簡介

彼得一世，乃沙皇阿列克謝·米哈伊洛維奇·羅曼諾夫和娜塔莉·基里爾洛夫娜·納雷什金娜的長子、阿列克謝·米哈伊洛維奇·羅曼諾夫的兒子中排名第六。

親政之路

1682年，彼得大帝的異母兄費奧多爾三世逝世，身後無嗣。彼得大帝的另一名異母兄伊凡五世雖然有更優先的繼承權，然而伊凡五世有嚴重的身體和精神上的問題，故此波雅爾杜馬乃選舉時年十歲的彼得大帝為沙皇。同年四月，他的異母姐姐索菲亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃煽動射手衛隊暴動，舅舅當著他的面被暴動士兵殺死。

此次暴亂後，伊凡五世和彼得大帝成為共同沙皇，以伊凡五世為長；索非亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃擔任攝政，實際上手掌大權。在朝會時，彼得大帝和伊凡五世共同坐在王座前部，由彼得大帝與臣民談話；索非亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃則隱于王座背後的座位。王座在彼得大帝一側的後面有個開口，透過這個開口，索非亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃會指導彼得大帝如何應對朝政。

1689年，因為戰事失利，彼得大帝開始圖謀推翻索菲亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃的統治。索非亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃乃再次鼓動射手衛隊抗命，但彼得大帝在半夜逃往謝爾蓋聖三一修道院，並在他處召集支持者。索菲亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃最終被推翻並軟禁于一所修道院中。

1694年，彼得大帝的母親娜塔莉·基里爾洛夫娜·納雷什金娜病死，他才真正掌握了實權。1695年，彼得大帝為了謀求在黑海的出海口而向克里米亞汗國開戰。

天命攸歸

1696年，共治沙皇伊凡五世病死，彼得大帝最終成為唯一的沙皇。

1697年，為了對抗克里米亞汗國的宗主國鄂圖曼帝國，他隱姓埋名遊歷西歐各地，並同時派出一個龐大的代表團，尋求西方各國的支持，史稱大出使。但其時歐洲各大國的注意力正全集中在西班牙王位繼承的爭執中，法國與鄂圖曼結盟，而奧地利則為了維持自己的戰爭而不願意破壞與鄂圖曼的和平。雖然沒能結成反鄂圖曼同盟，但他在荷蘭卻花費大量時間學習造船，並目睹了歐洲各國文藝復興的盛況，由此定下了日後俄羅斯改革的基石。

1698年夏天，因國內禁衛軍謀叛，企圖擁立他的異母姐姐索菲亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃為沙皇，彼得大帝中斷遊歷匆匆回國，不過叛亂在他返抵之前已經被平息了，而索菲亞·阿列克謝耶夫娜·羅曼諾娃被迫到修院出家。彼得大帝嚴厲處罰了參加禁軍叛亂的人，謀叛者被處絞，屍首示眾，禁軍本身則被解散。同年，彼得大帝迫使皇后葉夫多基婭·洛普希娜出家。

彼得一世實行富國強兵的政策。他最重要的動作是改革軍制（俄羅斯以前使用的是蒙古金帳汗國軍制），建立正規的陸海軍。首先徵召年滿十五歲的青年組成名為「達特勤」的志願軍。先受訓，後終身服役。直至1874年才改變。另一方面則不斷地製造與購買武器。彼得一世積極興辦工廠，發展貿易，在財政和行政改革中一面立足於農奴制，允許企業主買進整村的農奴到工廠做工，一面儘量發展經濟，振興教育，刷新文化。

1708年，實施地方機構改革，在全國各地設置轄省。

1711年，設立元老院，改革貨幣制度。建聖彼得堡，並於1712年遷都至此。

1718年，設立參議會。同年，捲入陰謀的皇儲阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇死于獄中，之前並未真正出家的廢后葉夫多基婭·洛普希娜被真正關進修道院。

1721年取消莫斯科牧首一職，代之以神聖宗教會議。

經過彼得大帝改革，到1721年與瑞典和談時，俄羅斯已經成為面貌一新的歐洲強國。

對外方面，1700年－1721年發動大北方戰爭，戰勝瑞典，取得波羅的海出海口，1722年－1723年對波斯戰爭後，取得裏海沿岸一帶。並兩次對土耳其戰爭，但未占領黑海港口。為了推行擴張政策，彼得一世不斷增稅募兵，導致國內矛盾尖銳化，激起阿斯特拉罕起義、巴什基里亞人起義和布拉文起義。

首任妻子葉夫多基婭·洛普希娜，育有一子阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇，續妻葉卡捷琳娜一世，育有十二個子女，除安娜·彼得羅芙娜(嫁給德國，彼得三世之母親)和伊莉莎白 (俄羅斯女皇)兩人之外均未活到成年。

其他

• 彼得大帝喜歡親率部隊作戰，第一場戰役獲勝時，他曾親率部隊接受凱旋，像個士官長。他經常以自己的最高軍銜——海軍中將而非沙皇自居。

• 為拓展海權，迎戰強敵瑞典，親自監工設計今天的聖彼得堡。

• 彼得大帝曾喬裝成普通人到荷蘭學習造船的技巧。

• 彼得大帝也有著不為人知的殘酷與不講情份。他原本很期待自己的大兒子阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇繼承皇位，跟他一樣是一個驍勇善戰的君主，但阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇卻只想當個平凡人，後在奧地利帝國留學時，想要逃離俄國勢力，被半強迫引渡回國，彼得大帝為了孤立兒子，用各種酷刑處死了許多兒子的友人，也作為對兒子的警惕。但阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇卻在公開場合發表他將實現不利俄國統治的舉措之談話。這令彼得大帝覺得危險而想處罰他，但他曾答應兒子若其返國就讓他過平凡安穩的生活，他感到窒礙難行而把兒子交付由主教、議會、官員及其他要員組成的會議審判，他們卻推託說此乃沙皇的家務事。彼得大帝又將其交給由126位法政要員組成的法庭，他們宣布阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇有陰謀叛亂之罪並判處他死刑，但對其的酷刑訊問仍在繼續，他只好絕望的供出任何可能的勾結。1718年6月26日，也就是宣判的兩天後，虛弱體病的阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇終於捱不住連日的鞭刑，去世於聖彼得堡的彼得保羅要塞，享年二十八歲。

改革

在大北方戰爭期間（1700年－1721年），也就是彼得大帝在位數年後，俄羅斯帝國開始尋求同盟以對抗瑞典，來爭奪波羅的海的控制權，這場戰爭的意義在於如果控制該地區，中歐以及東歐也就是囊中之物，這場戰爭也是損失最慘重的戰爭之一，消耗了具有象徵性的財經資源，也是彼得大帝繼承父祖輩行政系統後必須開始集中控制資源，在彼得大帝率領國情訪問團（）考察諸國政情時，他也順便和歐洲強權進行外交談判，以結合反瑞典以及鄂圖曼帝國的勢力，他周遊西歐各國以求未來一步步的帶領俄羅斯進入工業經濟的體系，儘管俄羅斯擁有相當龐大的國土以及資源，但是大部分的工廠都有效率低落的弊病，以致於經濟發展嚴重受阻，彼得大帝堅信他這些宏觀的改革不只是在增加本身的權力，而是會增進政府的效能並加惠於民。

彼得大帝改革其他的目標包含了減弱貴族的影響力，也就是削弱本土貴族的影響力，他們講究大斯拉夫主義，和彼得大帝推行的西化運動大相逕庭，早在雷帝伊凡在位的時候他們就被削減很多權力，也就是他們力量的核心貴族杜馬（Boyar Duma），貴族杜馬轉為沙皇的諮詢機構，仍然保有相當的政治實力，然而彼得大帝認為這樣還是不夠，貴族依舊是西化以及改革的障礙，於是下令貴族必須納稅以及勞役，而這些稅款包含了鬍子稅。

就像現代俄羅斯大部分的立法系統，彼得大帝改革時編輯一系列的皇家命令以解釋法令（указ；字面上的意思是「強制」），這套制度總共存在於1700年到1721年。

在彼得大帝統治期間俄羅斯的行政體系相較於西歐國家顯得落後許多，俄羅斯長期以來採行小組行政（uyezd），大都由城市或居住的週遭地區組成，這套系統顯的資源無法均勻分配，而且笨拙的難以管理，1708年彼得取消這個陳舊的制度，轉而建立轄省制度（guberniyas），而省分如下：莫斯科轄省、聖彼得堡轄省、基輔轄省、斯摩棱斯克轄省、伊爾庫茨克轄省、喀山轄省、亞述轄省、西伯利亞轄省，1713年諭令成立米斯巴赫（Landrats），該詞從德語演變而來意指國會，而每個轄省都有設立，各省總督一共有八到十二名不等的專業工務員協助施政。

1719年執行管理委員會（Collegia）成立，彼得大帝再一次的重新劃分行政區劃，新的俄羅斯轄省制度仿效瑞典，其中較大或著是政治地位較為重要的地區得到較多的自治權，而廣闊的農村地區由國家直轄。

忠誠被受質疑的精英以及反對改革的貴族在1722年的聲浪達到顛峰，也就是職級表實行的該年，一份正式的階級清單被用到俄羅斯的軍事、政府以及皇家法院，職級表混合許多頭銜與尊稱的系統而建立，每個階級都下分很多等級（I到XIV），以表示對沙皇的忠誠度的特殊等級，職級表主要用在軍隊組織，這也象徵了彼得統治時期的現代化與革新。

職級表的建立可以說是彼得改革相當大膽的措施，這直接打擊了貴族的權力，並且象徵了俄羅斯社會的改變，從前比較高的等級是世襲傳承，但職級表建立之後哪怕是個平常老百姓，也會因為辛勤的工作或高超的技藝而進入技術官僚的體系，新一代的技術官僚迅速的取代舊貴族的階級，並在俄羅斯取得人民的支持，這一套制度一路沿用到1917年俄國革命的時候。

為了應付大北方戰爭而需要前所未見的經濟資源，如此巨大的財政赤字以及老舊的基礎建設，意味著國家無法在戰時緊迫的情況下籌出那麼多軍費，彼得大帝的政府被經費的問題喘不過氣，只好由國家壟斷部分具有戰略意義的產業，例如：鹽、酒、橡木以及焦油，彼得大帝也開始從俄羅斯的文化習俗來徵稅，例如：沐浴、垂釣、養蜂以及蓄鬍，並向紙製品課徵印花稅，然而在課徵每個新稅的時候都會出現漏洞可以鑽營，可見這些方式是不夠的。

解決的方法是新增一個廣義的人頭稅，這個稅目被用來取代向有耕地的家庭徵收家庭稅，從前幾個農戶被併成一個家庭徵收家庭稅，然而現在每個農民被徵收74戈比（貨幣單位）的稅金，而且必須以現金給付，但這比取代前的稅制更顯得沉重，使得1680年到1724年之間國庫的款項是以往的六倍之多，但「決不能由此得出結論：1724年壓在農民肩上的稅捐負擔比1680年的要重三倍」。彼得大帝在貿易方面採行保護主義，設置沉重的進口貿易關稅，讓俄羅斯的產品在有利的狀況下銷售。

彼得大帝的統治也使農奴喪失擁有土地所有權的意志，他堅定的推行階級分化的措施且堅信：「把農奴綁在這塊（土地）單位上，就好比市民從事貿易或手工業一般，農民是必須束縛於這塊土地之上。」彼得大帝賦予地主相當廣泛的新權利，包含農奴未經主允許不得擅自離開農地，另外彼得大帝向工人階級徵收相當多的稅目，使如此沉重的經濟負擔反而轉移到工人階級之上。

彼得大帝也有少數的改革措施受到啟蒙運動的影響，例如他建立了農奴階級（serfs），也就是國家農民（state peasants），比起其他國家的農奴，他們可以向國家納稅以擁有較多的權利，並且在大城市設立國家批準的手工業商店，這個靈感來自於當時的海權強國－荷蘭，這些商店替軍隊提供工業製品，甚至在後世考據到當時的文獻，彼得大帝的顧問團曾建議他廢除農奴，賦予農民有限自由的權利，惟真正解放農奴的時候是在兩個世紀後的俄國革命，然而從後人的眼光看來彼得大帝把農奴和奴隸之間的差別拉開，效果是沒有甚麼太大的區別，畢竟農奴在沒地主的同意下是沒有自由的。

1711年2月22日頒布政令成立國家新的單位元老院，所有的成員都是沙皇彼得一世所任命，這十位成員大都是一開始就與他一起結盟的同路人，元老的進退都必須要皇帝的命令才能生效，元老院無法以任何方式中止運作，是個和帝祚相陪而不間斷運作的國家單位，當然在俄國革命後也隨著帝國一同赴滅。

1717年12月12日俄羅斯彼得一世建立了九個執行管理委員會（collegia），也就是俄羅斯的部會，用以取代過去行政處（Prikaz）的制度，每個委員會都設有政府首長一位，但是有時候副首長會有空缺的狀況。

彼得大帝改革是在他繼任沙皇的前幾年，在莫斯科大公國時期的國家功能被侷限在軍事防禦、徵稅以及執法，相較於彼得大帝在位的時候立法的項目幾乎無所不管了，他的影響層面幾乎包含了生活的各個層面，改革的成功使俄羅斯取得大北方戰爭的勝利，收入以及生產力的提升提升了俄羅斯整個國家的戰爭機器，然而彼得大帝更重要的影響是建立了一個「秩序良好的警察國家」，進一步的合法化和加強俄羅斯的專制統治，這一次的嘗試是影響了之後蘇聯以及俄羅斯聯邦的公共制度，例如莫斯科國立大學，他們統治的啟發乃是源自於彼得的統治。

子女

• 葉夫多基婭·洛普希娜（1669年7月30日－1731年8月27日）

　• 長子阿列克謝·彼得羅維奇（1690年2月18日－1718年6月26日），1711年娶，生和彼得二世(1727－1730年在位)。

　• 次子（早殤，1691年10月13日－1692年5月14日）

　• 三子帕維爾·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1693年）

• 葉卡捷琳娜一世（1684年4月15日－1727年5月17日）

　• 四子帕維爾·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1704年－1707年），在父母正式結婚之前夭折。

　• 五子彼得·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1705年－1707年），在父母正式結婚之前夭折。

　• 長女凱薩琳·彼得羅夫娜（早殤，1707年2月7日－1708年），在父母正式結婚之前夭折。

　• 次女安娜·彼得羅芙娜（1708年1月27日－1728年5月15日），1725年嫁卡爾·弗里德里希 (霍爾斯坦-戈托普)，育有彼得三世 (俄羅斯)(1762年在位)。妻子葉卡捷琳娜二世為俄羅斯帝國女皇（1762年—1796年在位）

　• 三女伊莉莎白 (俄羅斯女皇)（1709年12月29日—1762年1月5日），1742年和結婚，無子女，俄羅斯帝國女皇（1741年—1762年在位）

　• 四女瑪麗亞·彼得羅夫娜（早殤，1713年3月20日－1715年5月27日）

　• 五女（早殤，1714年9月19日－1715年6月7日）

　• 六子彼得·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1715年11月15日－1719年4月19日）

　• 七子帕維爾·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1717年1月13日－1717年1月14日）

　• 六女（早殤，1718年8月31日－1725年3月15日）

　• 未命名之女（早殤，1720年）

　• 八子彼得·彼得羅維奇（早殤，1723年10月7日）

紀念

蘇聯海軍在建造新型巡洋艦基洛夫級巡洋艦時將四號艦取名為彼得大帝號，而它也是全四艘基洛夫級巡洋艦中裝備最新穎、雷達最先進與火力最兇猛的一艘，而且直到蘇聯解體後，俄羅斯海軍還是在持續使用。

註解

來源

• 李邁先 著：《俄國史（上卷）》、《俄國史（下卷）》，國立編譯館出版

• 周雪舫 著，《俄羅斯史-謎樣的國度》，三民書局

• 詹姆斯 著：《彼得大帝的革命》，哈佛大學出版社

• 尼古拉斯 著：《俄羅斯的歷史》，牛津大學出版社

• 約翰·R·休斯 著：《彼得大帝的疾病》

• 馬西·羅伯特 著：《彼得大帝的生活》，紐約出版社

• 法誇爾·邁克爾 著：《皇家醜聞》，企鵝圖書公司

• 《莫斯科新聞周刊》

• 羅勒 著： 《現代化的彼得一世和葉卡捷琳娜一世》，Wiley出版社

• 尼·伊·帕甫連科 著，斯庸 譯：《彼得大帝》，國際文化出版公司

Title

The imperial title of Peter the Great was the following:

By the grace of God, the most excellent and great sovereign emperor Pyotr Alekseevich the ruler of 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, of Tver, of Yugorsk, of Perm, of Vyatka, of Bulgaria and others, sovereign and great prince of the Novgorod Lower lands, of Chernigov, of Ryazan, of Rostov, of Yaroslavl, of Belozersk, of Udora, of Kondia 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.

Early life

Named after the apostle, and described as a newborn as "with good health, his mother's black, vaguely Tatar eyes, and a tuft of auburn hair", from an early age Peter's education (commissioned by his father, Tsar Alexis of Russia) was put in the hands of several tutors, most notably Nikita Zotov, Patrick Gordon, and Paul Menesius. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly Feodor III of Russia. Throughout this period, the government was largely run by Artamon Matveev, an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the Naryshkin family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors.

This position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family (Maria Miloslavskaya was the first wife of Alexis I) and Naryshkin family (Natalya Naryshkina was the second wife) over who should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother, Ivan V of Russia, was next in line for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the Boyar Duma (a council of Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old Peter to become Tsar with his mother as regent.

This arrangement was brought before the people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, and was ratified. Sophia, one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, led a rebellion of the Streltsy (Russia's elite military corps) in April–May 1682. In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence.

The Streltsy made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of Ivan) and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat. A large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and problems. This throne can be seen in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow.

Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name. He engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peter's mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach and arranged his marriage to Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1689. The marriage was a failure, and ten years later Peter forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union.

By the summer of 1689, Peter, then age 17, planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns against the Crimean Khanate in an attempt to stop devastating Crimean Tatar raids into Russia's southern lands. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with some leaders of the Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent. Peter, warned by others from the Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra; there he slowly gathered adherents who perceived he would win the power struggle. Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and her position as a member of the royal family.

Still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina. It was only when Natalya died in 1694 that Peter, now aged 22, became an independent sovereign. Formally, Ivan V was a co-ruler with Peter, though being ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696 without male offspring, while Peter was 24 years old.

Peter grew to be extremely tall as an adult, especially for the time period, reportedly standing . Peter, however, lacked the overall proportional heft and bulk generally found in a man that size. Both his hands and feet were small, and his shoulders were narrow for his height; likewise, his head was small for his tall body. Added to this were Peter's noticeable facial tics, and he may have suffered from petit mal seizures, a form of epilepsy.

During his youth, Peter befriended Patrick Gordon, Franz Lefort and several other foreigners in Russian service and was a frequent guest in Moscow's German Quarter, where he met his Dutch mistress Anna Mons.

Reign

Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by his advisors from Western Europe, Peter reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power. He faced much opposition to these policies at home but brutally suppressed rebellions against his authority, including by the Streltsy, Bashkirs, Astrakhan, and the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the Bulavin Rebellion.

Peter implemented social modernization in an absolute manner by introducing French and western dress to his court and requiring courtiers, state officials, and the military to shave their beards and adopt modern clothing styles. One means of achieving this end was the introduction of taxes for long beards and robes in September 1698.

In his process to westernize Russia, he wanted members of his family to marry other European royalty. In the past, his ancestors had been snubbed at the idea, but now, it was proving fruitful. He negotiated with Frederick William, Duke of Courland to marry his niece, Anna Ivanovna. He used the wedding in order to launch his new capital, St Petersburg, where he had already ordered building projects of westernized palaces and buildings. Peter hired Italian and German architects to design it.

As part of his reforms, Peter started an industrialization effort that was slow but eventually successful. Russian manufacturing and main exports were based on the mining and lumber industries. For example, by the end of the century Russia came to export more iron than any other country in the world.

To improve his nation's position on the seas, Peter sought to gain more maritime outlets. His only outlet at the time was the White Sea at Arkhangelsk. The Baltic Sea was at the time controlled by Sweden in the north, while the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea were controlled by the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Empire respectively in the south.

Peter attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea, which would require expelling the Tatars from the surrounding areas. As part of an agreement with Poland that ceded Kiev to Russia, Peter was forced to wage war against the Crimean Khan and against the Khan's overlord, the Ottoman Sultan. Peter's primary objective became the capture of the Ottoman fortress of Azov, near the Don River. In the summer of 1695 Peter organized the Azov campaigns to take the fortress, but his attempts ended in failure.

Peter returned to Moscow in November 1695 and began building a large navy. He launched about thirty ships against the Ottomans in 1696, capturing Azov in July of that year. On 12 September 1698, Peter officially founded the first Russian Navy base, Taganrog.

Grand Embassy

Peter knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697, he traveled "incognito" to Western Europe on an 18-month journey with a large Russian delegation–the so-called "Grand Embassy". He used a fake name, allowing him to escape social and diplomatic events, but since he was far taller than most others, he did not fool anyone of importance. One goal was to seek the aid of European monarchs, but Peter's hopes were dashed. France was a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and Austria was eager to maintain peace in the east while conducting its own wars in the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen an inopportune moment: the Europeans at the time were more concerned about the War of Spanish Succession over who would succeed the childless King Charles II of Spain than about fighting the Ottoman Sultan.

The "Grand Embassy" continued nevertheless. While visiting the Netherlands, Peter learned much about life in Western Europe. He studied shipbuilding in Zaandam (the house he lived in is now a museum, the Czar Peter House) and Amsterdam, where he visited, among others, the upper-class de Wilde family. Jacob de Wilde, a collector-general with the Admiralty of Amsterdam, had a well-known collection of art and coins, and de Wilde's daughter Maria de Wilde made an engraving of the meeting between Peter and her father, providing visual evidence of "the beginning of the West European classical tradition in Russia". According to Roger Tavernier, Peter the Great later acquired de Wilde's collection.

Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaes Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and an expert on Russia, the Tsar was given the opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest shipyard in the world, belonging to the Dutch East India Company, for a period of four months. The Tsar helped with the construction of an East Indiaman ship specially laid down for him: Peter and Paul. During his stay the Tsar engaged many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights, and seamen—including Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became, under Franz Lefort, the Tsar's advisor in maritime affairs. Peter later put his knowledge of shipbuilding to use in helping build Russia's navy. Peter paid a visit to surgeon Frederik Ruysch, who taught him how to draw teeth and catch butterflies, and to Ludolf Bakhuysen, a painter of seascapes. Jan van der Heyden, the inventor of the fire hose, received Peter, who was keen to learn and pass on his knowledge to his countrymen. On 16 January 1698 Peter organized a farewell party and invited Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, who had to sit between Lefort and the Tsar and drink.

In England, Peter met with King William III, visited Greenwich and Oxford, posed for Sir Godfrey Kneller, and saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review at Deptford. He studied the English techniques of city-building he would later use to great effect at Saint Petersburg. When he left he gave the singer, and his mistress, Letitia Cross £500 to thank her for her hospitality. Cross said it was not enough. The Embassy next went to Leipzig, Dresden, Prague and Vienna. He spoke with Augustus II the Strong and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Peter's visit was cut short in 1698, when he was forced to rush home by a rebellion of the Streltsy. The rebellion was easily crushed before Peter returned home from England; of the Tsar's troops, only one was killed. Peter nevertheless acted ruthlessly towards the mutineers. Over one thousand two hundred of the rebels were tortured and executed, and Peter ordered that their bodies be publicly exhibited as a warning to future conspirators. The Streltsy were disbanded, some of the rebels were deported to Siberia, and the individual they sought to put on the Throne —

Peter's half-sister Sophia — was forced to become a nun.

In 1698, Peter sent a delegation to Malta, under boyar Boris Sheremetev, to observe the training and abilities of the Knights of Malta and their fleet. Sheremetev investigated the possibility of future joint ventures with the Knights, including action against the Turks and the possibility of a future Russian naval base.

Peter's visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in several respects superior to Russian traditions. He commanded all of his courtiers and officials to wear European clothing and cut off their long beards, causing his Boyars, who were very fond of their beards, great upset. Boyars who sought to retain their beards were required to pay an annual beard tax of one hundred rubles. Peter also sought to end arranged marriages, which were the norm among the Russian nobility, because he thought such a practice was barbaric and led to domestic violence, since the partners usually resented each other.

In 1699, Peter changed the date of the celebration of the new year from 1 September to 1 January. Traditionally, the years were reckoned from the purported creation of the World, but after Peter's reforms, they were to be counted from the birth of Christ. Thus, in the year 7207 of the old Russian calendar, Peter proclaimed that the Julian Calendar was in effect and the year was 1700.

Great Northern War

Peter made a temporary peace with the Ottoman Empire that allowed him to keep the captured fort of Azov, and turned his attention to Russian maritime supremacy. He sought to acquire control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by the Swedish Empire a half-century earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which was at the time led by the young King Charles XII. Sweden was also opposed by Denmark–Norway, Saxony, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Russia was ill-prepared to fight the Swedes, and their first attempt at seizing the Baltic coast ended in disaster at the Battle of Narva in 1700. In the conflict, the forces of Charles XII, rather than employ a slow methodical siege, attacked immediately using a blinding snowstorm to their advantage. After the battle, Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which gave Peter time to reorganize the Russian army.

While the Poles fought the Swedes, Peter founded the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703, in Ingermanland (a province of the Swedish Empire that he had captured). It was named after his patron saint Saint Peter. He forbade the building of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg, which he intended to become Russia's capital, so that all stonemasons could participate in the construction of the new city. Between 1713 and 1728, and from 1732 to 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia.

Following several defeats, Polish King Augustus II the Strong abdicated in 1706. Swedish king Charles XII turned his attention to Russia, invading it in 1708. After crossing into Russia, Charles defeated Peter at Golovchin in July. In the Battle of Lesnaya, Charles suffered his first loss after Peter crushed a group of Swedish reinforcements marching from Riga. Deprived of this aid, Charles was forced to abandon his proposed march on Moscow.

Charles XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden and instead invaded Ukraine. Peter withdrew his army southward, employing scorched earth, destroying along the way anything that could assist the Swedes. Deprived of local supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt its advance in the winter of 1708–1709. In the summer of 1709, they resumed their efforts to capture Russian-ruled Ukraine, culminating in the Battle of Poltava on 27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Swedish forces, ending Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him south to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Russia had defeated what was considered to be one of the world's best militaries, and the victory overturned the view that Russia was militarily incompetent. In Poland, Augustus II was restored as King.

Peter, overestimating the support he would receive from his Balkan allies, attacked the Ottoman Empire, initiating the Russo-Turkish War of 1710. Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire was disastrous, and in the ensuing Treaty of the Pruth, Peter was forced to return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697. In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII.

Normally, the Boyar Duma would have exercised power during his absence. Peter, however, mistrusted the boyars; he instead abolished the Duma and created a Senate of ten members. The Senate was founded as the highest state institution to supervise all judicial, financial and administrative affairs. Originally established only for the time of the monarch's absence, the Senate became a permanent body after his return. A special high official, the Ober-Procurator, served as the link between the ruler and the senate and acted, in Peter own words, as "the sovereign's eye". Without his signature no Senate decision could go into effect; the Senate became one of the most important institutions of Imperial Russia.

Peter's northern armies took the Swedish province of Livonia (the northern half of modern Latvia, and the southern half of modern Estonia), driving the Swedes into Finland. In 1714 the Russian fleet won the Battle of Gangut. Most of Finland was occupied by the Russians.

In 1716 and 1717, the Tsar revisited the Netherlands and went to see Herman Boerhaave. He continued his travel to the Austrian Netherlands and France. Peter obtained the assistance of the Electorate of Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia.

The Tsar's navy was powerful enough that the Russians could penetrate Sweden. Still, Charles XII refused to yield, and not until his death in battle in 1718 did peace become feasible. After the battle near Åland, Sweden made peace with all powers but Russia by 1720. In 1721, the Treaty of Nystad ended the Great Northern War. Russia acquired Ingria, Estonia, Livonia, and a substantial portion of Karelia. In turn, Russia paid two million Riksdaler and surrendered most of Finland. The Tsar retained some Finnish lands close to Saint Petersburg, which he had made his capital in 1712.

Later years

Peter's last years were marked by further reform in Russia. On 22 October 1721, soon after peace was made with Sweden, he was officially proclaimed Emperor of All Russia. Some proposed that he take the title Emperor of the East, but he refused. Gavrila Golovkin, the State Chancellor, was the first to add "the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of All the Russias" to Peter's traditional title Tsar following a speech by the archbishop of Pskov in 1721. Peter's imperial title was recognized by Augustus II of Poland, Frederick William I of Prussia, and Frederick I of Sweden, but not by the other European monarchs. In the minds of many, the word emperor connoted superiority or pre-eminence over kings. Several rulers feared that Peter would claim authority over them, just as the Holy Roman Emperor had claimed suzerainty over all Christian nations.

In 1717, Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia against the Khanate of Khiva. The expedition ended in complete disaster when the entire expeditionary force was slaughtered.

In 1718, Peter investigated why the formerly Swedish province of Livonia was so orderly. He discovered that the Swedes spent as much administering Livonia (300 times smaller than his empire) as he spent on the entire Russian bureaucracy. He was forced to dismantle the province's government.

After 1718, Peter established colleges in place of the old central agencies of government, including foreign affairs, war, navy, expense, income, justice, and inspection. Later others were added. Each college consisted of a president, a vice-president, a number of councilors and assessors, and a procurator. Some foreigners were included in various colleges but not as president. Peter believed he did not have enough loyal and talented persons to put in full charge of the various departments. Peter preferred to rely on groups of individuals who would keep check on one another. Decisions depended on the majority vote.

In 1722, Peter created a new order of precedence known as the Table of Ranks. Formerly, precedence had been determined by birth. To deprive the Boyars of their high positions, Peter directed that precedence should be determined by merit and service to the Emperor. The Table of Ranks continued to remain in effect until the Russian monarchy was overthrown in 1917.

Peter decided that all of the children of the nobility should have some early education, especially in the areas of sciences. Therefore, on 28 February 1714, he issued a decree calling for compulsory education, which dictated that all Russian 10- to 15-year-old children of the nobility, government clerks, and lesser-ranked officials must learn basic mathematics and geometry, and should be tested on the subjects at the end of their studies.

The once powerful Persian Safavid Empire to the south was in deep decline. Taking advantage of the profitable situation, Peter launched the Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723, otherwise known as "The Persian Expedition of Peter the Great", which drastically increased Russian influence for the first time in the Caucasus and Caspian Sea region, and prevented the Ottoman Empire from making territorial gains in the region. After considerable success and the capture of many provinces and cities in the Caucasus and northern mainland Persia, the Safavids were forced to hand over territory to Russia, comprising Derbent, Shirvan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Baku, and Astrabad. However, within twelve years all the territories would be ceded back to Persia, now led by the charismatic military genius Nader Shah, as part of the Treaties of Resht and Ganja respectively, and the Russo-Persian alliance against the Ottoman Empire, which was the common enemy of both.

Peter introduced new taxes to fund improvements in Saint Petersburg. He abolished the land tax and household tax and replaced them with a poll tax. The taxes on land and on households were payable only by individuals who owned property or maintained families; the new head taxes, however, were payable by serfs and paupers. In 1725 the construction of Peterhof, a palace near Saint Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof (Dutch for "Peter's Court") was a grand residence, becoming known as the "Russian Versailles".

Illness and death

In the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall health was never robust, began having problems with his urinary tract and bladder. In the summer of 1724, a team of doctors performed surgery releasing upwards of four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden until late autumn. In the first week of October, restless and certain he was cured, Peter began a lengthy inspection tour of various projects. According to legend, in November, at Lakhta along the Finnish Gulf to inspect some ironworks, Peter saw a group of soldiers drowning near shore and, wading out into near-waist deep water, came to their rescue.

This icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and caused his death. The story, however, has been viewed with skepticism by some historians, pointing out that the German chronicler Jacob von Staehlin is the only source for the story, and it seems unlikely that no one else would have documented such an act of heroism. This, plus the interval of time between these actions and Peter's death seems to preclude any direct link.

In early January 1725, Peter was struck once again with uremia. Legend has it that before lapsing into unconsciousness Peter asked for a paper and pen and scrawled an unfinished note that read: "Leave all to ..." and then, exhausted by the effort, asked for his daughter Anna to be summoned.

Peter died between four and five in the morning 8 February 1725. An autopsy revealed his bladder to be infected with gangrene. He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he died, having reigned forty-two years. He is interred in Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Religion

Peter was deeply religious, being brought up in the Russian Orthodox faith, but he had low regard for the Church hierarchy, which he kept under tight governmental control. The traditional leader of the Church was the Patriarch of Moscow. In 1700, when the office fell vacant, Peter refused to name a replacement, allowing the Patriarch's Coadjutor (or deputy) to discharge the duties of the office. Peter could not tolerate the patriarch exercising power superior to the Tsar, as indeed had happened in the case of Philaret (1619–1633) and Nikon (1652–66). Peter therefore abolished the Patriarchy, replacing it with a Holy Synod that was under the control of a senior bureaucrat, and the Tsar appointed all bishops.

In 1721, Peter followed the advice of Theophan Prokopovich in designing the Holy Synod as a council of ten clergymen. For leadership in the church, Peter turned increasingly to Ukrainians, who were more open to reform, but were not well loved by the Russian clergy. Peter implemented a law that stipulated that no Russian man could join a monastery before the age of fifty. He felt that too many able Russian men were being wasted on clerical work when they could be joining his new and improved army.

A clerical career was not a route chosen by upper-class society. Most parish priests were sons of priests, were very poorly educated, and very poorly paid. The monks in the monasteries had a slightly higher status; they were not allowed to marry. Politically, the church was impotent.

Marriages and family

Peter the Great had two wives, with whom he had fourteen children, three of whom survived to adulthood. Peter's mother selected his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina, with the advice of other nobles in 1689. This was consistent with previous Romanov tradition by choosing a daughter of a minor noble. This was done to prevent fighting between the stronger noble houses and to bring fresh blood into the family. He also had a mistress from Holland, Anna Mons.

Upon his return from his European tour in 1698, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage. He divorced the Tsaritsa and forced her to join a convent. The Tsaritsa had borne Peter three children, although only one, Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, had survived past his childhood.

He took Marta Helena Skowrońska, a Polish-Lithuanian peasant, as a mistress some time between 1702 and 1704. Marta converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and took the name Catherine. Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter are described as having married secretly between 23 Oct and 1 December 1707 in St. Petersburg. Peter valued Catherine and married her again (this time officially) at Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg on 19 February 1712.

His eldest child and heir, Alexei, was suspected of being involved in a plot to overthrow the Emperor. Alexei was tried and confessed under torture during questioning conducted by a secular court. He was convicted and sentenced to be executed. The sentence could be carried out only with Peter's signed authorization, and Alexei died in prison, as Peter hesitated before making the decision. Alexei's death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture. Alexei's mother Eudoxia had also been punished; she was dragged from her home, tried on false charges of adultery, publicly flogged, and finally confined in monasteries while forbidden to be talked to.

In 1724, Peter had his second wife, Catherine, crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's actual ruler. All of Peter's male children had died.

Issue

By his two wives, he had fourteen children. These included three sons named Pavel and three sons named Peter, all of whom died in infancy.

Legacy

Peter's legacy has always been a major concern of Russian intellectuals. Riasanovsky points to a "paradoxical dichotomy" in the black and white images such as God/Antichrist, educator/ignoramus, architect of Russia's greatness/destroyer of national culture, father of his country/scourge of the common man. Voltaire's 1759 biography gave 18th-century Russians a man of the Enlightenment, while Alexander Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" poem of 1833 gave a powerful romantic image of a creator-god. Slavophiles in mid-19th century deplored Peter's westernization of Russia. Western writers and political analysts recounted "The Testimony" or secret will of Peter the Great. It supposedly revealed his grand evil plot for Russia to control the world via conquest of Constantinople, Afghanistan and India. It was a forgery made in Paris at Napoleon's command when he started his invasion of Russia in 1812. Nevertheless it is still quoted in foreign policy circles. The Communists executed the last Romanoffs, and their historians such as Mikhail Pokrovsky presented strongly negative views of the entire dynasty. Stalin however admired how Peter strengthened the state, and wartime, diplomacy, industry, higher education, and government administration. Stalin wrote in 1928, "when Peter the Great, who had to deal with more developed countries in the West, feverishly built works in factories for supplying the army and strengthening the country's defenses, this was an original attempt to leap out of the framework of backwardness." As a result Soviet historiography emphasizes both the positive achievement and the negative factor of oppressing the common people.

After the fall of Communism in 1991, scholars and the general public in Russia and the West gave fresh attention to Peter and his role in Russian history. His reign is now seen as the decisive formative event in the Russian imperial past. Many new ideas have merged, such as whether he strengthened the autocratic state or whether the tsarist regime was not statist enough given its small bureaucracy. Modernization models have become contested ground. Historian Ia. Vodarsky said in 1993 that Peter, "did not lead the country on the path of accelerated economic, political and social development, did not force it to 'achieve a leap' through several stages.... On the contrary, these actions to the greatest degree put a brake on Russia's progress and created conditions for holding it back for one and a half centuries!" The autocratic powers that Stalin admired appeared as a liability to Evgeny Anisimov, who complained that Peter was, "the creator of the administrative command system and the true ancestor of Stalin."

While the cultural turn in historiography has downplayed diplomatic, economic and constitutional issues, new cultural roles have been found for Peter, for example in architecture and dress. James Cracraft argues:

:The Petrine revolution in Russia—subsuming in this phrase the many military, naval, governmental, educational, architectural, linguistic, and other internal reforms enacted by Peter』s regime to promote Russia』s rise as a major European power—was essentially a cultural revolution, one that profoundly impacted both the basic constitution of the Russian Empire and, perforce, its subsequent development.