Peter the Great and the Modernization of Russia Before Peter |
Czar Peter | Warm Water Port | Peter the Great is one of the
prime examples of what the force of a single individual can
achieve. He basically dragged, kicking and screaming, an entire
society toward modernization of its military, government,
behavior, and even its appearance. He introduced a European
culture that was foreign to the Russians and made demands upon
both the people and nobility that at least attempted to make
them more effective and more efficient. Peter understood that
European technology, and the culture which drove it, were an
avenue to national power. He did not want his country left
behind, much less to be left vulnerable to the expansionist
powers in Europe which were constantly at war attempting to take
away each other's territory. To this end, he plotted a
modernization strategy for Russia which would ultimately make
her the greatest power in Europe. The InDepthInfo History of
Modern Europe was designed as a homeschool histor