Peter The Great Summary

Peter the Great
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Peter the Great
Peter the Great was a leader of the Tsardom of Russia which later became the Russian Empire. Born in the year 1672, Peter took over the leadership of the Russian Empire in the year 1682 and later jointly with his elder half-brother Ivan V led the empire until his death in the year 1725 CITATION Shu02 \l 1033 (Shul'man, 2002). He led several successful wars that saw the expansion of the Russian Empire which later became the most renowned empires and the most powerful empire. He successfully initiated cultural, social and political reforms that saw Russia change from the traditional medieval social systems to a modern system of political leadership. He emphasized on the westernization of the Russian Empire, modernizing it and emphasizing on scientific explorations as the main agents of enlightenment in the economic and political growth of the Russian Empire. Many of the current government systems and leadership structures of Russia attribute their existence to the reign of Peter the Great. In particular he initiated several changes in the military system and focused on the establishment of warm relationships with other European countries in case of attacks that may arise. There are several factors that drove Peter the Great to adopt these social and political changes in enhancing economic, political and social growth of the empire.
Motivations for the Peter the Great
1. Desire to realize window to the west
The westernization concept drove the systemic changes that Peter initiated in the Russian Empire. The westernization ideas were profound in that Peter wanted to reinvent these ideas in Russia as a way of initiating change; he wanted his country to be similar with the other Western nations. As a step towards these radical changes he established a modern port in Russia to enable in the increase of trade through the imports and exports that took place through the port. Peter believed that the introduction of the port could improve the communication and connection with other countries which eventually could lead to improved trade between Russia and the other countries. However, the locals were very concerned about this strategy because of the fear of foreigners who they thought could intrude them and take over their region. Peter the Great continuously assured his people that the whole strategy was good for the Russians and served the interests of the Russians. Trade was a key factor in enhancing and establishing relationship with other nations, an essential aspect that Peter wanted for the anticipated help that he could receive through this collaboration especially during war times (Shul'man, 2002).
2. Exile in Moscow
During the struggle between Peter the Great and his elder half-brother Ivan, Peter was exiled in Moscow. Ivan was the most preferred leader of the Russian Empire by Moscow. While in Moscow he got to learn outside the political spheres of the empire. He developed passion for sailing and engaged in military games and math. The Russian courts that ruled in favor of Ivan had the sister of Ivan as one of the decision makers of the courts. Later she was taken out and this gave Peter a chance to regain power in the Russian Empire. Ivan died in the year 1696, leaving full power under the control of Peter who later ascended to the throne as Czar Peter I. When he took over Peter centralized the system of leadership into a monarchy system and ruthlessly broke down the Boyars powers throughout Russia (Emiley, 2016).
3. Peter's tour to Europe
Another critical motivation for Peter was his tours to Europe. The trips motivated him to bring more reforms to his country, for instance, he resolved to build a Russian fleet that was nonexistence at those times. He sent 50 young men to the Britain, Italy and Holland to learn how to build ships and the naval techniques of the Europeans (Emiley, 2016).
4. Seeking a warm water port
Exploring a warm water port was another important motivation for Peter. Under his tenure, Peter was focused on establishing warm water ports which were free from interruption from the other countries. This was one of the founding reasons for the war between Ottoman Empire and Sweden. The Sweden war ended with the Russian Empire gaining quite a large area of control including Estonia, Livonia and parts of Finland. The war with the Ottoman Empire was inconclusive. The regions conquered in the war with Sweden gave Russia the warm waters that Peter was pursing for. It’s through this war that he gained St. Petersburg as one of the warm waters which later became the capital city of Russia which opened Russia to the west (Emiley, 2016).
Militarily reforms
To achieve economic growth and development, Peter focused on initiating changes that could stabilize the military and modernize their operations. The Russian army was treated as a professional unit in the empire. His ideas about foreign policies were very distinct and needed a military that was stable to help him tackle the issues of coups. Initially, the army was unprofessional, untrained and their operations were poorly organized prompting Peter to restructure and emphasize on the need for professionalism among the military. During his first reign, the military was composed of village men who ...