Peter the Great was Russia's most prominent tsar, and his policy of Westernization was a major factor in Russia's transformation into a great power.
Peter was born in Moscow in 1672, the only son of Tsar Alex and his second wife. Peter died before his father was 4 years old, and since Alex had 13 children with his first wife, it is not surprising that there was a long and sometimes fierce struggle for the throne. Peter sometimes even had to run away to save his life. In the years that followed, Peter's half-sister Sophia became regent, and it was not until her ouster in 1689 that Peter's position was secured.
Russia in 1689 was a backward country, centuries behind Western Europe in all respects, with fewer cities than Western Europe, slavery was in its prime, the number of slaves was rising, and their legal rights were declining. The clergy were unliterate, literature was almost non-existent, mathematics and science were neglected. Compared with Western Europe, Newton's "Mathematical Principles of Natural Science" has appeared, literature and philosophy are in a flourishing stage, while Russia is almost in the Middle Ages.
In 1697~1698, Peter organized a trip to the West. The trip laid the foundation for his future reign. Peter's entourage numbered more than 250. Peter used the pseudonym Mikhailov, who saw many things along the way. During this trip, Peter worked as a ship carpenter for the East India Company in Denmark, worked in the dockyard of the British Royal Navy, and studied gunning in Prussia. He visited factories, schools, museums and arsenals, and even sat in the British Parliament. In short, he tried his best to learn Western cultural, scientific, industrial and management skills.
Peter returned to Russia in 1698 and implemented a series of reforms aimed at modernizing and Westernizing Russia. In order to encourage the introduction of Western technology and craftsmanship, he brought back many Western technical talents to Russia, and he also sent young Russian people to study in Western Europe. Peter also encouraged the development of industry and commerce, and under his rule, cities expanded in size and burghers increased in number and influence.
During Peter's reign, Russia's first large navy was built. Moreover, the army was established according to the Western model, equipped with uniform uniforms and modern muskets, and Western-style military drills were also systematic. Peter also made many reforms to the Russian administrative system, including the promotion system of civil servants, the abolition of the old system of merit by the family, and the choice of promotion by people's performance at work.
On the social front, Peter encouraged Westernization, he ordered that beards should not be allowed (later relaxed), suits must be worn in court, and smoking and coffee were encouraged. Although many of his policies were strongly opposed at the time, their long-term effect was that the Russian aristocracy eventually cultivated Western manners and culture.
Peter saw the Russian Orthodox Church as a backward and reactionary force, and he succeeded in reorganizing the church and gaining control of it. Peter established secular schools in Russia to encourage the development of science, he introduced the Julian calendar, improved the Russian alphabet, and created Russia's first newspaper. The process plays an important role in determining that. Since rulers in many other countries have pursued similar policies, one wonders why Peter is on the list while others are ignored.
Today, in the 20th century, most national leaders recognized how important it was for them to accept Western law, especially in science and technology. In 1700, however, the advantages of Westernization were not well understood for people outside Europe. Peter's significance lies in the fact that he was ahead of his time and recognized the importance of Westernization and modernization. Because of Peter's foresight, backward Russia rushed ahead of many countries of the world.
Russia can be compared with Turkey. Russia and Turkey were semi-European countries, and two centuries before Peter's reign, Turkey was much more advanced militarily, economically and culturally than Russia. But around 1700, no Turkish sultan recognized the importance of rapid westernization and pushed his country in that direction. Thus, starting with Peter, Russia made great strides, the pace of Turkey slowed down, and it was not until the 20th century that Mustafa Kemal led Turkey to begin the process of westernization, by which time Russia was much more advanced than Turkey in industry and education.
Today, of course, we consider Russia to have an advantage over Turkey, imagine that if Russia had no Peter then, and Turkey had an actively reformed sultan, then today Turkey might also become a great power, possibly ruling Central Asia instead of the Soviet Union, because the inhabitants of this region are Muslims, and they have much closer relations with the Turks than with the Russians.
Peter was not only a ruler who followed the flow, but also a visionary man whose foresight probably rewrote history. For these reasons, I have listed Peter in this book.
In deciding Peter's ranking, I compared him to Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth is more famous, especially in the West. But I think it is difficult to convince the Russians that Elizabeth was more influential than Peter the Great. Peter was more reformant and original. Elizabeth symbolized primarily the harmony that her subjects wanted, while Peter took Russia in a direction that had never been seen before.