Successful Russia collection of historical cases and images Vladimir Leonov. He was the founder of a bureaucratic machine that could not react quickly in a difficult situation

Lesson outline on the History of Russia,

history and social studies teacher Evgenia Valentinovna Boyko.

Lesson date: 02/19/2016

Lesson topic: Was Peter 1 a “revolutionary” on the throne?

Target : Decide whether revolutionary renovations took place in Russia during Peter’s time? Show the role of personality in history

Lesson objectives:

Educational:

for all students to acquire a standard minimum of factual information about the level of socio-economic development of Russia in the post-reform period.

Educational:

Develop skills in posing and solving problems, develop the ability to operate with various concepts, develop the ability to reason by analogy; develop communication skills, develop imagination and clarity of speech.

Develop the ability to compare the signs and characteristics of events and phenomena with each other, determining their similarities or differences. Implement the ability to work with a historical map, historical documents, and textbook text.

Educational:

cultivate interest in the past;

cultivate patriotism and respect for compatriots;

to cultivate the civic positions of individuals who are not indifferent to the fate of the Fatherland.

Decor: Presentation, cluster templates.

Material: Literature for research, Waybills, Whatman paper, colored markers

Lesson type: repeating-generalizing

Methods of organization and control: verbal, demonstration, practical.

Forms of work: frontal, cooperative-group

Lesson steps:

I Organization of the beginning of the lesson

IV Assimilation of new knowledge

V Practical work

VI Lesson summary

VII Homework

VIII Reflection

During the classes.

I Organization of the beginning of the lesson

Today we have to repeat material about the era of Peter 1.

Pay attention to the slide

“A man of such a kind has not been heard since centuries” are the words of Mikhail Lomonosov about Peter

And contemporaries speak about the period of Peter’s reign as follows:

"A storm swept over Russia"

II Updating knowledge and skills

Teacher: What conclusion can be drawn based on the statements, what is the opinion about Peter’s activities:

(Student's answer)

From the statements we can conclude that this ruler was without a doubt a great man for his time. And contemporaries evaluate his activities as many changes and changes in the life of the state

III Message of the topic and purpose of the lesson

Teacher: That’s right, then I suggest you answer the question: “Was Peter 1 a “revolutionary” on the throne?

What is a revolution?

Who is a revolutionary?

IV Assimilation of new knowledge

Teacher: To find out whether Peter’s activities were revolutionary, I propose to create the following cluster during our lesson.

Will our problematic question occupy a central place in it?

(Teacher, attaches the inscription REVOLUTIONARY in the center of the board?)

What areas of Peter’s activity do we need to consider in order to understand whether Peter 1 was a “revolutionary”?

(students' answers)

It is necessary to comprehensively consider Peter’s transformations in three areas:

Direction of social, political and economic reforms

Transformations in the field of culture and life

It is necessary to identify the significance of the Northern War

(The teacher continues to design the cluster)

Teacher: Now it’s clear that it’s not easy, today you are divided into three teams. Each team will conduct a mini-research in its own area.

(The teacher places signs on the tables)

Team "Northern War"

Team "Culture and Life"

Reform team

V Practical work

Teacher: Our lesson will take the form of research and summarizing the information received.

At the end of the study, we will understand whether Peter 1 was a revolutionary on the throne:

Let's think about what the stages of your research will be.

(Children's answers)

Teacher: That's right

So that you don't go astray on your path of research. On the table of each team, you will find a “Way List”, where you indicate goals, tasks, write down the necessary information to solve the goals, and sum up the results.

Also on the tables you have the necessary material to find the necessary information

The team will need to present a defense of their work on Whatman paper.

You are given 15 minutes to conduct the study.

The purpose of the lesson is also indicated on the waybill: “Was he a “Revolutionary in training?”

The team formulates goals and objectives on the Waybills

Teacher: Let's see what goals the teams have set for themselves.

(Students' answers)

Team "Northern War" -

Target: studying the causes and prerequisites for the start of the Northern War, as well as the features of its course and completion.

Objectives: To identify the significance of the war for world history, as well as its impact on international relations

Team "Culture and Life" -

Goal: To study the influence of transformations on old traditions and the formation of a new culture in the era of Peter 1

Objectives: - consider the prerequisites and reasons for Peter’s reforms;

Analyze the methods of carrying out reforms of Peter I in the field of culture, changes in the way of life of various strata of society;

Team "Reforms" - Study of social, political, economic reforms and their impact

Study the prerequisites for Peter's reforms

Study the essence of reforms

The importance of reforms

Fizminutka: Let's do a physical. a minute in the spirit of our lesson

If I say the name of the associate Peter1, you sit down and put your hands on your belt

If the Name of the Companion of Catherine 2 stand up and raise your hands

Teacher: The goals and objectives are set correctly, now we are conducting research. We'll sum it up later.

Don't forget to write everything down on Whatman paper

VI Lesson summary

Teacher: The research is over. Teams take turns defending their research.

Team "Northern War"

Team "Culture and Life"

Reform team

VIII Reflection

Teacher: Were we able to answer our question today?

Was Peter 1 a “revolutionary” on the throne?

(students' sample answer)

Of course, despite all the inconsistency of Peter’s personality and his transformations, in Russian history his figure has become a symbol of decisive reformation, fruitfulness and selfless service to the Russian state, not sparing either himself or others.

However, education reforms affected only the upper strata of society.

Peter's foreign policy goals were not innovative. The government structure received a number of significant changes, but they were not cardinal.

Agricultural labor remains the main source of national wealth.

Homework

Paragraph 12-19, dates, names, concepts.

WAYBILL

Was Peter 1 a “revolutionary” on the throne?

What is a revolution?

Revolution is a deep and high-quality renewal of society.

Who is a revolutionary?

A revolutionary is a transformer, a supporter of extreme measures.

STAGES OF THE STUDY

Setting goals and objectives, studying sources of information, writing down the necessary information, analyzing and summing up

Research material:

Results, significance

NORTH WAR

REFORM

CULTURE AND LIFE

The founder of the Russian Empire, Peter the Great, laid not one, but several bombs at the foundation of the state, which exploded in February 1917, almost burying Mother Russia under the rubble of the tsarist autocracy.

Let's see in what calculations the great reformer made a mistake, where were the flaws in his plan that ultimately played their fatal role? After all, he did a lot absolutely right, as we note, but at the same time he set such a high bar that not all of his followers, especially Nicholas II, were able to reach.

So, Peter:

Downplayed the role of the church, which was very important for the feudal system

In modern historiography, it is customary to portray the Bolsheviks as the largest persecutors of the church, but for the most part they were simply convinced atheists and resorted to repression against some of the clergy as a result and during the Civil War. It is much more difficult to understand why Peter the Great spoke out against the church.

He was born to quite devout parents - father Alexei Mikhailovich and mother Naryshkina Natalya Kirillovna. It probably never occurred to them that the son of Petrusha would take over and abolish the patriarchate in Rus', transferring all church power to the Holy Synod. Moreover, to liquidate the patriarchate, the sovereign did not need tough decisions - after the death of Patriarch Adrian, the hierarchy itself did not risk choosing a new primate, in fact submitting to the secular leadership.

The problem was that the employees of the then monastic order were little knowledgeable in religious affairs. And they did not conduct economic affairs in the best way, so that the once rich church economy began to noticeably fade.

Naturally, this led to discontent in broad church circles. Many priests did not call Peter anything other than the Antichrist, for which they were persecuted. In the church environment there were practically no supporters of reducing the role of the church in state affairs, with the exception of Feofan Prokopovich, who is considered progressive. Many churchmen hoped that after Peter this mistake would be corrected, but none of the subsequent monarchs, including Nicholas II, who lost the throne, thought of correcting this gross mistake.

As a result, by the time of the fall of the autocracy, the Orthodox Church had no real power, and most importantly, no one who could address the people with a pastoral word. Peter I deprived his not-so-wise descendant Nicholas II of a very important support in an essentially feudal society, a brace, as they would say now, and thus helped the victory of the February Revolution.

Moved the capital to the sea, which increased the role of the fleet and increased influence from outside

Of course, Peter did not know that he was unwittingly helping the revolutionaries of the future by depriving Moscow of its capital status. He probably guessed somewhere in the depths of his soul that there might be a weakling on the throne, but even in his nightmares, of course, he could not imagine that it would be someone like Nicholas II. If Peter had assumed for even a minute that everything would be so terrible in two centuries, he would never have moved the capital in his life, but most likely he would not even have founded the city on the Neva. Out of harm's way.

However, even V.I. At the time of the Civil War, Lenin did not dare to leave the government in a city that was open not only to internal counter-revolution, but also to direct foreign intervention. The path to Petrograd was practically open for German and British squadrons. And its own fleet, which had just greatly contributed to the growth of revolutionary sentiments and then to the victory of the Bolsheviks, could swing in the other direction. So Ilyich quickly not only returned the patriarchate to Russia, but also the capital functions of Belokamennaya. He corrected Peter's mistake.

Lenin did not have Peter's adventurism - he knew how to calculate moves not for years, but for centuries ahead. The founder of the Russian Empire sincerely believed that by opening a window to Europe, he would introduce Russia into the friendly family of European nations. Then this mistake was repeated by many - Alexander I, who believed in the Holy Alliance, and modern liberals who joined our country to PACE, where its delegation was deprived of the right to vote at the first opportunity that seemed possible.

In 1916, turned into a passage yard, into an arena of battles between the stations of almost the whole world, Petrograd was actually pregnant with revolution. And, as it turned out later, not alone. But it was not the October Revolution, but the February Revolution that became the result of the actions of imperialist intelligence services, when the interests of the Entente and Germany and Austria-Hungary surprisingly converged. And if so, then the overthrow of the helpless Nicholas II was only a matter of time and opportunity, which in a city that was not the most favorable in terms of climate did not have to wait long. Bread shortages became the very spark from which foreign intelligence services and their domestic bourgeois servants ignited the flame.

Began the process of industrialization, which led to the formation of the working class, the hegemon of the revolutions of 1917.

To be fair, it should be noted that the process of industrialization of Rus' began even before Peter - under his grandfather, the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, continued under his father Alexei Mikhailovich, but it was under the reformer Tsar that it accelerated and took on an almost global scale.

Of course, economic development did not stop after Peter, but it was he who laid the foundations. Subsequent reforms - Alexander II and Stolypin - from the point of view of preserving feudal atavism in the form of autocracy only aggravated the situation. The proletariat appeared not only in the cities, but also in the countryside - in the form of a huge mass of poor people and farm laborers.

Nevertheless, it would be fair to call Peter the Great not only the founder of St. Petersburg and the Russian fleet, but also... the working class of our country. Of course, he did not want to create it, but, as they would say now, a class of effective owners. And, indeed, it created in many industries, but at the same time, in accordance with the inexorable laws of political economy, the proletariat also arose.

In February and October 1917, Peter's classes of effective managers and the proletarians who worked hard for them played a decisive role. First, the former, speculating on the fall in living standards as a result of the First World War, consigned another creation of Peter - the tsarist autocracy - to the dustbin of history, and then the latter, in the atmosphere of chaos that arose, established under the leadership of the Bolsheviks a dictatorship of the proletariat that was progressive for its time.

Of course, one could say that all this was indirectly the work of Peter, but he laid this mine under the foundation of the royal throne, so to speak, unintentionally. Well, in fact, shouldn’t he leave the country in the dark Middle Ages out of fear that, following technological changes, social ones will someday occur? Peter did what he had to do, thus taking upon himself all the risks associated with industrialization.

He was the founder of a bureaucratic machine that could not react quickly in a difficult situation

Of course, Peter I wanted to debug the state mechanism so that it would work like a clock. And with him everything was the same - the gears of the clumsy bureaucratic machine, although creaking, were turning. But as soon as the Great Sovereign finished his earthly journey, she immediately stood up. Something similar happened after the death of another leader of our country - Stalin. He, too, was unable to debug the state apparatus for smooth operation without his personal participation.

But if under Stalin the bureaucratization of management systems began to occur after his death, then under Peter I it was in full swing even during the life of the sovereign. He replaced the order system with collegiums. The name, by the way, reflects the essence of the reform - instead of unity of command, collective creativity appeared in departments.

The king reasonably believed that two heads are better than one, but he forgot that with seven nannies, a child, as is known, can be left without an organ of vision. So the state apparatus moved only and exclusively under the influence of the authority, and sometimes even the fist of Peter.

In the case of his descendant Nicholas II, there was neither one nor the other - neither respect in society and among the elite, nor the ability to bark if necessary. It was Nikolai Alexandrovich who brought the system of collegial leadership conceived by Peter to complete absurdity.

Now, on the 100th anniversary, everyone remembers the bitter phrase of Nicholas II in his diary that there is treason and deception all around. And who was to blame for this? Only he himself, who placed next to him, as they would say in “Gentlemen of Fortune,” bad people who ran away from him at the first danger. Well, the ancestor Peter, who bureaucratized the state apparatus, where decisions were stuck, and also abandoned the system of those responsible for a particular area.

He pursued a tough foreign policy, which turned out to be fatal under a weak sovereign.

There is nothing new under the sun, the differences are only in the nuances. In the middle of the 18th century. There was no less talk about the aggressiveness of the Muscovites in Western Europe than in the Soviet years and recently about the “threat from the East.” Only then they all relied on Peter’s false will, and now on fairy tales about Russian hackers.

It is unlikely that anyone doubted at that time that Peter’s supposedly text was an obvious fake, but it lay on the fertile soil of Russophobia that had plagued the European elites since the time of Tsar Gorokh. And the enemies of our country had something to fear. Using the example of Charles XII of Sweden, Peter I showed all Russia’s enemies what would happen to those who stood in its way to Europe, to the world community, as they would say now.

It was then that the elite of European countries formed a policy of containing Russia that continues to this day, as well as its strategy of breaking away from Ukraine (then Little Russia) with promises of a European choice and actually pitting our country’s heads against Turkey, then the Ottoman Empire.

Nicholas II, it seems that he believed in Peter’s mythical will more than those for whom it was concocted - Western European inhabitants. That is why he allowed the country to be drawn into the disastrous First World War. The main prize that the tsar and his entourage saw as a result of it was precisely Constantinople with the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. As a result, throughout the First World War, plans were hatched to capture the Turkish capital, but something always prevented them. But the Provisional Government had no time for Constantinople, and Lenin preferred reconciliation with Ataturk’s Turkey, returning to a real, rather than mythical, foreign policy of Peter the Great.

Indeed a Bolshevik

Maximilian Voloshin, as you know, figuratively called Tsar Peter “the first Bolshevik.” The poet meant, of course, the scale of the transformations he carried out, which could only be compared in scope to the changes after the Great October Socialist Revolution. But now, 100 years after the February Revolution that preceded it, Voloshin’s assessment, and not only him, of Peter as a Bolshevik is seen in the fact that his reforms became a harbinger and, in many ways, the cause of the collapse of the tsarist autocracy.

Introduction……………………………………………………………... 3

The struggle for access to the Baltic and Black Seas………………... 6

Restoration of the army……………………………………………. 9

Battle of Poltava……………………………………………………………........... 11

Prut campaign………………………………………………………. 12

Battle of Gangut 1714…………………………………………….. 13

Caspian campaign……………………………………………………. 14

Peter I – reformer…………………………………………………………….. 15

Reform of the army and navy………………... 15

Economic reforms…………………………………... 20

Reform of the state apparatus…………………....... 24

Church reform…………………………………………. 28

Conclusion……………………………………………………………. 31

List of used literature…………………………………………………… 33

Introduction.

The second Romanov, Alexey Mikhailovich, was married twice. First time at M.I.Miloslavskaya. They had 13 children. After the death of his first wife, Alexey Mikhailovich married a second time - to the young N.K. Naryshkina. In 1762, Naryshkina gave birth to a son, Peter. And 4 years later, Alexey Mikhailovich died. After his death, his son from Miloslavskaya, Fedor (1676-1682), ruled for some time. After his death, the Miloslavskys and Naryshkins begin an open struggle for the throne. As a result of intrigues, in 1682 two people found themselves on the throne - Ivan V (16 years old) from Miloslavskaya and Peter I (10 years old) from Naryshkina. Until they came of age, the country was ruled by their sister Sophia (1682-1689).

Princess Sophia is a phenomenon of Russian history. Before her, with the exception of the distant Princess Olga, there were no female rulers in Russian history. Widely educated, powerful, ambitious. Sophia confidently invaded the purely male sphere of Russian life - politics. And it should be said that Sophia ruled the state successfully. Under her rule, in 1686, an “eternal peace with Poland” was concluded - Left Bank Ukraine and Kiev forever became part of Russia. In 1687, the first higher educational institution in Russia was founded - the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. In 1689, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was concluded with China on the delimitation of borders between Russia and China. Sophia tried to achieve access to the Black Sea - in 1687 and 1689, and under the leadership of her favorite Prince V.V. Golitsyn carried out two Crimean campaigns. They were unsuccessful, but testified to the seriousness of the Moscow ruler’s intentions.

Sophia and Ivan V occupied the royal residence - the Kremlin. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was in disgrace with her son Peter and lived in the village of Preobrazhennoye near Moscow.

The tsar's children received an excellent education from Miloslavskaya. They studied Latin, ancient Greek, grammar, rhetoric, and versification. Peter's mother, according to contemporaries, was a woman of “light mind.” She cared little about the education and upbringing of her son. 1 Duma clerk Nikita Zotov, a great lover of intoxicating drinks, was appointed as Peter’s teacher. The prince learned to read and write, received fragmentary information on history and geography, and read by heart some texts of liturgical books. In general, Peter received a meager education. Peter became the most educated person thanks to his insatiable thirst for knowledge and persistent self-education throughout his life. But Nikita Zotov instilled in the prince a love of physical labor. Peter worked as a joiner, a carpenter, and worked in a forge. During his childhood, Peter discovered two passions: war games and big water. For the military “fun” of the prince, 10 grooms were initially assigned. Then two battalions were formed from the royal household - one from the village of Semenovskoye, the other from Preobrazhenskoye. Then they were transformed into "amusing" shelves. Soon the “funny” army will become a real military force. Later, the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments would become the core of Peter the Great's guard.

Over time, Peter's love for the army and big water - the sea - will turn into serious state affairs.

Near Preobrazhensky there was a German settlement. Young Peter became a frequent visitor here. A visit to the German Settlement had a great influence on the worldview and style of behavior of the future great transformer of Russia.

At that time all foreigners in Russia were called “Germans”. Craftsmen, traders, military men, doctors, and translators lived in the German settlement. Russia became a second home for them. The young sovereign found many friends in the German settlement. The Dutch engineer Franz Gimmerman began to study with him arithmetic, algebra, geometry, artillery science, and taught him the basics of building fortresses and fortifications. Most of all, Peter became attached to Franz Lefort. He was a native of Switzerland and was in Russian service with the rank of colonel. He became the tsar’s mentor in his acquaintance with the unique culture of “Moscow” Europe. But the fact is that foreign nobles, bearers of sophisticated Western culture, rarely settled in Russia. People with a dark past, adventurers, came to Russia in search of happiness. It is significant that the main occupation of the residents of the German Settlement in their free time was excessive drinking. Muscovites avoided that place. Peter was young, inexperienced, did not receive a solid moral education, and he began to borrow the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and then transfer it to his company, later, among the Russian nobility. 2

After the death of Ivan V in 1696, Peter began to rule alone (1696 - 1725). He will go down in Russian world history as one of the greatest rulers, Peter I, Peter the Great.

From the very beginning of his independent rule, Peter I began to transform the country according to Western European models.

Main directions:

the struggle for access to the Baltic and Black Seas;

carrying out military reform;

reform of public administration and industrial development;

social politics

The struggle for access to the Baltic and Black Seas. 3

At first, Peter set the task of achieving access to warm seas.

To develop foreign economic relations with Western Europe, Russia needed sea routes—the cheapest—to travel. But Sweden was the ruler of the Baltic Sea, and the Ottoman Empire was the ruler of the Black Sea. However, at first Peter decides to gain access to the warm Black Sea. To do this, it was necessary to take the Turkish fortress of Azov at the mouth of the Don, which “locked” the exit to the Azov and Black Seas.

In 1695, the first Azov campaign of Peter I began. With hastily equipped “amusement” regiments, Peter went to Azov. Russian troops besieged the fortress, but were unable to take it, because... the fortress received reinforcements from the sea, but Peter had no ships. The first Azov campaign ended in defeat. The reasons for the defeat were clear to Peter - the lack of a well-trained army and navy.

Peter decided to create his own navy. In 1696, construction of a fleet began in the Voronezh area. In a very short time, 30 warships were built.

Thus, Peter I laid the foundation for a great cause - the creation of a navy in Russia. 1696 is considered the date of the founding of the Russian fleet.

In the same 1696, Peter begins the second Azov campaign. When Russian ships appeared at the walls of Azov, the Turks did not believe their eyes - until quite recently the Russians did not have any fleet. This time Azov was taken. To strengthen Russia's position in the south, Peter needed a harbor for the future fleet. Not far from Azov, Peter I founded the city of Taganrog. But in order to maintain access to the sea, a long and stubborn struggle lay ahead with the mistress of the Black Sea - the Ottoman Empire. Russia could not lead it alone: ​​it needed allies, loans, and weapons. 4

In 1697, a delegation from Russia, the so-called “Great Embassy”, consisting of 250 people, was sent to Europe.

The Tsar himself was in the “Great Embassy” under the name of Peter Mikhailov. He was 25 years old. The purpose of the "Great Embassy" was:

find allies in the fight against the Ottoman Empire;

get acquainted with Western customs, laws, culture;

notify Western countries about the successful beginning of Peter's reign;

invite foreign specialists of various professions, primarily experts in military and naval affairs, to serve in Russia.

The delegation visited Holland, England, Austria, Saxony, and the Vatican. In some countries, Peter was given the appropriate royal honors, while in others he was treated like a boy.

This infuriated Peter. He wanted even more to prove to everyone in Europe that he was in no way inferior to Western European rulers. Peter became acquainted with the customs, laws, science, technology and political structure of Western European countries. This acquaintance convinced Peter of the need to transform all spheres of Russian life according to Western European models. But Peter failed to solve the main task - to conclude an anti-Turkish alliance.

In June 1698, in Vienna, Peter received a message about the uprising of the Streltsy in Moscow. They were often not paid their salaries, and due to lack of attention to their needs, they constantly rebelled. Peter was informed that they were plotting his murder. The Tsar immediately returned to Moscow and immediately carried out the legal execution of the Streltsy. In October 1698 alone, 799 archers were executed. Moreover, Peter himself chopped off the heads of the archers and ordered his associates to do this. Moscow was shocked by the cruelty of the young tsar. Peter was convinced that he was right. Later he said: “If I had not been cruel, I would not have been the Russian Tsar a long time ago.”

So, in Europe, Peter failed to conclude an Ont-Turkish alliance. But he found allies against Sweden, which made it possible to begin the struggle for access to the sea in the north. In 1699-1700 Peter concluded the Northern Alliance against Sweden, consisting of Russia, Denmark, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Saxony. 5

In 1700, Russia declared war on Sweden. The Northern War (1700-1721) began. The king of Sweden at this time was Charles XII.

He was only 18 years old (Peter was 28), but he turned out to be a talented commander. The first serious clash between Russian and Swedish troops took place in 1700 at the Narva fortress. The Russian army was commanded by the French Duke de Sainte-Croix, who had recently been accepted into Russian service. Poorly trained Russian troops immediately fled the battlefield. Only the Semyonovsky, Preobrazhensky and Lefortov regiments survived. As a sign of respect for their military stamina, only they were allowed by the Swedes to leave the battlefield with their own weapons. The commander of the Russian army, the Duke of Sainte-Croix, himself handed his sword to the Swedes, and almost all military commanders followed his example. The Russian army lost six thousand people, the entire officer corps, which consisted of foreign mercenaries, and all the artillery.

The Russian army was defeated. She suffered the most crushing defeat in her entire history.

After the Battle of Narva, Charles XII decided that Russia had finally dropped out of the war, and directed all his efforts against Poland, Russia’s ally in the Northern War. There for three years he fought against the Polish king Augustus II, displacing him from the Baltic provinces.

Near Narva, Peter I and the Russian army suffered a military disaster. But Peter I had a valuable quality: he could learn lessons even from his defeats. He came to the conclusion that without a strong army and navy he could not defeat Sweden and win access to the Baltic Sea from it. 6

Restoration of the army.

Peter began to create a regular army, artillery, training troops and officer training. The construction of warships began in Arkhangelsk. They began to melt them by wolf through Karelia into Lake Ladoga. And already in 1702 the Swedish fortress of Noteburg (Oreshek, later Shlisselburg) was taken. But in order to gain a foothold near the Baltic Sea, Russia needed to have a city in the Baltic that would be a fortress, a trading harbor, and shipyards for the construction of a future fleet.

And in the spring of 1703, at the mouth of the Neva on Hare Island, on primordially Russian lands, the construction of a military fortress began. On June 29, the day of veneration of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, a church in the name of the holy apostles was founded in the fortress. After this, the fortress began to be called Peter and Paul Fortress. Soon, under the leadership of the Italian architect Domenico Truini, construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral began in the fortress. The Peter and Paul Cathedral became the symbol of the city and the tomb of the royal dynasty. In 1725, Peter I was laid to rest here, and then all the Romanovs. The city was named St. Petersburg. In 1713, Peter moved the capital of Russia here. 7

In 1704, the Russian army took Narva and Dorpat. Charles XII was in Poland all this time. In 1704, at the insistence of Charles XII, the Polish Sejm deposed Augustus and proclaimed Charles XII's protege Stanislaw Leszczynski king. After this, Charles XII decided to march on Moscow. On the Russian border, the Swedes met stubborn resistance, which they did not expect. Charles XII turned to Ukraine to give his troops a rest. The Swedish army did not have enough food and ammunition. A 16,000-strong corps of one of the best Swedish generals, A.-L., moved from Riga to his aid. Levengaunt with a convoy of 8 thousand carts. On September 28, 1708, near the village of Lesnoy (Mogilev Blitz), a Russian 12,000-strong detachment led by Peter was defeated. This was a major victory of the Russian troops over the superior forces of the Swedes; it had great, first of all, moral significance.

At this time, the hetman of Ukraine was Ivan Mazepa, who dreamed of separating Ukraine from Russia and creating an independent Ukrainian state

Mazepa promised the Swedish king that in Ukraine, 40 thousand Cossacks would join his banner to fight the Russians (in fact, no more than 7 thousand Cossacks went over to the Swedes). The overwhelming majority of the Little Russian Cossacks remained loyal to Russia. Then the Swedes decided to besiege Poltava, where there were food supplies that were so necessary for his troops.

Battle of Poltava.

On June 27, 1709, early in the morning, a decisive battle took place between Russian and Swedish regiments - the Battle of Poltava.

Before this, Charles XII had not lost a single battle. After Narva, the Swedish king believed that as soon as he started a battle, the Russians would immediately flee. But Peter I thoroughly prepared for a new battle. The army became unrecognizable; it now had artillery. In addition, Peter I tactically managed to outplay Charles XII. Charles XII, without preparation, threw all his forces into the Russian positions. In military science, this is a crazy technique, but it often brings victory.

Peter I divided his forces into two battalions. The Swedes launched a furious attack on the first line of Russian defense. It was broken through. The time has come for the main forces of the Russians - the second battalion - to enter the battle. Before this, Peter addressed the troops with simple and clear words, the essence of which can be summarized as follows: “You are not fighting for me, but for the state entrusted to Peter. As for me, know that life is not precious to Peter, if only Russia would live.” Peter I himself led the second battalion into the attack. For two hours Russian artillery fired at the Swedes at point-blank range. The Swedes could not withstand the terrible massacre and fled from the battlefield. By 11 o'clock in the morning, the Swedish army - the strongest in Europe - ceased to exist. Of the 30 thousand Swedish soldiers, 9 thousand were killed, 3 thousand were captured. Another 13 thousand were captured during the persecution. Charles XII, the traitor Ivan Mazepa and the entire headquarters of the Swedish army fled to Turkey.

The significance of the Battle of Poltava in Russian history is very great:

Russia was spared the Swedish conquest;

The balance of power in the northern war has changed radically;

The Battle of Poltava placed Russia among the great European powers: from now on, all the most important issues of European politics will be resolved with the participation of Russia. 8

Prut campaign.

In 1710, the Ottoman Empire, unable to cope with the loss of Azov, declared war on Russia. Russia started a war on two fronts.

At the beginning of 1711, Peter I and his army moved to the borders of Moldavia. At the same time, Peter I enlisted the support of the rulers of Moldavia - D. Cantemir, Wallachia-Brancovan, in addition, he was promised the assistance of Poland. The Turkish Sultan, fearing a general uprising of Christians in the Balkans, offered Peter peace with the transfer to Russia of all lands up to the Danube: New Russia, Bessarabia, Moldavia, Wallachia. Peter refused. But on the Prut River the situation for the Russian army became desperate: the Russian 40,000-strong camp was pressed against the river by 130,000 Turkish troops. The Turks installed their artillery on the heights and could defeat the Russian army at any moment. The situation was unheard of: the king himself could have been captured. It was another military disaster. Preparing for the worst, Peter I, nevertheless, prepared a decree for the Senate: in the event of his capture by the sovereign, do not consider his orders from captivity. The fate of Peter and the Russian army was in the hands of the commander of the Turkish army, Vizier Baltazdipash.

Peter I decided to enter into negotiations with the Turks. The talented diplomat P.P. was entrusted with leading them. Shafirov. Only thanks to his diplomatic skill, the king was spared unprecedented shame. Russia gave up Azov, tore down Taganrog and fortifications on the Don and Dniester. Peter I also pledged not to interfere in Polish affairs and to give passage to Charles XII to Sweden. 9

Battle of Gangut 1714.

After the defeat in the south, Peter began to act even more decisively against Sweden. Sweden lost its entire army at Poltava, but it retained its powerful fleet in the Baltic. Peter thoroughly prepared for naval battles: the Baltic Fleet was actively built, and intensive training of personnel was underway.

In 1714, at Cape Gangut, the Swedish fleet was defeated by the Russian fleet.

This was the first victory of the young Russian fleet.

Under Gangut, a new naval power was born - Russia.

Charles XII died during the siege of a fortress in Norway in 1718. The Swedish Queen Ulrika - Eleanor - Charles's sister - decided to continue the war. In 1720, Russian troops landed on the territory of Sweden itself. In the same year, a second major naval victory over the Swedes was won off the island of Grengam. The Swedes were forced to sit down at the negotiating table. 10

Caspian campaign.

Starting from the 16th century, Russians strove to the East: they were attracted by India, a country of untold riches. During the reign of Peter, there was a search for a land route to India. Two detachments were equipped, but they did not even have maps, so they ended up with failure. Having finished the Northern War, Peter I again turned his gaze to the East. Back in 1718, Russia concluded a trade agreement with Persia. But anarchy reigned in Persia, the agreement was not respected by the Persians, which brought great losses to Russian trade. Taking advantage of the internal political crisis in Persia, it was decided to launch a campaign against Persia. In the spring of 1722, Russian troops set out from Astrakhan along the shores of the Caspian Sea to Persia. There were no significant clashes. By the autumn of 1722, northern Persia was annexed. Three Persian provinces - with Baku, Derbent, Astrabad - became a Russian region.

PeterI- reformer.

Reform of the army and navy.

During the Northern War, a powerful army and navy were created in the country, equipped with advanced weapons and artillery for that time. The pre-Petrine army had poor training, weak weapons, and a lack of discipline; this was caused by the fact that there was no reason for a warrior holding an estate to risk himself in the name of his sovereign and state. “Peter saw the reason for the failures of the Russian army in the 17th century, as well as near Narva, in the absence of “order” - a clear organization, “regularity” (a concept that covers and expresses the meaning and purpose of army reform).” eleven

“Since 1705, the government has taken the next step - it stops admitting people to the “freedom” and moves on to recruiting so-called recruits directly from the peasant population, which was not the case before. This was caused by an acute shortage of people in the army, a need that could no longer be satisfied by volunteers and “dachas.” The recruitment system fully corresponded to the peculiarities of the country's social and economic structure. If the recruiting system took shape within 5 years, then the structure of the entire army was developed for about ten years, right up to Poltava, when Peter was finally convinced of the correctness of the chosen decisions.

The backbone of the army was the infantry. Along with the infantry regiments, grenadier regiments were created, whose soldiers, in addition to conventional weapons, were equipped with grenades. The cavalry underwent no less changes. It consisted of dragoon regiments, staffed by cavalrymen who were trained to fight on foot. The pride of the Russian army was the artillery that was quickly restored after the Narva defeat, divided into regimental, field and siege. The engineering units created by Peter were also assigned to the artillery. In addition, garrison troops appeared in Russia, stationed in numerous fortresses. In the 1720s, the so-called landmilitia (territorial troops recruited for a period of time) was created from single-lords living in the south. They guarded the dangerous southern borders. The system of organization and management of the army was developed in detail and in depth. During the first quarter of the 18th century, central institutions were created that were in charge of the needs of the army: the Military, Admiralty, and Provision orders, which were replaced in 1718-1719 by the Military and Admiralty Collegiums. The highest tactical unit, as before, remained the regiment. Regiments were united into brigades, brigades into divisions. The actions of the army were directed by its brains - the field (general) headquarters, headed by the Field Marshal General. In accordance with European practice, command of individual branches of the military was introduced: the infantry was commanded by an infantry general, the cavalry by a cavalry general, and the artillery by a field master general. An indispensable attribute of army management was the functioning of a military council - a meeting of all senior generals on the most important issues of conducting military operations. Accordingly, the concept of training troops for combat operations was changed by the new strategic and tactical principle. The former once-a-year reviews and occasional shooting practice are being replaced by constant training, which does not end with the transformation of a recruit into a “proper” soldier. This training is focused on active military operations.

The tactical training of Peter's troops was based not only on purely technical techniques, but also on the education of responsibility, initiative, conscious discipline, that is, everything without which an army cannot exist. In these conditions, military regulations and regulations—in a word, the code of military law—acquired particular importance. Peter paid a lot of attention to their compositions, introducing into them the basis of the life of the army, and indeed of the whole society. Alexei Mikhailovich’s “Teaching and Cunning of Military Formation” was replaced by new regulations at the beginning of the 18th century: “Military Regulations”, “Organization for Battle”, etc.

In 1716, the famous “Military Charter” was published, which determined not only the organization and structure of the army, the duties of military personnel, the basics of combat and field service, but also military-criminal and administrative laws.” 12

Peter left behind a military organization that proved its brilliant fighting qualities and constituted one of the indisputable and glorious merits of the Transformer. The table of ranks was important for the organization of the army, but it was also important for civilian organizations. This legislative act determined the procedure for serving both military and civilian officials. The report card provided for gradual advancement up the career ladder, but did not exclude the possibility of reverse movement.

The report card was announced on January 24, 1722. The decree on the report card did not allow any violations in the order of service. “The creation of a regular army was part of the task that Peter set for himself, having received the Narva lesson. Peter could not imagine the power of his state without a fleet; he could not imagine his life without ships. The creation of a fleet was for him his first duty after the creation of an army, a natural continuation of the work once begun by his father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, during which the first Russian ship “Eagle” was launched in Dedinovo on the Oka. All these feelings are well reflected in the preamble of the Naval Charter of 1720” 13.

“The construction of Peter’s fleet, as is known, began in Voronezh in 1695-1696. Peter himself was an extraordinary shipbuilder who proposed many new technical solutions, from design to the use of sea vessels. Simultaneously with the construction of ships, powerful naval bases were created in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt, supplemented by a base in Estland (Rogervik; now Paltiyski). A unique system of canals and locks was built in Kronstadt, which made it possible to easily repair, arm, and even store huge ships on the shore during the off-season” 14.

Peter's time marked the heyday of the galley fleet, known since ancient times. Peter correctly assessed its importance for the fight against the enemy in the shallow skerries of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. “The fleet needed officers who knew naval affairs, and the shipyard needed shipbuilders. Neither one nor the other existed in Russia, and the tsar took an unusual step - he sent young nobles abroad to study maritime affairs. In December 1696, Peter came up with the idea of ​​sending an embassy abroad, entrusting him with organizing a coalition of European powers to continue the fight against the Ottoman Empire. The embassy, ​​in addition, had to hire specialists abroad for the Russian service, purchase weapons, and also assign a new batch of nobles for training. Their training program included mastering a minimum of naval knowledge, and then the art of shipbuilding.” 15

Economic reforms

“It is absolutely indisputable that the successes of Peter’s army on the battlefields would have been impossible without serious changes in the economy of the then Russia: the victorious weapons of Noteburg, Poltava, Gangut were forged in the forges of the Urals, Tula, and Peter’s factories. There is also no doubt that during the reign of Peter, a radical reform was carried out in the field of economics, which had far-reaching consequences. In the first quarter of the 18th century, Russia experienced a sharp economic leap. Industrial construction of the Peter the Great era took place at a pace unprecedented for that time: between 1695 and 1725, at least two hundred manufactories of various profiles arose, that is, ten times more than there were at the end of the 17th century, and this with an even more impressive increase in production volume. The most characteristic feature of the economic boom in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century was the determining role of the autocratic state in the economy, its active and deep penetration into all spheres of economic life. This role was due to many factors” 16.

Peter I was an adherent of the economic concept of mercantilism, which was then dominant in Europe. This concept was based on the fact that the basis of the state’s wealth and a necessary condition for its existence is the accumulation of money through an active balance of trade, the export of goods to foreign markets and preventing the import of goods into one’s own. This alone implied government intervention in the economic sphere.

Both paths of development of state entrepreneurship - the activation of old industrial areas and the creation of new ones - are especially clearly visible in the example of metallurgy - the basis of military power. The treasury has invested huge amounts of money in expanding the production of iron, cannons, and weapons in areas of traditional production - in Karelia, the Voronezh-Tambov region, and in the Center. Here, new factories were built in a short time, old ones were expanded, often taken away from those entrepreneurs who were not able to quickly cope with huge orders from the treasury.

Actively using the experience of existing enterprises, and relocating the best craftsmen to a new place under the authority of the local administration - these were the methods for creating new manufactories under Peter the Great. In addition, Peter's residents in Western Europe actively invited foreign mining specialists and metallurgists, who willingly traveled to Russia from Germany, England and other countries. A powerful metallurgical base made it possible to expand metalworking production, or more precisely, the weapons industry. In Tula, famous for its gunsmiths, a large arms factory was founded in 1712, and in 1721 the same one appeared - Sestroretsky.

Peter I energetically took up the creation of manufactories in light industry. in 1696-1697, a manufactory for the production of canvas was founded, the demands for which were enormous with the beginning of the construction of the fleet. This manufactory was called Khamovny Dvor. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Rope Yard was built in Moscow, a manufactory for the production of ship gear, as well as the Tannery and Belt Yards, which provided the army with ammunition and saddles. At the beginning of the century, other state-owned manufactories were feverishly erected, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg: paper, button, hosiery, cloth, linen.

Enterprises were founded with optimal proximity to sources of raw materials, cheap labor of the local population was used in their construction, and low-paid unskilled workers were recruited from it. To organize production, experienced specialists were attracted - both Russians and foreigners.

As a result of Peter’s policy in the economic field, a powerful industry was created in an extremely short period of time, capable of fully meeting military and government needs and not depending on imports in any way. The state combined the creation of its own industry with the organization of its own trade - mainly to make a profit from marketable goods within the country and export abroad such goods that would give the state money to buy ships, weapons, and raw materials for industry.

The state captured trade in the most primitive, but very effective way - introducing a monopoly on the procurement and sale of certain goods both within the country and outside it.

The participation of the treasury in trade inevitably led to restrictions and regulation of the trading activities of Russian merchants, which resulted in disorder, disorganization of trade turnover, and the strangulation of free entrepreneurship based on market conditions.

“State monopolies, taxes, duties - these were the means of force used by Peter’s state to obtain the largest possible sums of money to solve its problems.” The autocratic state sought, through the merchants and their professional business - trade, to quickly obtain money and goods to solve their grandiose problems.

During the Northern War, peasants also bore exorbitant duties. Just the list of them makes an impression on us. There were several types of duties:

human (recruits);

working hours;

underwater;

equine;

built;

monetary.

“Cash taxes were divided into permanent and extraordinary. The amounts of permanent taxes remained stable for many years. They were formed from several groups of taxes. “Order” taxes are those that go to the needs of central departments.

At the beginning of the 10s of the 18th century, permanent taxes appeared for the construction of the new capital: “money for the St. Petersburg city business for brick making,” “for certain building,” “money for supplies and for the work of courts.” A significant group of permanent monetary taxes were class taxes, that is, those that were paid by individual classes.

“Order”, St. Petersburg and class permanent taxes were supplemented by local payments, which differed in each province, province and even district. If we combine them by value, then these are fees for local administration, garrisons, maintenance of mail, roads, bridges, and so on. Permanent and even emergency monetary taxes constituted only a small part of the total mass of state duties. The most difficult were extraordinary duties, usually mixed: cash-in-kind, cash-work, underwater-money-work, and so on.” (Anisimov p. 134).

Two population censuses were carried out - in 1710 and 1718. According to the 1718 census, the unit of taxation became the male “soul,” regardless of age, for which a poll tax of 70 kopecks per year was levied (from state peasants - 1 ruble 10 kopecks per year). This streamlined the tax policy and sharply increased state revenues (about 4 times; by the end of Peter’s reign they amounted to 12 million rubles per year).

State apparatus reform

The most important were reforms of the state apparatus and management. In Russia, by that time the state was beginning to play an unusually large role in all spheres of life, and a literal cult of the absolutist state was taking shape in ideology. At the same time, the previous state apparatus, which contained many archaic features, could not cope with the tasks facing it, the state machine began to malfunction...

By decree of March 2, 1711, the Senate was formed. He replaced the Boyar Duma. What did Peter not like about the Boyar Duma, what was the meaning and significance of the reform?

The answer to these questions was given by V.I. Lenin: “The monarchy of the 17th century with a boyar duma is not like the bureaucratic-noble monarchy of the 18th century.” Consequently, the difference between the monarchy of the 17th century and the monarchy of the 18th century was that the first was accompanied by a Boyar Duma, while a characteristic feature of the second was the governance of the country with the help of noble officials. Appointments to the Senate, as well as exemptions from participation in it, were made by the tsar, who was not guided by the breed, but by the abilities of the candidate for senator. As a result, the senator's dependence on the king was immeasurably great. This revealed one of the features of the absolute, that is, unlimited, monarchy that was establishing itself in Russia. The noted features of the Senate crystallized much later, and now, by the March decree of 1711, this body of power was created in a hurry, without clear ideas about its rights and responsibilities. Already the first phrase of the decree caused and continues to cause debate among historians about what kind of institution the Senate was presented to the tsar: temporary or permanent. It read: “The Governing Senate has been determined to be for our absences for governance.”

It is clear from the text that the institution was created “for our absences,” that is, during the tsar’s stay outside the capital, in this case on a campaign to the borders of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the Senate continued to exist even after Peter’s return from the campaign. The responsibilities of the Senate did not immediately develop. Three editions of the decree have been preserved, listing instructions for the Senate during the Tsar’s absence.

“The Senate had the right to issue decrees, which everyone was obliged to obey under penalty of punishment and even the death penalty. The Senate was in charge of the courts, punished wrong judges, had to take care of trade, oversee all expenses, but its main purpose was to collect money. All senators had equal votes. Governors were subordinate to the Senate, and for each province, so-called midwives with clerks were established in the Senate itself. The Senate office, in addition to the offices, had three desks: secret, order and discharge. Commissars from the provinces were to be constantly present in the office of the governing Senate to accept royal decrees carried out in the province and to report information to the Senate on the needs of the province; they communicated with their provinces through messengers or mail.

Along with the establishment of the Senate, the establishment of fiscals followed. The main fiscal for the entire state was called the chief fiscal. He had to watch secretly and inspect whether there were any omissions and abuses in the collection of the treasury, whether an unfair trial was being taken, and whoever he noticed was untruthful, even if it was a noble person, he should declare before the senator; If the denunciation turns out to be fair, then one half of the fine collected from the perpetrator went to the treasury, and the other went to the chief fiscal for the discovery of the abuse. Under the authority of the chief fiscal there were provincial fiscals, with the same responsibilities and rights in the provinces as the chief fiscal in the whole state. The latter were under the authority of the city fiscals. The fiscals were supposed to supervise everyone; everyone had to assist them in every possible way - everyone, for their own benefit, was invited to denounce.

With the establishment of the Senate, although the town hall was not destroyed, it lost its former significance, and the power of the governors began to extend to the merchant class.

The Yamsk case was given to the governors, and the Yamsk order was abolished. They were also entrusted with the search for metal ores, and the special order for ore affairs that had existed until now was destroyed. In order to transform the monetary system, a special place was established, the so-called merchant chamber” 17.

In 1718, the old orders were eliminated and colleges were introduced to replace them. A total of 11 boards were established:

Collegium of "Foreign Affairs";

College of Military Affairs;

Admiralty Collegium (for naval affairs);

Chamber Collegium (in charge of collecting state revenues);

State College (in charge of government spending);

Audit Board;

Berg College (in charge of the mining industry):

Manufactory Collegium (in charge of all other industry);

Commerce Collegium (in charge of trade).

Somewhat later, the Patrimonial Collegium, which was in charge of the affairs of the Local Order, and the Justice Collegium were established. The former, very chaotic orderly administration was replaced by new central institutions of the sectoral type. Each board was headed by a president, with him a vice-president, several collegiate advisers and assessors. Each college had an office headed by a collegiate assessor and an archivist. Peter’s personal office, which was called the “Cabinet,” was of great importance.

The entire regional administration was also subject to disruption. A decree on December 18, 1708 announced the intention to create 8 provinces. Before the implementation of the provincial reform, the country was divided into 250 districts, directly subordinate to the central institutions in Moscow - orders. Now, between the district administration and the orders, an intermediate authority should have appeared - the provincial authorities.

At the head of the provincial administration were governors who exercised full judicial, administrative and military power in the controlled territory. Peter appointed people close to himself as governors. Menshikov was put at the head of the St. Petersburg province, Admiral Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin was put at the head of the Voronezh province, his brother Pyotr Matveevich was the head of the Kazan province, and the boyar Tikhon Nikitich Streshnev was the head of the Moscow province. Provincial institutions were supposed to start working in 1710. The whole country was divided into 8 provinces: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Smolensk, Arkhangelsk, Kazan, Azov and Siberian. Later, three more new provinces were formed: Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan and Riga, and Smolensk was disbanded. The governor had his own staff of assistants. In 1713, an attempt was made to create a “consilium” (council) of local nobles under the governor.

Provincial institutions were supposed to strengthen the local administration. The governor's enormous powers allowed him to quickly suppress outbreaks of discontent in the bud. The establishment of provinces gave the government another advantage - it became possible to more effectively collect taxes, recruit recruits and mobilize people for construction work.

Efficiency was ensured by the availability of military commands at the governors' disposal, which were used both to extract arrears and to attract peasants and townspeople to serve in the army and navy.

In 1719, the regional reform was further developed: the province became the main administrative unit at the local level. A total of 50 provinces were created. Each province was headed by a governor, who was dependent on the governor. The voivode supervised the offices of recruitment, search, provision affairs, customs and other institutions. Each province in turn was divided into districts. At the head of each district was a commissioner from the local nobility. One of the measures to strengthen local government power was the system of troop quartering.

The regimental district was of great importance as a military-police administrative unit. As a result of reforms of the state apparatus and local authorities in Russia, a state was created, which in historical literature was aptly called a “regular state.” It was an absolutist bureaucratic state riddled with surveillance and espionage. Naturally, in such a state, democratic traditions, which never died in Russia, found themselves in very unfavorable circumstances. They continued to live in the everyday life of the peasant community, the Cossack freemen. But democracy was increasingly sacrificed to brutal authoritarian rule, accompanied by an extraordinary growth in the role of the individual in Russian history. One of the external manifestations of this was the adoption by the Russian Tsar of the title of Emperor and the transformation of Russia into an empire, which was reflected in public consciousness and culture.

Church reform

The Spiritual Reform occupies a prominent place among Peter's reforms. Peter knew very well the history of the struggle for power between his father and Patriarch Nikon; he also knew the attitude of the Clergy to his reforms. At this time, Adrian was the patriarch in Russia. The relationship between Peter and the patriarch was clearly strained. Peter perfectly understood the desire of the church to subjugate secular power - this determined the events that were carried out in this area. Patriarch Andrian died in 1700, but the tsar was in no hurry to elect a new patriarch. Management of the affairs of the church was transferred to the Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky, he was declared the guardian of the patriarchal throne. Although Peter did not see an active supporter in Yavorsky, at least Yavorsky did not very vehemently oppose Peter’s policies.

Another problem arose on Peter's road - schismatics. “Peter had to begin the fight against schismatics. The schismatics, possessing great wealth, refused to take part in common duties: to enter service, military or civilian. Peter found a solution to this issue - he imposed a double tax on them. The schismatics refused to pay and a struggle broke out. Raskolnikov was executed, exiled or flogged” 18. Peter sought to protect himself from the influence of the church, in connection with this he begins to limit the rights of the church and its head: a council of bishops was created,

meeting periodically in Moscow, and then, in 1711, after the creation of the Synod, the head of the church lost the last touches of independence. Thus, the church was completely subordinate to the state. But the king understood perfectly well that subordination of the church to a simple governing body was impossible. And in 1721, the Holy Synod was created, which was in charge of the affairs of the church. “The Synod was placed on a par with the Senate, above all other collegiums and administrative bodies. The structure of the Synod was no different from the structure of any college. The Synod consisted of 12 people. The Synod was headed by a president, 2 vice-presidents, 4 advisers, 5 assessors” 19. In 1722 names have been changed. Stefan Yavorsky was appointed President of the Synod. After Yavorsky’s death, his duties were actually performed by Feofan Prokopovich, a man, according to Peter, smart and educated. He had known Peter for a long time, since 1716, when the Tsar noticed this young and eloquent preacher and summoned him to St. Petersburg. From that time on, Feofan Prokopovich became an active assistant to the tsar in drawing up a number of new reforms. From the church pulpit he defended the ideas and aspirations of the tsar - the transformer.

“By decree of January 25, 1721, the Synod was founded, and already on January 27, pre-convened members of the Synod took the oath and on February 14, 1721, the grand opening took place. The spiritual regulations for guiding the activities of the Synod were written by Feofan Prokopovich and corrected and approved by the tsar.” The Spiritual Regulations are a legislative act that determined the functions, rights and responsibilities of the Synod and its members in governing the Russian Orthodox Church. He equated members of the Synod with members of other government institutions. The Church was now completely subordinate to secular authority. Even the secret of confession was violated. By decree of the Synod of March 26, 1722, all priests were ordered to inform the authorities of the intention of the confessor to commit treason or rebellion. In 1722, the church reform was completed by establishing the position of chief prosecutor of the Synod. Thus, the church lost its independent political role and became an integral part of the bureaucratic apparatus.

It is not surprising that such innovations caused discontent among the clergy; it was for this reason that they were on the side of the opposition and participated in reactionary conspiracies.

Not only did the appearance of church governance change, but radical changes took place within the church. Peter did not favor either “white” or “black” monks. Seeing the monasteries as an unjustified expense, the tsar decided to reduce financial expenditures in this area, declaring that he would show the monks the path to holiness not with sturgeon, honey and wine, but with bread, water and work for the good of Russia. For this reason, the monasteries were subject to certain taxes; in addition, they had to engage in carpentry, icon painting, spinning, sewing, etc. - all that was not contraindicated to monasticism.

Peter himself explained the creation of this type of government and organization of the church as follows: “From the conciliar government, the Fatherland need not fear the rebellions and embarrassment that come from a single spiritual government of its own...” 20.

Thus, Peter eliminated the threat of an attack on secular power by spiritual power and placed the church at the service of the state. From now on, the church was part of the support on which the absolute monarchy stood.

Peter the Great's reforms concerned various spheres of society. In 1699, Peter issued a decree changing the calendar. Previously, chronology was carried out according to the Byzantine calendar: the New Year began on September 1. Since 1699, the New Year was supposed to begin on January 1, according to the European model. This reform caused great dissatisfaction, because... Previously, chronology was calculated from the creation of the world, and in the new way, 1700 should have come only after 8 years.

In the new year 1700, a decree was issued on the creation of the first pharmacies in Moscow; Another decree prohibited the carrying of knives under penalty of whipping or exile. In 1701, the liberal spirit of the new reign was expressed in a number of decrees: it was forbidden to kneel when the sovereign appeared; bare your head in winter when passing by the palace. In 1702, the turn of reforming family life came: attempts were made to provide the marriage union with stronger moral guarantees.

After visiting France, Peter issues a decree on hospitality. The position of women in society is changing radically. Peter tried to introduce her to modern secular life, following the example of the West, to provide the highest circles with new forms of treatment.

Conclusion.

In terms of the scale of interests and the ability to see the main thing in a problem, it is difficult for Peter the Great to find an equal in Russian history. Woven from contradictions, the emperor was a match for his enormous power, which he, like a giant ship, led out of a quiet harbor into the world's oceans, pushing aside mud and stumps and cutting off growths on board.

Changes in all sectors and spheres of the country's socio-economic and political life, which gradually accumulated and matured in the 17th century, grew into a qualitative leap in the first quarter of the 18th century. Muscovite Rus' turned into the Russian Empire. Enormous changes have occurred in its economy, the level and form of development of the productive forces, the political system, the structure and functions of government bodies, management and courts, the organization of the army, the class and estate structure of the population, the culture of the country and the way of life of the people. The place and role of Russia in international relations of that time changed radically.

Transformations of the first quarter of the 18th century. were progressive in nature. The country gained access to the Baltic Sea. Political and economic isolation was ended, Russia's international prestige was strengthened - it became a great European power. The ruling class as a whole became stronger. A centralized bureaucratic system of governing the country was created.

The power of the monarch increased, and absolutism was finally established. Russian industry, trade, and agriculture took a step forward. The development of Russian culture received a new impetus. Such were the undoubted successes of Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century. However, serf relations continued to dominate in the country, developing in breadth and depth. Peter's reforms met fierce resistance from the noble boyar aristocracy and the top of the clergy. In the fight against them, Peter I did not hesitate to punish even his own son Alexei, who found himself in the reactionary camp. Any action of the masses against the existing system was subjected to the most severe persecution.

Reforms of the first quarter of the 18th century. are inseparable from the personality of Peter I - an outstanding commander, politician and statesman who put his talent and abilities at the service of the noble class. This is “a truly great man,” F. Engels said about Peter I. The controversial figure, largely explained by the peculiarities of his time, the figure of Peter constantly attracted and continues to attract the attention of writers, artists, theater and film workers, and composers.

Tsar Peter I played a huge role in Russian history.

List of used literature

Anisimov E. Time of Peter’s reforms - St. Petersburg: Lenizdat, 1989.

Bogdanov A.P. In the shadow of Great Peter - M.: Armada, 1989.

Buganov V.I., Zyryanov P.N. History of Russia at the end of the 17th - 19th centuries. - M.: Mysl, 1995.

Klyuchevsky V.O. Historical portraits - M.: Pravda, 1991.

Knyazkov S. From the past of the Russian land. The Time of Peter the Great - M.: Mysl, 1991.

Kostomarov N.I. Russian history in the biographies of its main figures. Book III. - M.: JSC “Book and Business”, 1992.

Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great and his time - M.: Education, 1989.

Pavlenko N.I. Around the throne - M.: Mysl, 1998.

Rybakov B.A. History of the USSR from ancient times to the end of the 18th century - M.: Higher School, 1975.

Soloviev S.M. Readings and stories on the history of Russia - M.: Pravda, 1989.

Syrov S.N. Pages of history - M.: Russian language, 1983.

1- Klyuchevsky V.O. “Historical Portraits”, Moscow, Pravda Publishing House, 1989 pp. 14-18

Bogdanov L.P. “In the Shadow of Great Peter”, Moscow, Armana Publishing House, 1998 pp. 98-107

2 Syrov S.N. “Pages of History”, Moscow, Publishing House “Russian Language” pp. 72-74

3 Rybakov B.A. “History of the USSR from ancient times to the end of the 18th century”, Moscow, Publishing House “Higher School”, 1975 pp. 107-118

Like European reactionary aristocrats and “colonialists...

Sipyagin was by conviction conservative, a monarchist and fought with... Savinkov met with a former classmate Peter Rutenberg, participant in the demonstration 9 ... R. A. Combat organization of the Socialist Party - revolutionaries in 1901-1911 - M.: Russian...

In the section on the question why Peter I was called “a revolutionary on the throne”? if possible in detail given by the author OMFAL FENIX the best answer is Peter I, the legendary Tsar-Reformer. He radically changed the course of Russian history. His entire domestic policy was aimed at strengthening the state. He conducted a population census and distributed taxes from landowners, peasants and others. He began producing military equipment, formed the Russian fleet, and made St. Petersburg the main port. He transformed the state government and built many new manufactories. The reforms overcame the country's economic lag behind other European countries and contributed to technological progress.
In a word, he completely transformed, strengthened Russia, and turned it into a great empire.
A revolutionary is a person who participates in a revolution. A revolution, in turn, is a fundamental and radical change in something. That is, Peter’s reign radically changed the Russian system, politics, economics, etc. That is why he is called “a revolutionary on the throne.”

Answer from 22 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: why was Peter I called “a revolutionary on the throne”? if possible in detail

Answer from Nobody no[expert]
and now in simple Russian language. They always say about him that he “cut a window to Europe.”
Now I’ll explain - he wanted his empire to be similar to European countries. he introduced a tax on beards (At that time it was fashionable to wear a beard) forced everyone to start washing (they say it’s good to come and stink for points, blow your nose on the curtains...) and so on)))

Answer from chevron[guru]
Having cut through the "Window to Europe"
And seeing the face of the demon
Peter the Great put in a candle
Into Satan's candelabra
Still occur
Impossible processes
Because of the unconventional
Country Orientations

Boyar Artamon advised him to turn to the enlightened monk Simeon of Polotsk, the teacher of the royal children. And at that moment the door opened and suddenly the monk himself appeared before the king. “That’s easy,” thought Alexey.

The monk excitedly told about a miracle: at night he saw a new bright star in the starry sky near Mars. This means good news: in nine months, on May 30 of next year, 1672, Queen Natalya will give birth to a prince, he will become strong, powerful, will repel all enemies and who will honorably take his father’s throne.

Then the monk unrolled a scroll with his calculations about the signs of the unborn child: “he will gain worldwide fame and earn such fame that will glorify the Romanov family for all time. He accomplished many glorious deeds on sea and land. While rooting out the evildoers, he will love and encourage the hardworking and keep the faith sacred.” Simeon predicted that the baby born would be named Peter (Greek - stone).

The prophecy of the wise hieromonk (priest priesthood) was fulfilled: on May 30, 1672, on the day of Isaac of Dolmatia, Peter was born (over time, St. Isaac's Cathedral was erected in honor of this event).

The prince was born on June 29 in the Miracle Monastery, on the day of the apostles Peter and Paul (hence the name of the Peter and Paul Fortress) and was named Peter (stone, granite, rock).

Historians have noted that the reforms carried out by Peter were his personal business, unprecedented and necessary.

To be afraid of misfortune is not to see happiness.

“And Peter the Great, who alone is the whole world history.”

A. S. Pushkin

At the turn of the 17th century, there appeared in Russia brilliant A king filled with extraordinary energy, immense fortitude... He looked at Russia.

K. Aksakov

"Revolutionary on the Throne"

Peter I - the first Russian emperor (1721). Through his actions he created a powerful absolutist state and achieved recognition of Russia as a great power. About Peter’s transformations V. Belinsky wrote: “ Learn or die: this is what was written in blood on the banner of his struggle against barbarism.” Peter combined unbridled autocracy with self-sacrifice, and did not spare himself for the sake of the common cause. The historian S. Solovyov called Peter “ revolutionary on the throne", F. Engels: " a truly great man»

Peter the Great is a unique personality in all of Russian history. Peter completely destroyed the centuries-old image of the Russian Tsar. Peter introduced many innovations that amazed his contemporaries into court life and the daily life of the nobles. He himself amazed his contemporaries with his clothes, behavior, and manner of communication.

Unlike all previous Russian sovereigns, he personally participated in all his endeavors. It was he who was in the thick of battle, not sparing his belly. It was he who won brilliant victories over a strong enemy. It was he who traveled through the impassable roads of Russia, as well as through the capitals of Western European courts, in order to elevate the country to the rank of European states; it was he, along with other shipbuilders, who worked with an ax, mastered ship navigation and artillery, fortification and urban planning to perfection.

Many contemporaries were impressed by the king’s simplicity, his unpretentiousness, and his ability to overcome obstacles by straining his will, physical and moral strength. Contemporaries were amazed that the tsar, as a simple bombardier, participated in the siege of Azov, and during the solemn procession in Moscow regarding the capture of Azov, he walked in a common column with a protazan on his shoulder. His father, Alexey Mikhailovich, never left his own chambers without his retinue and security accompanying him.

And Pyotr Alekseevich did not hesitate to ride in a gig without a retinue or guard. Surprise was caused by the fact that in 1697 Peter did not head the Great Embassy, ​​but went on a voyage abroad as one of the members of this embassy, ​​and even under an assumed name - Peter Mikhailov. But even more discouraging to his contemporaries was the fact that abroad, the tsar, having acquired the equipment of a simple carpenter, himself worked diligently on the construction of the ship, studied this skill and even received a diploma as a shipbuilder

“I am a student and am looking for teachers": Peter's seal with motto

On March 9, 1697, Peter I secretly left Russia, for the first time in Russian history the kingdom was left without a tsar. Under the name of Pyotr Mikhailov, he and the Great Embassy went to Europe. Its participants were dressed in Russian national clothes, and, accompanied by Kalmyks, Bashkirs and Tatars, looked extremely exotic.

But already in November, the Russians shaved off their beards, had fashionable suits made by the best Amsterdam tailors, put on gloves and stockings, put wigs and hats on their heads, and began smoking tobacco, the “God’s potion,” prohibited by the Church. I have completed the school of military and naval training, learned foreign speech and military terms. The Russian Tsar returned to his homeland in August 1698 and began the fight against localism and boyar arrogance...

The Emperor told us without hesitation... he loves work most of all... we were extremely surprised to see the monarch’s worn, calloused hands.”

Sophia - Charlotte, wife of the Prussian ruler (1697)

« I go to death without fear for my Sovereign Peter.”

– Novgorod merchant Igolkin (1700)

Not fearing death, putting his own life in danger, Peter, showing miracles of personal courage, was often in the thick of battle, and during the Battle of Poltava, in general, only his personal example inspired the soldiers when he led the troops on a counterattack.

"Grit"

In 1700, the Novgorod merchant Igolkin found himself in Stockholm on trade business. The Northern War began, and he was detained as a Russian prisoner. While in prison, the prisoner overheard a conversation between two guards, vilifying the Russians and boldly cursing Tsar Peter. The indignant Igolkin could not stand it, attacked the offenders, snatched a gun from one of them and stabbed the Swede with a bayonet.

The guards came to the noise and Igolkin surrendered without resistance. His actions were reported to the king. Charles XII called the captive merchant and asked: “How did you decide to kill my soldiers?” Without timidity, he calmly told the monarch in detail about everything that happened in prison. “I go to death without fear for my Sovereign Peter,” the brave captive fearlessly declared. Charles XII, struck by the firmness of spirit of the Russian merchant, forgave him and ordered his release from custody.” Tell Tsar Peter that I am returning his faithful subject to him,” the Swedish ruler said at parting.

Peter I, with tears in his eyes, hugged the returning Igolkin, generously rewarded him and always remained affectionate and grateful to him.

During feasts, at evenings and receptions, he spoke about the feat of a simple Russian man, completely unknown to him:

I have a presentiment that the Russians will someday... shame the most enlightened peoples with their success in science, tirelessness in their work and the majesty of their firm and loud glory

Peter I the Great.

The Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky wrote about the contradictory nature of Peter’s actions:

“The combined action of despotism and freedom, enlightenment and slavery is a political squaring of the circle, a riddle that has been solved in our country since the time of Peter and has hitherto unresolved.”

The more I observe the talents of this monarch, the more I am surprised at this.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Peter I is “a master of various crafts.”

Peter was in a hurry to live. He walked quickly, his companions practically skipped. He was a jack of all trades, acquired a lot of technical knowledge, knew 15 crafts, mastered the professions of a blacksmith, chaser, engraver, printer, bookbinder, cartographer, accountant, navigator, artilleryman, watchmaker, translator (speaked Dutch, German, understood well Swedish, Polish, a little Tatar, English, read Latin), willingly worked with an axe, was considered the best shipwright in the country.