Essay Example on A Period Of Transformation Peter the Great

A Period Of Transformation Peter the Great was an exceptional leader of Russia Even though he did not always think of the people he transformed and modernized Russia The time period that Peter the Great was the leader was from 1682 1725 During his reign he modernize Russia and created a very strong army Peters reign was known as the period of transformation To start he moved the capital Enough work had been done on this new town by the serfs he placed to work and create the capital Peter named the capital of Russia St Petersburg which he named after himself With the founding of the new capital it was now a major European power politically culturally and geographically Also the place Peter decided to build this town was intentionally built so it blocked the entrance for enemy attacks Peter also transformed the culture and society It took 25 years but he altered every aspect of Russian life from the government industry technology education and culture For education he modernized the Old Slavic Church alphabet which helped understand European books and it also encouraged the first Russian newspaper and the creation of Russian Academy of Science 

This was a huge step for education in Russia Also Peter decided to follow the Western European model which was power economic political and spiritual Russia gained many benefits for example an acceleration of economic activity and the development of all resources of the country Also during his reign foreign trade increased sevenfold With all these transformations and modernization Peter the Great has created a strong country Peter the Great has also created a very strong military The navy was built from scratch which also represents an amazing innovation This army is also a very improved armed force Before the rule of Peter the Great the Russian army had been amateur It was basically based on villagers going into battle to defend the Motherland lead by village elders with no or little knowledge about military leadership He knew that the army wouldn t be successful if the people didn t have experience or know what to do so he decided all soldiers must receive training This was a successful reform Another reform Peter decided was to build roads to improve military communications and supplies With this change Russians fortunes on the battlefield improved from 1702 to 1704 Also with the advantage he conquered most of Swedish Ingira also The Russian Navy defeated Sweden s navy under Charles XII The Navy was a success Also By 1725 Russia had 130 000 men in the army In order to support the army he increased the taxes to help collect money for the war so the navy was founded Some people may not have been too happy about this but it helped the country modernize Peter the Great helped Russia transform by creating a strong reliable and successful army Despite reforming Russia Peter the Great didn t always think of the people when he made his decisions 

One example of this is when Peter forced people to change to Westernization Changing to Westernization would help the country but people thought differently because it didn t benefit them as much as it did politically So The task fell to Peter who carried it out in quite a different spirit from theirs He didn t think or ask what the people wanted and just did it for the political and economic benefits Peter the great only cared about funding the things he wanted Peter the Great it seemed would do anything to raise the necessary capital to finance his reforms He did this by taking the people s money and raising taxes Revenue was expanded three times to pay for the military and wars He kept needing and wanting more money for himself he had to make more policies In November 1718 Peter the Great introduced a soul tax on all male with the Old Believers paying double Peter just wants what s best to grow the country and not what the people always want Peter the Great was an exceptional leader for Russia He transformed Russia He also created a very successful army and helped Russia modernize While Peter may have a sometimes forgotten the people but he did what was best to help the country Hillie Richard Russia Encyclopaedia Britannica December 20 2017 Accessed January kkkk16 2018 https www britannica com Parish Ann Peter the Great ResearchIT CT August 8 2017 Accessed January 16 2018 kkkkhttp web b ebscohost com Peter I the Great Reader s Companion To Military History EBSCOhost January 1 1996 kkkkAccessed January 21 2018 http eds a ebscohost com Raeff Marc Peter the Great Reformer or Revolutionary Questia 1963 Accessed January kkkk21 2018 http www questiaschool com Truman C N Peter the Great Military Reforms The History Learning Site May 28 2015 kkkkAccessed January 25 2018 https www historylearningsite co uk