Czar Peter the Great

Czar Peter the Great By Marissa Morell, Sarah Eknoyan, Elizabeth Kliakhandler, and Sarah Haugland

Economy • Peter kick-started important economic growth in Russia • Before he came along, Russia had an economy based strictly on agriculture • Czar Peter the Great made trading a very important industry in an attempt to connect Russia to the rest of Europe

Economy (continued) • Russia grew significantly under his rule • This czar established warm water ports, which enabled more trading • Very little was achieved in agriculture, however.

Economy (continued) • Russia began to dominate many forms of industry. • The country became a source of raw materials and labor • Communism was used • The government took over successful businesses • Private businesses could make a profit only on the extras of what they produced

Political • Peter I reformed the government • Towns were allowed to elect their own officials • Russia was divided into eight guberniya, or large provinces. • Each was led by a Gubnator who had full power over the area

Political (continued) • Peter was advised by a council, and his orders were carried out by 40 departments in the Prikazy, central government branch • Peter appointed a 9 man senate • It evolved into Russia’s highest court • Peter created an effective beaurocracy

Bored yet? Political (continued) • He created a strong army and navy • He made a foreign policy that encouraged trade • Czar Peter the Great was a cruel yet effective leader • He believed that he alone should decide everything. He was a bit of an autocrat. However, with this attitude, it was easy to get things done. (Bored yet?)

Social • Czar Peter was a reformer • He tried to bring Russia up to pace with the rest of the world • He led the Russian Cultural Revolution by opening his country to the west • He allowed European engineers, shipbuilders, architects, merchants, etc. to come to Russia Etc=End of thought coordination

Social (continued) • The czar banned traditional clothing • In an attempt to modernize Russia, he simplified the alphabet, introduced the Julian calendar, and established the first Russian newspaper • In addition to those, Czar Peter introduced hundreds of other reforms • This enraged many citizens

Social (continued) • The church was different from that of most of Europe. As you would expect, Peter took it over. • He did so because it was very wealthy and refused to modernize on its own • He secularized schools • The people under his rule did not like many of these changes, and revolted often • However, Peter the Great effectively made Russia much less isolated

Interesting Facts • Peter is believed to have been 6 feet, 7 inches. • He married twice and had 11 children, most of whom died as babies • He made his first wife keep her lover’s head in a jar after execution • Gross! He was rather merciless, though, so we’re not very surprised.

YA BETTER HAVE BEEN PAYIN’ ATTENSHUN!!! Questions • Did Peter allow free enterprise? • No. (Duh. This question was way too easy.) • Why did he take control of the church? • It was very wealthy (he wanted the money!) and refused to modernize on its own • Towns were allowed to ________. • Elect their own officials • Did you enjoy this presentation? • Of course I did! You guys are the absolute best!

Thanks for watching! We mean, staying awake…ish

Czar Peter the Great