Which of the following best explains the point of view toward Peter the Great?
|
Between 1697-1698, the tsar visited Europe in disguise to learn about shipbuilding and Western culture. His verdict? Shave Show
Kat Eschner  Around this day in 1698, Tsar Peter I—known as Peter the Great—established a beard tax. He wasn’t the only ruler in history to do this—England’s Henry VII did the same—but what’s interesting is the story behind Peter's reason for the tax. Before Peter I, Russia wasn’t very connected with Europe, nor did it have a navy that could assert authority on its sea borders. Although Russia was huge, writes Encyclopedia Britannica, it lagged behind in ships at a time when European powers such as England and the Dutch were exploring and colonizing the globe—and impinging on each other’s borders. With the goal of learning from European nations’ successes, Peter I spent time during 1697 and 1698 travelling around Europe, in disguise, on a “Grand Embassy.” The tsar travelled incognito as “Sergeant Pyotr Mikhaylov.” As the Grand Embassy consisted of 250 people, including high-ranking ambassadors, he was able to blend in and spend time learning about Europe firsthand. According to the encyclopedia, he spent four months working at a shipyard for the Dutch East India Company, where he was able to learn about the shipbuilding innovations of the day. After that, the encyclopedia writes, “he went to Great Britain, where he continued his study of shipbuilding, working in the Royal Navy’s dockyard at Deptford, and he also visited factories, arsenals, schools, and museums and even attended a session of Parliament.” When he came back from the Grand Embassy, Peter I embarked on an ambitious project of modernizing Russia so that it could compete with the European superpowers. He “played a crucial role in westernizing Russia by changing its economy, government, culture, and religious affairs,” writes Mario Sosa for St. Mary’s University. “By doing all of this, Russia was able to expand and become one of the most powerful countries in the eastern hemisphere.” Among his reforms, he revised Russia’s calendar, introduced changes to the way Russian was written, completely changed the military and tried to get Russians to go beardless, like the "modern" Western Europeans he had met on his tour. As Mark Mancini writes for Mental Floss, Peter I begun the practice of beardlessness in quite a dramatic fashion at a reception held in his honor not long after he came back from Europe. “In attendance were his commander of the army, his frequent second-in-command Fyodor Romodanovsky, and a host of assorted aides and diplomats,” writes Mancini. “Suddenly, the crowd’s mood went from elation to horror as Peter unexpectedly pulled out a massive barber’s razor.” As the Grand Embassy proved, Peter I was a do-it-yourself kind of ruler. He proceeded to personally shave the beards from his horrified guests. He declared that all the men in Russia had to lose their beards—a massively unpopular policy with many including the Russian Orthodox church, which said going around sans facial hair was blasphemous. “Eventually, the ruler’s stance softened,” Mancini writes. Figuring he could make money for the state while still allowing people to opt to keep their beards, he imposed a beard tax. As the State Department describes, “for nobility and merchants, the tax could be as high as 100 rubles annually; for commoners it was much lower — as little as 1 kopek. Those paying the tax were given a token, silver for nobility and copper for commoners.” Although many of Peter I’s reforms aren’t routinely recalled today, the beard tax has gone down as one of history’s quirkier moments. But one thing is for sure—Peter I did change Russia forever. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Copy CitationShare Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-the-GreatGive Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
print Print Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Copy CitationShareShare Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-the-GreatFeedbackExternal Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Alternate titles: Peter the Great, Pyotr Alekseyevich, Pyotr Veliky By Leonid Alekseyevich Nikiforov Table of ContentsPeter I See all media Born:June 9, 1672 Moscow Russia...(Show more)Died:February 8, 1725 (aged 52) St. Petersburg Russia...(Show more)Title / Office:emperor (1721-1725), Russian Empire tsar (1682-1725), Russia...(Show more)Founder:St. Petersburg...(Show more)House / Dynasty:Romanov dynasty...(Show more) See all related content → Top Questions What were Peter the Great’s accomplishments?Peter the Great modernized Russia—which, at the start of his rule, had greatly lagged behind the Western countries—and transformed it into a major power. Through his numerous reforms, Russia made incredible progress in the development of its economy and trade, education, science and culture, and foreign policy. What was Peter the Great’s childhood like?Peter’s father, Tsar Alexis, died when Peter was four years old. At age 10 Peter became joint tsar with his half brother and, because of power struggles, often feared for his safety. He did not receive the usual education of a tsar. He grew up in a free atmosphere and especially enjoyed military games. Who were Peter the Great’s wives?In 1689 Peter wed Eudoxia, but the marriage ended in 1698. He later became involved with the future Catherine I, a Baltic woman who had been taken prisoner during the Second Northern War. They married in 1712, and in 1724 she was crowned empress-consort. After Peter died in 1725, she became empress. How did Peter the Great die?Peter suffered from bladder and urinary-tract problems, and in January 1725 [Old Style] he began having trouble urinating. Doctors removed a litre of “putrid” urine, and a fever ensued. Days later Peter died, at age 52. An autopsy reportedly found that gangrene had developed around his bladder. Summary Read a brief summary of this topicPeter I, Russian in full Pyotr Alekseyevich, byname Peter the Great, Russian Pyotr Veliky, (born June 9 [May 30, Old Style], 1672, Moscow, Russia—died February 8 [January 28], 1725, St. Petersburg), tsar of Russia who reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V (1682–96) and alone thereafter (1696–1725) and who in 1721 was proclaimed emperor (imperator). He was one of his country’s greatest statesmen, organizers, and reformers. Peter was the son of Tsar Alexis by his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Unlike his half-brothers, sons of his father’s first wife, Mariya Ilinichna Miloslavskaya, Peter proved a healthy child, lively and inquisitive. It is probably significant to his development that his mother’s former guardian, Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev, had raised her in an atmosphere open to progressive influences from the West. Youth and accessionWhen Alexis died in 1676, Peter was only four years old. His elder half-brother, a sickly youth, then succeeded to the throne as Fyodor III, but, in fact, power fell into the hands of the Miloslavskys, relatives of Fyodor’s mother, who deliberately pushed Peter and the Naryshkin circle aside. When Fyodor died childless in 1682, a fierce struggle for power ensued between the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins: the former wanted to put Fyodor’s brother, the delicate and feebleminded Ivan V, on the throne; the Naryshkins stood for the healthy and intelligent Peter. Representatives of the various orders of society, assembled in the Kremlin, declared themselves for Peter, who was then proclaimed tsar, but the Miloslavsky faction exploited a revolt of the Moscow streltsy, or musketeers of the sovereign’s bodyguard, who killed some of Peter’s adherents, including Matveyev. Ivan and Peter were then proclaimed joint tsars, and eventually, because of Ivan’s precarious health and Peter’s youth, Ivan’s 25-year-old sister Sophia was made regent. Clever and influential, Sophia took control of the government; excluded from public affairs, Peter lived with his mother in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, near Moscow, often fearing for his safety. All this left an ineradicable impression on the young tsar and determined his negative attitude toward the streltsy. One result of Sophia’s overt exclusion of Peter from the government was that he did not receive the usual education of a Russian tsar; he grew up in a free atmosphere instead of being confined within the narrow bounds of a palace. While his first tutor, the former church clerk Nikita Zotov, could give little to satisfy Peter’s curiosity, the boy enjoyed noisy outdoor games and took especial interest in military matters, his favourite toys being arms of one sort or another. He also occupied himself with carpentry, joinery, blacksmith’s work, and printing. Britannica Quiz Emperors and Empresses from Around the (Non-Roman) World QuizNear Preobrazhenskoye there was a nemetskaya sloboda (“German colony”) where foreigners were allowed to reside. Acquaintance with its inhabitants aroused Peter’s interest in the life of other nations, and an English sailboat, found derelict in a shed, whetted his passion for seafaring. Mathematics, fortification, and navigation were the sciences that appealed most strongly to Peter. A model fortress was built for his amusement, and he organized his first “play” troops, from which, in 1687, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky Guards regiments were formed—to become the nucleus of a new Russian Army. Early in 1689 Natalya Naryshkina arranged Peter’s marriage to the beautiful Eudoxia (Yevdokiya Fyodorovna Lopukhina). This was obviously a political act, intended to demonstrate the fact that the 17-year-old Peter was now a grown man, with a right to rule in his own name. The marriage did not last long: Peter soon began to ignore his wife, and in 1698 he relegated her to a convent. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now In August 1689 a new revolt of the streltsy took place. Sophia and her faction tried to use it to their own advantage for another coup d’état, but events this time turned decisively in Peter’s favour. He removed Sophia from power and banished her to the Novodevichy convent; she was forced to become a nun after a streltsy rebellion in 1698. Though Ivan V remained nominally joint tsar with Peter, the administration was now largely given over to Peter’s kinsmen, the Naryshkins, until Ivan’s death in 1696. Peter, meanwhile continuing his military and nautical amusements, sailed the first seaworthy ships to be built in Russia. His games proved to be good training for the tasks ahead. External eventsAt the beginning of Peter’s reign, Russia was territorially a huge power, but with no access to the Black Sea, the Caspian, or the Baltic, and to win such an outlet became the main goal of Peter’s foreign policy. The Azov campaigns (1695–96)The first steps taken in this direction were the campaigns of 1695 and 1696, with the object of capturing Azov from the Crimean Tatar vassals of Turkey. On the one hand, these Azov campaigns could be seen as fulfilling Russia’s commitments, undertaken during Sophia’s regency, to the anti-Turkish “Holy League” of 1684 (Austria, Poland, and Venice); on the other hand, they were intended to secure the southern frontier against Tatar raids, as well as to approach the Black Sea. The first campaign ended in failure (1695), but this did not discourage Peter: he promptly built a fleet at Voronezh to sail down the Don River and in 1696 Azov was captured. To consolidate this success Taganrog was founded on the northern shore of the Don estuary, and the building of a large navy was started. Which of the following best explains Peter the Great's motivations for visiting England and Holland?Based on the passage and historical context, which of the following best explains Peter the Great's motivations for visiting England and Holland? He wished to modernize his empire.
In what way did Peter the Great 1672 1725 direct his efforts during his reign?In what way did Peter the Great (1672-1725) direct his efforts during his reign? He brought Western customs and ideas to its culture.
Which of the following best explains why the spread of the printing press encouraged?Which of the following best explains why the spread of the printing press encouraged the spread of new religious ideas? The printing press allowed people to bypass the Catholic Church's traditional monopoly on the production of religious texts.
Which of the following represents the final defeat of efforts by the Ottoman Empire to acquire large areas of Central Europe?Siege of Vienna, (Sep-Oct 1529). In 1529 the Ottoman Empire made a determined effort to capture Vienna, the capital of the Hapsburg Austrian Empire. The failure to take Vienna marked the end of Turkish expansion into Europe and was followed by the diversion of Ottoman effort toward Asia and the Mediterranean.
|
