrage. At the time of his death, Russia was a power to be reckoned with.

Peter I was born in Moscow in 1672. He was the 14th child of Emperor Alexi I and his second wife, Nataliya Naryshkina. Peter was an exceptionally long man towering at six feet and 7 inches tall. His father died when Peter was only 3 years old, leaving him to

He was a very intuitive young boy, who wanted to know everything there was to know, and by the age of 12 he had learned masonry, shooting, hunting, and other games all from experience.

Peter grew to be a large man, and had mastered over 14 professions, including carpentry and masonry. He also had an extraordinary capacity for drink, and a short temper that gave him a harsh reputation. When he became 18, Sophia was reluctant to give up her seat of power, and openly resisted his authority. When Ivan died in 1696, Peter became the sole Czar in Russia. The next year Peter decided to visit Europe and experience it first hand. This caused public outrage, because for over 600 years no ruler of Russia had set a foot out of his domain, this deeply shook the country.

Peter travelled incognito, and without his royal entourage. First he went to Zaandam, a town near Amsterdam, where he learned shipbuilding and even built a ship himself. Next he went on to England where he learned more about western culture. In his travels he continued making observations and noting everything down. He toured several cities all across Europe. This would later lead to his westernization of

Petersburg, and made it Russia’s capital city. There he built a modern and powerful navy capable of standing up to the most powerful navies across the world. The first Russian newspaper was also started by Peter and he ordered the printing of more than 600 books. He re-did the education system of Russian schools in mathematics, medicine, and geography of all things. He also built a theater in Red Square.

He brought in European teachers to improve the education of Russia. This was what angered the conservative Boyars and Clergy who strongly opposed the prospect of westernizing Russia, believing that Russia was what it was and that the motherland was not meant to be changed. The people that Peter trusted would support him turned against him! In consequence he was often referred to as the Anti-Christ on the throne.

The Russian military was united under Peter’s rule, and due to to his economic reforms he had enough funding to increase its size. He implemented European techniques in his military to create what would later become one of the world's most formidable