A Window to the West

A Window to the West

History has it that the United States capital city of Washington D.C. was

designed with the intention of intimidating visiting foreign heads of state. The

creation of this city had purpose and reason; neither of which are very natural or

human. St. Petersburg was viewed by the Russian people in this context.

Typically a city grows from a small town to a massive metropolis with years and

years of expansion outward. The Russian people already plagued with

xenophobia, could not accept Peter the Great’s new city designed with Western

ideals and made by Western minds.

Peter the Great sought to bring his country into the modern and more

western world. By means of taxing old dress, and creating a table of ranks by

which upward mobility is possible and higher education institutions. Through his

travels throughout Europe Peter, yearned to update and facilitate Russia as a

respected power and as a modernized country.

In order to westernize Russia a physical connection had to be established

between the Old World Russia and the rest of Europe. The only way to

accomplish this feat, was to create trade and travel routes between the West

and Russia. After securing his borders, the next task “of expanding Russia’s

contacts and territory, especially in ways that would liberate Russia from its long

isolation as a landlocked country.”(Thompson 98) Contact with the west was

limited because of Russia’s lack of access to warm water seaports where trade

and travel between Russia and the West could take place. The need for warm

water seaports therefore shaped Peter’s foreign policy.

Peter attempted to gain access to the Baltic Sea by defeating Sweden,

the most powerful force in north central Europe...

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