How Did Peter The Great Modernize Russia

Peter the Great realized early in his 43 year reign that the countries to the West were very successful. If he wanted Russia to be as successful and advanced as well, then he had to improve Russia’s military force (specifically the building of a navy), educational system, and its culture, and by making them more western, he believed that this was a positive contribution to Russian society. He admired the western countries since childhood, and as soon as he became sole tsar (and later Emperor) in 1696, he began to modernize Russia in ways that helped to shape it into the country it is today. He dedicated everything he was and accomplished most, if not all, of his goals. Without him, Russia may have stayed an isolated country inhabited by people

Firstly, he knew that in order to make this goal come true, he had to get access to shipping ports that wouldn’t freeze when the weather got cold. Because the winter essentially landlocked Russia,” Peter acquired territory in Estonia, Latvia and Finland.” These were all countries that had access to the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, as well as the Black Sea. By taking over these countries, Russia was so large that it was declared the Empire of Russia and Peter was made its emperor in 1721. Most importantly, Russia now had the water access that it needed so he could now have a northern navy built. Next, Peter wanted to gain access to shipping ports in the south and, in 1696,”through several wars with Turkey (Ottoman Empire) in the south, he secured access to the Black Sea.” This gave Peter an opportunity to build his naval forces in the south. Furthermore, the conquest of the Black Sea allowed him to order not only Russia’s first southern Navy, but also its first naval base, Taganrog. Lastly, Peter modernized his fleets continuously over the remainder of his reign by using his own previous knowledge of boat building and brought in foreign experts. Robert Massie wrote that:” The chance discovery of this old boat and Peter’s first lessons on the Youza were the beginning of two compulsive themes in his personality and his life: his

First, he believed that in order to westernize, Russians had to look more European. He forced boyars to shave their beards and adopt western style. Ursula Kampmann observed that this order spread quickly, saying that:” At first, the shaving skills of the Tsar were restricted to those living closest to him. But shortly afterwards, Peter gave the order for the ordinary people to follow the example of the big wigs. The Tsar imposed a prohibition for every inhabitant of his country to wear a beard.” This quote demonstrates how quickly westernization spred and how it was relevant to everyone, not just nobility. Next, Peter believed that:” beards were out, Western fashions in. Peter went on to modernize Russia’s military and administrative structure, simplify the alphabet, and change the calendar to make it correspond to European standards.” This changed Russia’s society even more by making it easier for people to travel, do business in, and communicate with other countries. This also aided the educational reforms by having a standard westernized system. Finally, Peter the Great wanted to showcase how far along Russia has come in its Westernization, by building St. Petersburg. In an article titled “Peter the Great”, it is explained further as to why St. Petersburg being built was an