Peter the Great

Elana Kopelevich

@elanalynn

Russia in the 17th Century

Medieval Tsardom
Isolated from Europe
Feudal system
Not very educated

The Line to the Throne

Peter is the son of Tsar Alexis' second wife
Feodor III becomes Tsar at 16
Feodor III dies at 22; Ivan V is next in line
Ivan V is not fit; Peter is chosen
Sophia Alekseyevna says 'nope'
Ivan V and Peter crowned co-tsars in 1682

Sophia Alekseyvnya

Acts as regent while Ivan V and Peter I are co-tsars
Has a hole cut in the boys' double-throne so she can sit behind them and listen
Uses violent tactics to promote her agenda

Peter’s “Toy Army”

At ~12, Peter forms "Toy Army"
Conscripts peasant children
300+ soldiers in a few years
Professional military advisors
As kids get older, Peter gets them placed in actual army
Power struggle begins to develop with Sophia
Sophia attempts a coup; Peter has friends in high places

1689 - 1698

1689 -
- Defeats Sophia - sends her to convent
- Marries Eudoxia Lupokhina
1694 - Peter's mother dies
1696 - Ivan V dies
1698 - Divorces Eudoxia - sends her to a convent

Modernizing Russia

More hobbies: Spends a year in Holland working in a shipyard under fake name
Reforms Russian army
Builds Navy from scratch

Great Northern War

Aggressive in trying to expand Russia's access to maritime outlets
Wages war against Sweden in 1700 (lasts 21 years)
Includes: Denmark-Norway, Saxony-Poland, Brandenburg-Prussia, Hanover and the Ottomon Empire

Saint Petersburg

Built between 1703 - 1720's
Impressive feat of engineering and architecture
"Window to the West"
Built by conscripted peasants and Swedish POWs
Over 10,000 people die building the city

More Reforms

European style
Beard Tax
Julian calendar
Table of Ranks
Compulsory education for nobles
Tries to get rid of the institution of arranged marriage

The Russian Empire (and Emperor)

By the grace of God, the most excellent and great sovereign prince Pyotr Alekseevich the ruler all the Russias: of Moscow, of Kiev, of Vladimir, of Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan and Tsar of Siberia, sovereign of Pskov, great prince of Smolensk, Tversk, Yugorsk, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarsky and others, sovereign and great prince of Novgorod Nizovsky lands, Chernigovsky, of Ryazan, of Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Kondiisky and the sovereign of all the northern lands, and the sovereign of the Iverian lands, of the Kartlian and Georgian Kings, of the Kabardin lands, of the Circassian and Mountain princes and many other states and lands western and eastern here and there and the successor and sovereign and ruler.

Catherine I

Peter's second wife
Peter crowns her Empress
Rules for 2 years after his death
First official female ruler of Imperial Russia
Sets legal precedence for a century of women that follow