Part I. The Barbarian

what steps by which men passed from barbarism to civilzation

- Voltaire

• highly educated in wide variety of disciplines
• suffered siezures
• very strong, nearly 7 feet tall
• thought in grand scale and ignored minor distractions
• very informal; had no refined manners
• sometimes unnecessarily cruel
• enjoyed drinking
• wild sense of humor
• insatiable curiosity and ideas – all geared towards utility and catching Russia up with the West
• very economical; no wasted money on pomp or kingship
• one love in his life, with Catherine I of peasant classs – she actively moderated his vices

Part II. The Petrine Revolution

• practiced despotic authority
• worked with extreme diligence
• 1712 – made St. Petersburg captial
• singular purpose in life: to westernize Russia
  • introduced Wester culture, manners, fashio and mindset
  • migrated Russia to Roman calendar and Greek alphabet
• lead the Russian Reformation, wresting power from the clergy which was part of a general process of secularization in Russia
• Industrialized Russian economy
• exhaustive taxation and currency depreciation in his reign
• Peter reformed education and opened new universities

Part III. Aftermath

• Peter's reforms faced growing resistance. The huge upheaval and embarrassing imitation forced on Russia was resented
• Peter's heir, Alexis, was rebelious and died in Prison – imprisoned by Peter himself
• peter died Feb 1725
• much of the reforms were reveresed after his death
• Nevertheless, he opened the door to Europe and oversaw a pivotal moment in Russian history, thought, and culture