Peter the Great

Peter the Great, Peter I or the peter Alexeyevich, was born in 1672 and he died in 1725. He ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from the 7 May 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before the 1696 with his half brother.

Peter the great led a cultural revolution that replaces some of the traditionalist and the medieval social and political systems with the ones that were modern, scientific, westernized and based on the Enlightenment. Peter’s reforms made the lasting impact on Russia and many institutions of Russian government traced their origins to his reign.

Early Rule

Peter the Great was born Pyotr Alekseyevich on June 9, 1672 in Moscow, Russia. Peter the Great was the 14th child of Czar Alexis by his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Having ruled jointly with his brother Ivan V room from 1682, when the Ivan died in 1696, Peter was officially declared sovereign of all Russia. Peter inherited the nation that was severely underdeveloped compared to the culturally inherited the nation that was severely underdeveloped compared to the culturally prosperous European countries. While the Renaissance and the Reformation swept through Europe, Russia rejected westernization and remained isolation from modernization.

During his reign, Peter undertook the extensive reforms in attempts to re-establish the Russia as a great nation. Peter overcome opposition from the country’s medieval aristocracy and initiated the series of changes that affected all areas of the Russian life.

Peter the Great is credited with dragging the Russia out of the medieval times to medieval times to such extent that by his death in 1725, Russia was considered as the leading eastern European state. He centralised government, modernised the army, created the navy and increased the subjugation and subjection of the peasants. His domestic policy allowed him to execute an aggressive foreign policy.

Without doubt, Peter the Great’s childhood toughened his outlook on life. He was constantly under threat from the factions surrounding the two widows of his father. When his father, Alexis, died in January 1676, Peter’s elder brother succeeded as the Theodore III.

Peter the Great died on February 8, 1725, without nominating an heir. He is entombed in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, located in the St. Petersburg.