The Impact of Peter the Great in the History of Russia.
Born into the Russian government, Peter the Great was one of the most important figures in Russian history. Peter had many great accomplishments and is celebrated as one of the best tsars ever to rule Russia. Peter the Great was the first emperor of Russia. With his superior army, he conquered enormous amounts of land and expanded Russia.
Peter the Great was truly a great leader because he modernized by building up the military, integrated Russia into the global economy, and formed a unique Russian identity. His important reforms restructured and strengthened Russia, enabling it to become a powerful state under the influence of Peter the Great.
Peter the Great believed from the outset of his reign that Russia was going to lose place in the world if could not make several changes; he basically spent the rest of his life working on these reforms.
Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by his advisors from Western Europe, Peter reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power.
This quote, “It is my great desire to reform my subjects, and yet I am ashamed to confess that I am unable to reform myself,” from Peter the Great, shows the sophistication he possessed, and also reflects the attention that he gave to Russia in order to reform it into a better society.
The video on Peter the Great seemed to infer that Peter wanted to modernize Russia, and to do this he needed to strengthen his army and create a navy. The class text book on the other hand implies that Peter's main goal was to create a strong and powerful army, and that the 'westernization' of Russia was a byproduct of that.
Peter was a grandson of Tzar Michael Romanov (who was chosen to be a Tzar in 1613). In 1682, at the age of 10, Peter was proclaimed Tzar, but due to a power struggle between different political forces he had to rule together with his brother Ivan under the patronage of his sister Sofia.