OK so i have to write an essay about Peter the Great. I have to tell how he "contributed a lasting and influential chapter to the story of western civilization." I've been reading a few books, and i'm not much of a reader so im not really understanding much about Peter. Can you tell me waht he did, how he did it, and why he did it and how he "contributed a lasting and influential chapter to the story of western civilization." PLEASE HELP. Lots of example would be great.
2007-07-11 07:46:02 · 6 answers · asked by hilal_arshad91 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Peter the Great is most known for attempting to westernize Russia. He attempted this by making the nobles cut off their beards and he also made the Russian military much more advanced. He completely changed Russia's fortunes. He made them into a Western power which ultimately changed World History.
2007-07-11 08:07:15 · answer #1 · answered by timmy o' cool 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i watched a documentary on him. he expanded russia at the expense of the Ottomans in the south (to reach access to the Black Sea) and the Swedes (to reach access to the Baltic Sea), and established the Russian navy. In addition, Peter the Great built St. Petersburg, and the city became the new capital of Russia until 1917. Peter the Great basically laid the foundations for what would become a formidable power that expanded its influence into Central Asia, Caucasus mountains, parts of Persia, Eastern Europe, and Finland. However, he was known to be paranoid and despotic. That's about it!
2016-05-19 21:21:55 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is, as others noted, most famous for opening Russia up to the West. Previously Russia had been insular and medieval and still bore traces of having languished under the Tartar (read Mongol) yoke.
Peter travelled in Western Europe and brought an interest in the then burgeoning Western culture. He with his boundless energy, and as Czar, was able to try to transform Russia into a more Western power.
He fought several wars against Sweden - one of his most lasting accomplishments - to gain the Baltic states and the area in and around Lenningrad. This gave Russia an outlet to the Baltic Sea and by extension Western Europe. This was crucial to foster ineraction between Russia and the West as travelling overland was too slow given the vast distances and the White Sea is too often impassable.
He was keenly interested in ships and shipbuilding having worked as a ship wright in Holland (I think) and saw this, as I stated above, as important in allowing Russia t have contact and interaction with the West.
He also defeated the Swedish army at Poltava in 1608 (check my dates this is all from memory). The Swedish King, Charles XII, was then styled Charles the Invincible and this crushing defeat in the wilds of the Ukraine forced Charles into fleeing the refuge of the Ottoman Empire and thereby largely ended his career.
2007-07-11 08:20:55 · answer #3 · answered by Joe H 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Peter the Great achieved the great task of westernizing the Russian people. he invited many western professionals to build up Russia's culture. One interesting thing he did was make the Russian nobles cut off their beards and drink coffee.
2007-07-11 08:16:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to the wikipedia website. I just scanned there and there seems to be a lot of info.
2007-07-11 08:16:46 · answer #5 · answered by Julie F 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you need to keep reading, as so to get better at reading :)
2007-07-11 07:53:52 · answer #6 · answered by jon_mac_usa_007 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋