AskEssays.com - Discover essay samples

Peter the great 2

4.9 of 5.0 (142 reviews)

Contains
1324 words
Category
People

Peter the great 2 Page 1
Peter the great 2 Page 2
Peter the great 2 Page 3
Peter the great 2 Page 4
The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

Peter the great 2


Towards the end of the seventeenth century Russia differed very little from what it had been at the end of the fifteenth. During the reign of Peter the Great Russia's desire for change and a quest for progress was reaching levels comparable to those of Europe. Peter the Great is associated with the movement of Russia from the Medieval world to the Age of Enlightenment. Throughout the centuries historiographical debate has been in progress. There was a debate between historians who consider Peter the Great as a great Tsar of Russia and those who perceive him as an autocratic tyrant. Scholars ask if Peter the Great did indeed open the 'Window to the West,' ans if so what kind of window, and what aspects of the West? The interpretation of Russia's past remains a subject of debate among historians. Image and accomplishments of Peter the Great with each generation produce different attitudes. What views are put forward by Peter's contemporaries and modern historians? How did advocates and opposition portray the reign of Peter the Great? These are important questions to ask in an explanation on how Peter the Great was seen in the eyes of his contemporaries and of modern historians.

In order to understand the image of Peter the Great and his significance it is necessary to know his background and the influences that shaped his life. Peter the Great was the fourteenth child of Alexei Mikhailovich, born in Moscow on May 30, 1672. Tsar Alexis died when Peter was four years old. His mother raised Peter. Tsars' Alexis son from his first marriage, Feodor Alekseevich succeeded to the throne but his reign did not last long. On April 27, 1682, Tsar Feodor died. In line to succeed him were, his brother Ivan and Peter who was his half-brother. Peter was only ten years old. With the assistance of the semiprofessional musketeers garrisoned in Moscow, sister of Feodor, Sophia, seized power and declared herself regent, proclaiming both Ivan and Peter co-tsars. Sophia was in conflict with the family of Peter's mother and she forced the boy to reside on one of the suburban estates of the crown. The hostility during Sophia's regin was significant influence on Peter's development as a Tsar.

Peter grew up away from the constricting atmosphere of the Kremlin, and he was left to his devices under his mother's supervision. Peter was a lively and energetic boy compared to his other siblings who were sick and weak. From his early years he was interested in military games, fire, bombs and fireworks. He organized his own "play regiments" and war games by enlisting gentlemen's sons. He also had contact with foreigners and was fascinated with their way of life. His education started around the age of seven. One of his tutors was Nikita Zotov, who was a kind clerk, literate man who knew the Bible well but was not a scholar. While Zotov was teaching Peter to read and write, he told him stories of Russian history; of battles and heroes. Peter's education was less classical then that given to Feodor or Sophia. By the time Peter reached manhood, he was basicaly a self taught man since he chose what he wished to learn. His lack of formal education would be reflected in the decisions and situations with which he had to deal with during his rule.

Number of features of Peter's childhood and youth makes it possible to see his intellectual development. At the age of sixteen, Peter was introduced to a dutchman, named Timmerman who became his second tutor. Under Timmerman's guidance he was learning arithmetic, geometry, and the sciences of fortifications and artillery. Timmerman had also introduced him to sailing which became one of the favorite interests for Peter. Early contacts with Timmerman and other foreigners had opened his mind to the technological West. Overall, Peter early in his childhood, was cut off from the typical old Russian environment, ideas, customs and traditions of government of a Muscovite Tsar. This lack of knowledge of political and moral ideas, about the people, government and a ruler's obligations to his subjects was reflected in his reign.

Peter's growing interests in foreigners and the western atmosphere which he was found of, disturbed his mother, Natalia. In order to convert Peter she had hoped that marriage would change his perspectives. Peter married Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1689, who was chosen by his mother. Unfortunately the match was a disaster, since the couple did not have much in common. However, through this marriage, Peter had two sons but the second died at age seven months. Most of the time Peter was away from his wife engaged in work on boats and sailing. Peter the Great was not interested in his family, he was very much interested in an atmosphere which was open to progressive influences from the West.

In 1689, Sophia's regency ended when once again she tried to take full control of Russia. Peter expelled her from the palace and sent to the Novodevichi nunnery. Many of her close associates were executed or exiled. Peter returned from hiding to Moscow but at that time he was not interested in ruling the country. He appointed a group of ministers with whom he left state matters for another five years before he took the reins of government into his own hands.

From 1690 foreign influences were increased in Peters way of life. In 1691 for the first time a Russian tsar, Peter the Great adopted Western dress. Two of Peter's close foreign friendships were with Patrick Gordon and Franz Lefort. Their education and their information about ways of life, science, and Western institutions were always of great interest for Peter. He was attracted and enjoyed the company of foreigners mostly because of the greater social, sexual, and intellectual freedom. He recognized his own drives and energy among the ambitious and adventurous foreigners who came to Russia. During his time spent in the company of foreigners he acquired mechanical skills and accumulated as much knowledge as he could. His military establishment was reorganized on the Western model, and his "play regiments" were transformed into regiments of the Guards. This improvement of military force was going to help him in defeating Russia's enemy.

In 1696, after his mother and Ivans death he took over the actual governance of his realm. Peter's violations of the customs and his decision to visit western Europe shocked the Muscovites. Opposition groups and the signs of revolt were very quickly discovered and dealt with. People were arrested, torture, exiled to Siberia or executed. Nothing was going to stop Peter from going abroad. In August 1697 Peter left for journey to the West. He was the first Russian ruler to do so. His journey created not only sensation in Russia but in the countries he passed through. He visited Germany, Holland where he spent several months improving his knowledge of shipbuilding and navigation. He also visited England and Vienna. While on his journey he bought scientific instruments, books, and many curiosities. Peter was successful in furthering his knowledge and in laying the groundwork for regular technical and intellectual exchanges. In his diplomatic efforts he did not succeed. Peter returned to Moscow in August 1698. He brought back not only material things but also a new vision of change for Russia.

The new visions or "transformation" of Russia that Peter the Great was determined to create throughout the years of his reign, received positive and negative assessments from his contemporaries and historians. By transformation Peter the Great meant "modernization." Peter wanted for Russia to become part of Western Europe in political, economic and cultural sense. Change, for Peter included acceptance of the technology and the outlook of the West. Change also meant absolutist state with the absolute monarch and his centralized bureaucratic state. The monarchs like Peter the Great, sought to follow ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 1324 words of 2647.

Keywords: peter the great 2011, peter the great 21 year war, peter the great 2020, peter the great movie 2020, peter the great series 2020, peter the great season 2, peter the great movie 2011, peter the great series 2

Similar essays


Vincent Van Gogh

On March 30, 1853 was born in the small village of Groot-Zundert, Holland. When he is eleven, he begins schooling where he starts to draw for the first time. People begin to notice how magnificent his works were, and after he finishes school he begins to sell his paintings to art dealers. Van Gogh starts spending more time with his brother...

150 reviews
Download
Slobodan Milosevic

"I wouldn't mind if they needed to take [Yugoslav President ] out," said Chris Walter, 23, a college student living in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I felt the same way about Saddam Hussein. I think the longer you keep the problem around, the sooner it is going to come back and bite you." From the Washington Post April 18th, 1999 The hor...

8 reviews
Download
Life of a roman slave

Life of Argus Born in 29 A.D Argus was one of 3 children born to King Pilius and Selene of Nicopolis. However, at the age of 12, a small revolt was organized against the Greeks by Pilius. It was totally crushed and Pilius and Selene were executed. Argus was captured and sold to Gnaeus Julius Agricola, a wealthy Roman Farmer of Stabiae. He al...

36 reviews
Download
John harlan

John Marshall Harlan II was born on May 20, 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. He was born to John Maynard Harlan, an attorney, and Elizabeth Flagg Harlan. John Marshall Harlan II came from a long line of political servants, of whom his grandfather is probably most notable. John Marshall Harlan I, whom John Marshall Harlan II was named after, sat on...

156 reviews
Download
Gwendolyn Brooks

- A Critical Analysis of Her Work is the female poet who has been most responsive to changes in the black community, particularly in the community's vision of itself. The first African American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize; she was considered one of America's most distinguished poets well before the age of fifty. Known for her techni...

148 reviews
Download
Frederick douglass the man

Frederick douglass - the man On an unknown date in 1817, on a slave plantation in Tuckahoe Maryland, Frederick August Washington Bailey was born. Frederick was raised in a house on the plantation with all the other slave children. At the age of seven, like many other slaves, Frederick was put to work in the fields. As a young child he...

117 reviews
Download
Dylan Thomas

Thomas' Dying Light Dylan Marlais Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales on October 27, 1914. After leaving school, he worked briefly as a junior reporter on the South Wales Evening Post. In November of 1923 he moved to London and in December of that he published his first book, Eighteen Poems. In April 1936 he met his future wife, Caitlin Ma...

39 reviews
Download
Frost

Robert : Biography and Review Robert Lee , b. San Francisco, Mar. 26, 1874 d. Boston, Jan. 29, 1963, was one of the leading poets of the 20th-century and a four time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. was a poet often associated with rural New England, although his poems could be felt and related to in any region of the world. Thought his y...

188 reviews
Download
Edgar allan poe 6

Although not originally well received, Edgar Allan Poe, became one of the most influential literary writers in American history. As a child, he wrote numerous poems, many which were later published. As a young adult he focused much of his attention on short fiction. He was credited with creating the detective story and known for his psycholo...

205 reviews
Download
Frost, Robert

By: Ryan Graves E-mail: z714x4pmp@aol.com Robert Frost, perhaps the greatest American poet of the twentieth century, has brought himself great recognition. Many critics have tried to find a faulty side to his writing, but they have had a difficult time because his writing "romanticizes the rural simplicity that he loved while probing into...

129 reviews
Download
King arthur 3

Tales Of King Arthur Since the romanticizing of the Arthurian legends by Geoffery of Monmouth, the historian, during the twelfth century, the legendary 'king of England' has been the source of inspiration for kings, poets, artists and dreamers alike. The most famous work is probably Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, compl...

147 reviews
Download
Jean lamark

Jean Lamark was a French botanist and invertebrate zoologist who formulated one of the earliest theories of evolution. In 1768 he wrote a book on his botanical observations, which French naturalist Georges Louis Buffon arranged to publish in 1779 as Flore fran'ois (Plants of France). As a result of the book and his friendship with Buffon, Lama...

89 reviews
Download
De tocqueville

Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America Aristocracy is a phenomenon that is perhaps as natural a summer crop, and as devastating as the locusts that eat it. De Tocqueville?s position on aristocracy is quite clear. He is a strong advocate of the aristocracy, it is a part of the natural order and necessary. His position may have some ba...

169 reviews
Download
Martin luther king jr

. 6 Martin Luther king Jr., is a person with such a status in history, every one knows his name. He grew up in a time where every southern state was segregated. He grew up in a religious family and was ordained a minister at the age of 17; thus began his life of fighting for the betterment of mankind. He became known for his public speech...

58 reviews
Download
Atsisiųsti šį darbą