The reign of Peter the Great is a significant era for the history of our country. Why did Peter 1 change life in Russia? First of all, because he wanted to turn the country from a distant European outskirts into one of the leading states of its era.
Start of transformations
Childhood of Peter Alekseevich fell on the fierce struggle of boyar groups for power and influence at court. The mother of the young tsarevich, Natalya Kirillovna, took her son away from the troubles in Moscow to the village of Preobrazhenskoye.
Although Peter was officially declared king together with his brother Ivan, due to the infancy of the first and the dementia of the second, the elder sister Sophia took the reins of government into her own hands, who was declared regent until Peter came of age.
The young prince was quite unpretentious in everyday life, he became close to the yard servants, including foreigners. Among the latter, there were smart, educated people who had a strong influence on Peter. In such an environment, the young tsar grew up, more and more convinced of the need for fundamental changes in Russia.
War games and training in the Preobrazhensky camp allowed PeterAlekseevich to master military skills and helped a lot in seizing power from Sophia, who was in no hurry to give up the reins of government. Nevertheless, in the course of the struggle, Peter wins and becomes no longer a formal tsar, but completely sovereign, his co-ruler Ivan had already died by that time.
Why Peter 1 changed life in Russia
Peter dreamed of the sea, so in 1693 he made a visit to Arkhangelsk, which at that time was the only port in Russia. It was this event that served as the beginning of the formation of the future Russian fleet.
In 1696-1698. The tsar, as part of the "Great Embassy", traveled around Europe. There he watched the life of both ordinary Europeans and the privileged strata of society and became more and more fixed in the thought of the need for reforms in his homeland.
That's why Peter 1 changed life in Russia. And he began upon his return with a change in the chronology established in the country. Before the royal decree, years were counted from the creation of the world, while in European countries the starting point was the Nativity of Christ.
At the time of the reform, the year was 5508 in our country. According to the new law, the year began on January 1, and not on September 1, as before. The decree issued on December 16, 1699, heralded the advent of 1700, as in all of Europe.
This was one of the 5 bans of Peter the Great that changed the face of Russia. This was followed by orders to introduce European-style caftans to replace the old Russian ones, and to ban the wearing of a beard. These innovations of the king shockedboyars, some even tried to resist the will of the ruler. However, Peter, with the cruelty inherent in autocratic power, forced him to fulfill all his commands.
Triumph of the reformer king
Many believe that it was a kind of struggle of Peter I with the Russian people and their traditions. However, this opinion is actually erroneous. Here was the tsar's stubborn desire to modernize Russia, and not only through internal systemic reforms. He sought to change the appearance of Russians and the way they think.
Shortly after the recapture of the Nyenschanz fortress from the Swedes, the tsar ordered the construction of a new city, later called St. Petersburg. Peter wanted to turn it into a real European center of Russia, so only stone construction was carried out in the city. But how did you manage to ensure that highly qualified specialists were not attracted to other facilities? The country introduced a ban on the construction of buildings made of stone.
This was already the fourth ban, and at the same time there is a fifth decree on the inadmissibility of forced weddings. The innovation made it possible to weaken the patriarchal orders. It was also one of the reasons why Peter 1 changed life in Russia.
The country becomes great
All reformist ideas, of course, were not implemented. But even that part of them, which was implemented, allowed the country to sharply accelerate economic development. And on the agenda was the question of expanding the influence of Russia, for the sake of which Peter I (the Great) started all this.
The Northern War with Sweden, which our country victoriously completed in 1721, just shows that the course chosen by the king was the right one. He brought Russia to the same level with the leading powers of Europe.
