Peter the Great’s Program for Russia

Peter the Great(1672-1725), was tsar of Russia from 1682-1725 but was officially tsar on his own from 1696-1725. He was an interesting figure for his time in Russia; he was fascinated by the ways of western European countries, which he tried to replicate in Russia. But what was Peter the Great’s program for Russia?

Peter the Great, like I mentioned above, wanted to replicate the ways of western Europe in Russia which he was able to do. He saw the Russian way of life as primitive and even backwards so he created a program to enforce new changes on Russia. These changes included: all men had to shave their beards and cut their hair(if they did not they would face a tax), everyone had to dress in the western styles of dress, and women were given more opportunities for things like education. He also began to modernize the Russian army after an embarrassing defeat from the Swedish in 1700.

Peter the Great was not necessarily perceived as “great,” by everyone, especially those he targeted through extra taxes, etc. But regardless of how people thought of him he still brought Russia one step forward into the modern world, which was his program for Russia.