The eighteenth century saw the rise of two rulers that were set on expansionism and believed the best way to achieve this was through an absolute monarchy. Both the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and King Frederick II of Prussia were powerful rulers who were greatly influenced by the ideas of the enlightenment. Both rulers were also ruthless in the way they governed and both sought for national expansion but with differing goals. In this essay I will compare two major themes between the reign of Peter the Great and Frederick the Great. I will discuss their views on religion and their national religious tolerance. I will then discuss each nation’s rise in power and seek to answer the question; what was the goal of each ruler in the expansion of his state?
Russia, under Peter the Great, saw a vast change in religious policy in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was marked by radical reforms in which Peter eliminated the traditional office of church leadership, which was held by the Patriarch of Moscow, and established a church council called the Holy Synod. This Holy Synod was supposed to determine the best route for the Russian Orthodox Church but instead remained obedient to the will of Peter the Great. He has a policy of semi-religious tolerance but his main focus was on the improvement of the Russian Orthodox Church. This was in great part due to the enlightenment idea of the individual and human reasoning towards progressivism. In the following quote from his 1702 Decree on the Invitation to Foreigners, we can see where he places the emphasis on religious tolerance,
“And as in our residence of Moscow, the free exercise of religion of all other sects, although not agreeing with our church, is already allowed” (Lualdi 8...
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... states into global powers. As with my example of religious tolerance, both had similarities and differences as to their level of tolerance and reason for acceptance. Also, though both greatly expanded their states, their reasons for doing so were drastically different. Both men gave decrees and proclamations to their people to encourage support and unity during their reign. The observation can be made that while many of their advancements were made through less than moral means, their individual accomplishments set their nations up as global powers for the next two hundred years.
Works Cited
1. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, Volume II: Since 1500, 4th edition, Lynn Hunt, et. al, Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press, 2012.
2. Sources of The Making of the West, Volume II: Since 1500, 4th edition, Katharine J. Lualdi, Bedford/ St. Martin’s Press, 2012.
As you wrote in the assignment sheet, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both wanted to do great things. They had many goals in common, as well as many different goals, and, though the two had much in common, worked in very different ways to achieve said goals.
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