Peter the Great

1. Peter the Great AD

2. The Regency of Sophia • Father Alexis had 2 wives • Mary Miloslavskaia • Natalie Naryshkina • This created 2 possible lines of succession • Mary = 2 sons, Theodore & Ivan • Natalie = Peter • Theodore took throne but died w/out son • Ivan & Peter co-ruled with sister Sophia • Sophia was regent until boys reached app. age

3. The Regency of Sophia • Brokered the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 • Which secured the left bank of the Ukraine and Kiev for Russia • Unified E. Euro against Turks • Boyars were in opposition to her • Boyars supported Peter • Peter had developed a passion for military • Sophia organized a coup against Peter • Army sided with Peter • Peter as primary leader = 1689 • Ivan as co-tsar

4. The Regency of Sophia • Wanted to preserve family’s power • Encouraged the streltsy to use violence in support of her • Pursued a set of domestic and foreign policies that undermined the support she had received from the Russian nobility • She is responsible for • Concessions to merchants • relaxed penalties on peasants escaping • First institution of higher learning • War against the Crimean Tatars

5. Pete and North War • 1700-1721 • Declared war on Sweden to reclaim Baltic coastline, not satisfied with access to Black Sea • Sweden defeated Russians in Battle of Narva (1700) • Then embarked on project to found St. Petersburg

6. North War Cont. • Because it couldn’t be burned, Peter used stone for architecture in St. Petersburg; became permanent settlement in Northwest • Sweden invaded Russia (1708) • Peter staved off the Swedish attack, forcing King Charles XII southward to Ukraine, which he invaded • Peter’s forces eventually defeated Swedes in Battle of Poltava in 1709

7. Mo North War • 1710- Turkey declared war on Russia, temporarily took northern coast of Black Sea • Great Northern war continued for another decade, fighting mostly in the North, resulting in Russia’s seizure of Finland • Charles XII died in 1718 

8. And End to North War • Swedish surrender resulted in Treaty of Nystadt in 1721 in which Russia ceded most of Finland and paid 2 million units of Swedish currency but secured Baltic territories of Estonia, Ingria, Livonia, and part of Karelia

9. The Reign of Peter the Great BY: Incendiary Skittles

10. Peter the Great’s Reforms • His reforms took an international perspective-extensive European travels and conflicts with Sweden and Turkey • Made a series of military reforms in response to constant state of war • Landed gentry were required for the first time to enlist and participate in military affairs • Russian population was subjected to draft by lottery (one person from every 75 peasant houses) • Exceptions: physically unable to fight, clergy, and merchant class • Written manuals for officers • Merit-based system of promotion

11. Greatness is associated with his series of accomplishments as tsar, physical statue, intellect, and personality. • Favorite learning style is a hand-on approach. • Learned variety of trades including ship building, dentistry, and cobbling. • Worked through the ranks of the Russian army and navy. • He was the first Russian leader to subject himself to the interest of the state. • Traveled secretly throughout Europe in part to garner support, from monarchs to stop Ottoman influence. • Studied shipbuilding in Holland. Also studied dentistry and entomology.

12. Peter’s careful observations of how Western European societies functioned led to the introduction of a host of policies designed to modernize Russian society. • Shaving of Orthodox beards (symbols of respect, He thought it to uncivilized.) • Eliminating the long, bulky robes of Byzantine influence, taking on the tight-fitting western style • Ending the anachronistic practice of arranged marriages • Promoting educational reforms • Moving Russia from a creationist-based Orthodox calendar to one base on the Julian system

13. Peter’s excursion was cut short in 1698, by word of a bourgeoning coup by the streltsy. • Steltsy- an elite group of military guards • The steltsyplanned to overthrow Peter and install Sophia as Tsarina. • Peter returned to Moscow to stop the conspiracy. • He interrogated, tortured, and executed thousands of steltsy. • Left the bodies to warn others that it would happen to them if they tried to over throw the throne. • Peter’s half-sister was exiled to a convent where she spent the remainder of her days.

14. Continued • Training requirements in several weapon types • Aimed at revising government from the national to the local level • Interests sovereign to those of the state • Created the Senate, which had judicial, bureaucratic, and financial powers • Created 12 Colleges to better manage executive affairs • Increase the ease of collection taxes and information

15. Church Reforms • Refused to fill the office of Patriarch after death of the previous one • 1721 – 1917; replaced the position of Patriarch with the Holy Synod (Religious committee under secular official) • Primary functions of churches became education

16. Socioeconomic Reforms • Developed the “head tax” during the Great Northern War, to be paid by each subject in the state except merchants and gentry • Ended distinction between serfs and slaves-to increase the number of individuals whom this tax could charge • To extract resources from the landed class-developed the Table of Ranks(hierarchal system of service)

17. Education • Westernized education in Russia • Mandatory education for children of nobles • Introduction to academic specialization • Creation of the Russian Academy of Sciences • Encouraged changes in dress, behavior, and interaction with each other; including incorporation of women in public roles

18. Problems with Reforms • Size of country made it difficult to enforce policies • Reforms were met with resistance from conservative forces in the nobility, the Orthodox Church, and general population • State remained weak, corruption of officials • Class divisions widened due to reforms-creating a duel culture in imperial Russia

19. Russia After the Death of Peter the Great

20. Peter died in 1725 • Only son was Alexei, had been ignored by his father and grew to hate him • Gave up birth rights and fled Russia, but came back in 1718 • Plot to dispose his father, but failed • Died while waiting in execution in 1718 • Peter died without naming a successor

21. 4 decade intercession between Peter the Great and Catherine the Great • Lots of familial in fighting and frequent wars • 37 years Russia had 6 rulers • Peter the II marked the end of the Romanov line • Ivan the VI jailed as an infant and died in prison • Elizabeth led the infant tsar; Peter II assassinated after the throne

22. 5 conflicts • Fought in rapid succession from 1733 to 1763 • With Austria against France 1733-35 • Against Turkey 1736-39 • Against Sweden 1741-43 • War against Austrian Succession 1746-48 • With austria, France, Sweden and Saxony against Prussia, Britain, and Hanover in the Seven Years’ War 1756-63

23. Societal reforms progressed haltingly and intermittently, depended on whims of the leader • Gap between the wealthy and the poor was increased significantly during this period • Power and wealth of the landed gentry was solidified and expanded with gifts of land • Serfdom was solidified during this period • Edicts were issued keeping peasants from improving their conditions through the Table of the Ranks, also stripped rights to hold property and gave masters complete submission over them. • Nobles were not permitted from killing peasants • Russia needed stability and leadership; came with Catherine II in July 1762