Peter 1

The Grand Embassy, ​​based on a contemporary engraving. Portrait of Peter I dressed as a Dutch sailor.

While at the "Grand Embassy," Peter concluded alliance treaties against Sweden with Saxony and Denmark, forming the Northern Alliance. The Peace of Constantinople (1700) was concluded with Turkey. The Tsar understood that a war on two fronts was dangerous and inevitably unwinnable.

The Great Northern War began in 1700. Already in the first months of the war, it became clear that the allies were unable to fight Sweden.

The Swedish King Charles XII quickly reached Copenhagen and laid siege to it, forcing Frederick IV to capitulate and leave the Northern Alliance. This occurred on August 7, 1700.

In September 1700, Russian regiments succeeded in laying siege to Narva, whose capture could have opened the way to the sea. However, the Russians were ultimately unable to take the fortress. By November, the main Swedish forces, led by Charles XII, approached Narva. A battle ensued, in which the Russian army was defeated. Most of the troops were incapacitated and fled. A significant number of officers surrendered. All artillery was lost.

Reasons for defeat:

The Russian army was poorly prepared. Only a few of its regiments (Semenovsky, Preobrazhensky, Lefortovo, and Gordonov) had little combat experience.

The Russian army's leadership proved inexperienced and disorganized. Some historians believe "command disorganization" was the main reason for the defeat, but the entire Russian army system was flawed.

Betrayal of a significant portion of foreign officers.

Lack of modern weapons and ammunition.

After Narva, there was a break in the Northern War, which Tsar Peter used to carry out a number of reforms in the army.

The results of this reform were evident: from the end of 1701, the Russian army began to achieve its first victories over the Swedes. In 1702, the fortress of Oreshek was captured, which was renamed Shlisselburg; in 1703, St. Petersburg was founded at the mouth of the Neva; the Russian army also managed to take Yam, Koporye, and Marienburg; in 1704, the

. Serov. Peter I.

Historians still debate whether Peter's reforms were so inevitable. Many blame him for the fact that the changes were carried out through horrific violence against the people's soul and beliefs.

On the one hand, this is true: the abolition of the patriarchate and the subordination of the Church to the state could not have pleased people for whom religious beliefs were not just empty words. Russia's rapid integration with Western culture undermined truly popular traditions and foundations. Furthermore, the tax burden caused by the Great Northern War gave rise to numerous popular uprisings (Astrakhan, Kondraty Bulavin's rebellion), and a large number of people died during the construction of St. Petersburg and new factories in the Urals, confirming Peter I's choice of violent methods for reform.

On the other hand, Peter laid the foundations of secular culture and education, and Europeanization affected only a narrow circle of the nobility. Were Peter the Great's reforms more harmful or beneficial? It's probably impossible to give a definitive answer to this question. But the changes this ruler made, which fundamentally altered the political, social, and cultural foundations of Russian society, were certainly profound.

Northern War

Causes of the war:

1. The imperial policy of Sweden (King Charles XII) and the desire for dominance in the Baltic.

2. Russia's need to gain access to the Baltic Sea and regain control of the Gulf of Finland coastline.

3. Contradictions between Sweden and European powers: Denmark, Saxony, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

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The main foreign policy objective of the Peter the Great era was to gain access to the sea and enhance Russia's prestige among European countries. Several areas can be identified here.

Southern direction. Peter I's attempts to gain access to the Black Sea began with the Azov campaigns (1695 and 1696), the second campaign ended with the capture of Azov (according to

(The Treaty of Constantinople of 1700). However, during the Russo-Turkish War (the Pruth Campaign), Azov was returned to Turkey.

As a result of the Caspian (Persian) campaign (1722–1723, commanded by General-Admiral F. M. Apraksin), parts of the Western and Southern coasts of the Caspian Sea were annexed to Russia.

By imperial decree, all counterfeiters were sent to work at the state mint as punishment. Peter the Great decided it was better to put their skills to good use than to send the guilty to prison. Peter I's death was caused by pneumonia, which developed from a common cold. He contracted the cold while personally participating in the rescue of drowning soldiers during the flood in the Gulf of Finland. The emperor mastered several crafts, including the highly complex art of blacksmithing. However, he never succeeded in weaving bast shoes. It was he who ordered the New Year to be celebrated on the night of December 31 to January 1, introducing the Julian calendar in Russia. Peter the Great forced the boyars in his entourage to shave their mustaches and beards, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Those who stubbornly wanted to keep their facial hair were required to pay a special "beard tax." Peter I was the first to introduce rice to Russia (see interesting facts about rice). The Emperor could play the piano at a professional level. One of his decrees prohibited wives from forcibly taking their drunken husbands home from taverns. Peter the Great ordered that all thieves who stole more money from the state treasury than the cost of the rope with which the condemned were hanged be sentenced to hanging. By order of the emperor, his wife's lover was executed by beheading, and his head preserved in alcohol was placed in her bedroom. Visitors to the Kunstkamera, founded by Peter the Great, were given free strong liquor. The Emperor actively promoted the construction of public baths, while introducing a tax on baths in private ownership. Peter the Great introduced compulsory military service and organized a permanent army and navy.

Peter the Great ruled the country for 43 years—a near-record length of time. Most other rulers reigned for significantly shorter periods, with the exception of Ivan the Terrible and a few others (see interesting facts about Ivan the Terrible). Peter I was the first Russian emperor. Young Peter was proclaimed tsar at the age of ten. He began to rule the country independently at the age of seventeen. It was he who introduced skates with blades permanently riveted to the soles to Russia. Previously, they were simply secured with straps or ropes. However, he didn't invent this innovation himself—Peter the Great picked up the idea during his stay in Holland. He taught soldiers to distinguish their left from their right by tying hay to one leg and straw to the other. Such a ruse might sound ridiculous now, but back then, in an era of widespread illiteracy among the common people, it was quite an achievement. One of the emperor's hobbies was dentistry—he enjoyed personally extracting his patients' diseased teeth. Boyars in his inner circle were usually the ones caught in the crossfire. One of the decrees issued by Peter the Great ordered all his subjects to consider gophers to be ferrets (see interesting facts about ferrets). Judging by the surviving evidence, Peter I had a heroic physique, but at the same time modest foot size. The emperor chose a commoner as his second wife. She later became known as Catherine I. Peter the Great embarked on his famous reforms after returning from a long journey through Europe, armed with a host of new ideas. He was absent from Russia for a total of about two years. It was this emperor who first brought such now popular flowers as tulips to Russia (see interesting facts about tulips). Peter the Great instituted a medal "For Drunkenness," which he "awarded" to boyars convicted of this vice for a week. It weighed over seven kilograms, was hung around the neck at the police station, and the chain was locked, making it impossible to remove.

By imperial decree, all counterfeiters were sent to work at the state mint as punishment. Peter the Great decided it was better to put their skills to good use than to send the guilty to prison. Peter I's death was caused by pneumonia, which developed from a common cold. He contracted the cold while personally participating in the rescue of drowning soldiers during the flood in the Gulf of Finland. The emperor mastered several crafts, including the highly complex art of blacksmithing. However, he never succeeded in weaving bast shoes. It was he who ordered the New Year to be celebrated on the night of December 31 to January 1, introducing the Julian calendar in Russia. Peter the Great forced the boyars in his entourage to shave their mustaches and beards, both voluntarily and involuntarily. Those who stubbornly wanted to keep their facial hair were required to pay a special "beard tax." Peter I was the first to introduce rice to Russia (see interesting facts about rice). The Emperor could play the piano at a professional level. One of his decrees prohibited wives from forcibly taking their drunken husbands home from taverns. Peter the Great ordered that all thieves who stole more money from the state treasury than the cost of the rope with which the condemned were hanged be sentenced to hanging. By order of the emperor, his wife's lover was executed by beheading, and his head preserved in alcohol was placed in her bedroom. Visitors to the Kunstkamera, founded by Peter the Great, were given free strong liquor. The Emperor actively promoted the construction of public baths, while introducing a tax on baths in private ownership. Peter the Great introduced compulsory military service and organized a permanent army and navy.