The results of the reforms of Peter the Great are one of the most difficult and controversial issues in Russian historical science. It can be said that in his time directly opposite assessments of the activities of the first Russian emperor were established in historiography. Some saw in him a reformer of Russia and believed that he had the merit of including the state in the system of European powers (this was the lie, in particular, representatives of the direction of the Westerners), others, on the contrary, emphasized that his reforms broke the traditional foundations of the life of Russian society and led to partial his loss of national identity (this point of view was held, in particular, by the authors of the philosophical trend of the Slavophiles).
Board overview
The results of the reforms of Peter 1 should be considered in the context of the peculiarities of his reign. These years turned out to be very difficult for the history of Russia, because it was a time of transition. The emperor waged war for the country's access to the B altic Sea and at the same time carried out the transformation of the entire socio-political system in the state. However, its downsideactivity was that he carried out his transformations with the expectation that these were temporary measures for governing the country during the war. However, later it turned out that these temporary measures proved to be more durable than ever. But the ruler himself acted, as they say, in a hurry, so the results of the reforms of Peter 1 turned out to be very controversial in the sense that they were very often introduced hastily and by administrative methods, without taking into account the specifics of certain areas that were subject to changes.
Essence of transformations
All the measures of the new ruler were aimed at ensuring Russia's victory during the Northern War with Sweden for access to the B altic Sea. Therefore, all measures were aimed at improving public administration and management. But the king was also interested in the country being included in the system of European states, as he understood that access to the sea would inevitably lead to a change in the geopolitical position of the state. Therefore, he sought to somehow equalize the degree of development of the country with Western Europe. And the results of the reforms of Peter 1 in this area can be called controversial, at least historians and researchers disagree in assessing their effectiveness. On the one hand, borrowings in management, administration and culture can be called an important step for the Europeanization of the state, but at the same time their haste and even some disorder led to the fact that only a very narrow layer of nobles learned Western European norms. The position of the bulkpopulation has not changed.
The meaning of political change
The results of the reforms of Peter 1 should be briefly outlined as follows: Russia gained access to the B altic Sea, became an empire, and its ruler became an emperor, it became part of the European states and began to play a leading role in the international arena. The main result, of course, is that the country received a fundamentally new status, so it is not surprising that the tsar went for such cardinal and deep transformations, realizing that the state should develop in its own way, but he adhered to European standards. First of all, of course, it was about creating a new bureaucratic system and relevant legislation.
In this direction, the results of the reforms of Peter 1 should be briefly noted as follows: in general, the emperor achieved his goal. He created a system of government that lasted without fundamental changes until the February Revolution. This suggests that the ruler's measures to transform the state machine were in place and were carried out at the right time. Of course, the Russian reality made its own adjustments, which the emperor himself took into account and understood when he introduced his innovations in management and administration.
Results of economic transformations
The negative results of the reforms of Peter 1 also cannot be discounted. After all, the transformations were carried out due to the increased exploitation of the population, moreover,in this case, it refers to all strata of society, starting with serfs and ending with military nobles. Undoubtedly, large military spending has led to serious economic and social problems. However, the ruler took a number of measures to promote the development of the country's economy. So, he encouraged the development of industry, contributed to the development of factories, the development of mineral deposits. He encouraged trade and urban life, realizing that the export and import of goods depended on this.
However, all these measures had a downside. The fact is that, while encouraging the development of trade, the emperor at the same time imposed high taxes on merchants. Manufactories and factories were based on serf labor: entire villages were assigned to them, the inhabitants of which were attached to production.
Social change
The reforms of Peter 1, the results, the consequences of which actually changed the appearance of the country, also affected the social structure of Russian society in the second quarter of the 18th century. Most historians believe that under him the layers finally took shape, largely thanks to the famous "Table of Ranks", which fixed the gradation of officials and military personnel. In addition, under him, the final registration of serfdom in Russia took place. At the same time, many researchers are not inclined to consider these changes as fundamental, believing that they became a natural consequence of the previous stage of the country's development. Some note that the changes affected only the top of society, and the restpart of the population has not undergone any changes.
Culture
The reforms of Peter 1, the reasons, the results of which should be considered in the context of the general historical situation in the country in the second quarter of the 18th century, perhaps most noticeably affected the cultural image of the state. Perhaps this is due to the fact that these changes were the most visible. In addition, the introduction of Western European customs and norms into traditional Russian life was too different from the way of life that society had been used to for previous generations. The main goal of the emperor's cultural policy was the desire not so much to change the clothes, the rules of behavior of the nobility, but to make European cultural institutions effective for Russian life and reality.
But the main results of the reforms of Peter the Great in this direction left much to be desired, at least in the first decades of his transformational activities. The main results were already evident during the reign of his successors, especially under Catherine II. Under the emperor, the institutions and institutions he introduced turned out to be not as effective as he would have liked. He wanted the nobles to study and get a good education, since the country needed professional personnel for the development of industry and the economy in the first place. However, most of the nobles preferred to lead a habitual way of life, and only a few really accepted the king's reforms in this direction. And yet the so-called chicks of Petrov's nest played a big role intransformational activities of the ruler and in many respects from their generation those who later determined the cultural and educational policy of the ruler's successors grew up.
Military sphere
Results, the importance of the reforms of Peter 1 in the transformation of the army is difficult to overestimate. It was he who created that regular Russian army, which won so many brilliant victories in the 18th century. It was an army on the European model, which could successfully compete with the troops of other states. Instead of the old system, the emperor introduced a recruiting system for recruiting soldiers. This meant that a certain number of households had to supply a certain number of fighters to the army. This new system existed for quite a long time, until the second half of the 19th century, when, during the reign of Alexander II, it was replaced by a system of universal military service. The survivability of the tsar's military reforms indicates that these measures at this stage of historical development corresponded to the tasks and needs of the country.
Meaning of building a fleet
The results of the reforms of Peter the Great, the pros and cons of which, perhaps, can be divided equally, were especially pronounced in the military sphere. In addition to the creation of the army, the emperor has the merit in organizing a permanent regular navy, which brilliantly showed itself already during the years of the Northern War with Sweden, when it won a number of major victories at sea. Thanks to the transformative activity of the tsar in this direction, Russia became a world maritime power. Despite the fact that at the nextthe successors of the king, the construction of ships was suspended, however, already in the second half of the 18th century, especially under Catherine II, the Russian fleet again brilliantly showed itself in a number of wars. The merit of the king is that he took care of creating a fleet with an eye on the future. He did not just build ships for immediate needs, but he intended to make Russia a maritime power, which he succeeded in doing.
The role of diplomacy
The positive results of the reforms of Peter 1 also lie in the fact that it was under him that Russia reached the level of international diplomacy, that is, it began to play one of the leading roles in the international arena. Thanks to his reign, the country became a participant in the largest and most important international events; not a single congress was held without its participation. Under the emperor, a circle of people was formed, which laid the foundation for a galaxy of Russian diplomats who successfully represented our country in the international arena. This was all the more necessary because at the time in question, as well as in subsequent decades, Russia participated in all the major wars in Europe, and almost all conflicts on the mainland in one way or another affected its interests. With this turn of events, a need was created for the presence of experienced and European-educated diplomats. And we can say with confidence that this diplomatic corps was created just during the reign of the emperor.
Succession Problem
Positive and negative results of the reforms of Peter the Great can, perhaps, be divided equally. The advantages have already been mentioned above, but here it is necessaryto mention one significant minus, which had an extremely deplorable effect on the subsequent political development of the country. The fact is that in connection with the infamous case of Tsarevich Alexei, the tsar issued a decree according to which the ruler himself had to appoint his own successor. However, the emperor himself, dying, did not have time to draw up a will, which subsequently led to the so-called palace coups, which had a negative impact not only on the domestic political development of the country, but also on its position in the international arena. The constant change of rulers, the ups and downs of parties, supporters of one or another candidate each time led to a change in the foreign and domestic political course of development. And only Paul I at the end of the 18th century canceled this decree on succession to the throne, so that from now on the eldest son of the reigning emperor became the heir to the Russian throne.
General conclusions
As a conclusion, it should be said that there were probably more positive results than negative ones. The fact that most of his reforms were preserved for the next two centuries, and the successors considered it necessary to follow his course of government, suggests that the reformatory activity of the emperor corresponded to the needs of the country. The results of the reforms of Peter 1, the table of which is presented below, prove that the tsar's measures to modernize the country were profound, despite the fact that they were dictated by military needs.
| Activities | Positiveresults | Negative results |
| Political and administrative sphere | Creating a new state-administrative system, a bureaucracy that meets the needs of the country. | Unfinished reforms. |
| Economic and military fields | Creating a regular army and navy. | The dual nature of economic reforms: supporting trade on the one hand, and raising taxes on the other. |
| Social and cultural spheres | Creating new educational institutions, borrowing advanced technologies, finalizing the social structure of society. | Unfinished reforms, mechanical transfer of foreign samples into Russian reality. |
So, we can say that the transformational activities of the first Russian emperor generally met the needs of his time, as evidenced by the fact that his reforms were preserved in subsequent centuries.
