Transcript Peter the Great

Peter the Great/ Catherine the
Great
Peter the Great (r. 1682-1725)
• A member of the Romanov dynasty, Peter I,
(Peter the Great) modernized and westernized
Russia until it became a Great power
• However, it was only the upper class who really
benefited from the contact with Europe
• Most of Russia remained backward and
distrusted European ideas
• Peter’s father Alexis died in 1676 and he was
succeeded by Peter’s older half-brother
Theodore
• Theodore died in 1682
• Theodore’s mother (the Miloslavkys) wanted the
crown to stay in their family; Peter’s mother
wanted the crown to stay in their family
• The Miloslavkys were supported by the streltsy
wanted Peter and his mentally-deficient halfbrother Ivan to share the crown
• 1682 Peter and Ivan shared the throne – but the
power was held by Peter’s half-sister Sophia,
who ruled as regent
• Sophia and her lover, Prince Golitsin ruled Russia
• They persecuted the Old Believers and embarked on
disastrous wars
• Peter’s two great loves were playing war games and
building things, especially carpentry – these would later
combine when Peter started to build a navy
• In 1689 Peter removed Sophia and sent her to a convent
while he ruled with Ivan – although Ivan played no
part in the administration and died in 1696
• On January 27, 1689 Peter was forced by his mother to
marry – his wife was beautiful, but stupid and the
marriage was a disaster
• His early experiences taught him two lessons:
a) control the streltsy
b) strengthen the military
• In many ways this was similar to Louis XIV of France
who experienced the Fronde and had to control the
nobility and strengthen his military
• Peter ruled independently for 36 years, but most of them
he was at war
• He was physically large – almost 6ft 8 inches tall
• He had enormous reserves of energy and always wanted
to learn
• Nearly all of his reforms were done to improve the
military
• It was only later in life, when Peter was considering his
legacy that he shifted the emphasis away from the
military
• However, Catherine the Great was able to move Russia
closer to Europe because of the changes implemented by
Peter
• 1695 – Peter determined that he needed to control the
Caspian Sea, but the region was held by the Turks
• From July to September 1695 the Russians attempted
to capture the Turkish fortress at Azov
• The first attempt was a disaster for Peter
• However Peter learned that he would need a fleet
designed and built by European
• He sent to Prussia and Austria for shipbuilders with
the intent of building his fleet and stopping the Turks
from relieving Azov
• In July 1696 the fortress surrendered
• In 1697, Peter decided he would travel to Europe to
learn western practices
• No previous tsar had left Russia during peacetime
• On March 10, 1697 the Grand Embassy set off with
Peter trying to travel incognito as "Peter Mikhailov“ a
volunteer sailor
• In 1697 Peter arrived in Holland, where he worked as
a carpenter in the shipyards
• In 1698 Peter spent four months in England and came
to appreciate the English government and more
especially the English navy
• William III, wanting to increase trade with Russia
welcomed Peter and gave him all the assistance he
needed
• English merchants wanted to sell Virginia tobacco to
Russia
• Russia had plenty of natural resources like pitch,
leather, grain, and furs
• In about 4,000 members of the Streltsy garrison
rebelled over several issues
• They intended to install Sophia as the new queen
• In June 1698, after leaving England Peter was on his
way to Venice when he heard about a revolt of the
Streltsy
• Peter ordered loyal soldiers out to fight the rebels and
the rebellion was quickly suppressed Streltsy
disbanded and Peter installed his own imperial guards
• The initial investigation resulted in the deaths
of over 50 troublemakers, with many more
exiled
• When Peter returned to Russia in August 1698
he took the opportunity to makes sure no one
questioned his authority again and violently
sought revenge against the Streltsy
• Over 1,000 officers were executed as Peter
removed all threats to his power
• His investigations went on for nearly a decade
• After securing his throne, Peter started to
reform Russia
• First came the military, but there would also be
social, educational, and economic changes
• After travelling to Europe, Peter realized how far
Russia lagged behind Europe, and set out to reform
his country
• As part of his reforms he required the nobility to wear
western clothes and he even insisted that men shave
off their beards
• In April 1698 Peter personally cut off the beards of his
chief advisors
• All except peasants and priests had to pay a tax if they
wanted to keep their beards
• This was a drastic move because Russians believed
they needed their beards to get to heaven
• Peter also started to build his fleet
• Much of the work was done by English or Dutch
workers, but by 1703 Peter had his Baltic fleet
• In 1700, the head of the church, Patriach Adrian, died
• Peter did not replace him. In 1701, the control of church
property was handed over to a government department.
• The government received monastic revenues and paid
monks a salary
• The church was now subordinate to the will of Peter
• In 1701 Peter opened a school for mathematics and
navigation in Moscow
• In 1702 the first newspaper was published
• To pay for his reforms Peter found new and creative
ways to tax his people
The Great Northern War
• Prior to 1700 hostility against Sweden had been
increasing
• A coalition of Russia, Denmark, and Saxony-Poland all
looked at the 15 year-old Charles XII of Sweden as an
easy target
• Once Sweden had been defeated the goal was to divide
up her extensive holdings in northern Europe
• Peter wanted control of the Baltic, without these ports
Russia would never become a Great Power
• In March 1700 the Danes attacked, but he Swedes, aided
by an Anglo-Dutch fleet soon forced the Danes to
surrender and withdraw from the alliance
• In November 1700 Charles attacked Russia and with an
army of 8,000 defeated 23,000 Russians
• The victory gave Charles universal respect and
confirmed that Russia was not a major power
• Charles spent six years in Poland establishing his
power
• By 1706 Charles was in control of Poland
• While Charles was in Poland, Peter had some success
capturing some of the Baltic ports
• Charles invaded Russia in 1707
• Charles was hoping to form an alliance of people that
had been suppressed by the Russians, but his plan
failed
• In 1709 Sweden suffered a major defeat at the Battle of
Poltava
• The victory was the first step for Peter, who now was
dominant in eastern Europe
• Charles was forced to stay in Turkey because all his
escape routes were controlled by Peter
• The alliance with Denmark and Poland was renewed
• With Peter stuck in Turkey Sweden was governed by a
Swedish Council
• The Council raised another army and sent it to
Germany, but without a navy to ship supplies the army
was ill-prepared
• The new army was defeated by a combined RussianDanish-Saxon force in 1713
• Charles persuaded the Sultan to attack Russia’s
southern border
• The Sultan gained control of Azov
• In 1713 the Sultan signed a peace agreement with
Russia guaranteeing the peace for 25 years
• Gradually more and more states joined the coalition
against Sweden
• In 1718 at Fredriksheld Charles was killed
• Now with Sweden no longer the major power fear of
Russian expansion into Europe griped many countries
• Britain and France were especially worried and
pressured Russia to seek peace
• 1719 – Treaty of Stockholm signed between Sweden and
Hanover
• 1720 – Treaty of Stockholm signed between Sweden and
Brandenburg
• 1720 - Treaty of Fredriksborg signed between Denmark
and Sweden
• 1721 - Treaty of Nystad signed between Sweden and
Russia
St. Petersburg
• St Petersburg is on the Neva River on the Baltic Sea
• It has also been called Petrograd and Leningrad
• In 1703, during the Great Northern War, Peter captured
the Swedish fortress on the Neva River
• Almost immediately he built the Peter and Paul Fortress
in the same location – the first brick building of the new
city
• The city was named after Peter’s patron saint
• Construction was done by conscripted serfs who came
from all over Russia
• In 1712, Peter moved the government from Moscow to
St. Petersburg
• In 1712 Peter married his second wife, Catherine. His
first wife become a nun and the marriage is declared
null and void
• He also has his first-born son Alexei tortured and then
murdered on suspicion of treason
• In 1714 Peter decreed that the children of the nobility
and other officials, between 10 and 15 years of age, had
to have compulsory education and they had to be tested
once their studies were completed
• In 1721 Peter created the Holy Synod, a council to
replace the patriarch, which was answerable only to
him, thus depriving the Church of its independence
• In 1722 Peter issued the Table of Ranks to reduce the
power and influence of the Boyars
• The Table of Ranks determined a the social status of a
person based on service to the king, not on birth or
seniority
• Even commoners could be promoted through the Table
of Ranks
• The Table of Ranks remained in place until 1917
• On October 22, 1721 – Peter is proclaimed emperor and
awarded the title “the Great” by the Senate
• Peter’s title was recognized by Poland, Prussia, and
Sweden, but not by other European monarchs who
feared the title “emperor” may appear great then
“king”
• In 1724 Peter has Catherine crowned “Empress of
Russia” and they rule as joint monarchs
• In the 1720s Peter suffered from series of bladder and
urinary tract problems
• In November 1724 Peter waded out into freezing water
to help rescue a group of soldiers
• Soon after he caught a chill and never recovered
• On February 8, 1725 Peter died, he had no heir
Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796)
• Catherine was a minor German princess, but she was a
distant relative of the Russian royal family
• The marriage of Catherine to the future Tsar Peter III
was chiefly the work of the Prussian government which
wanted to strengthen ties to Russia and weaken Russia’s
tie with Austria
• Catherine married the Grand Duke Peter in August
1745
• Catherine was determined to do whatever was necessary
to be accepted by the Russian people such as converting
to Russian Orthodoxy and learning the language
• However, the marriage was a failure for both Peter and
Catherine and both had numerous affairs, although they
did have a son, Paul, and a daughter Anna Petrovna
• Catherine kept herself well-acquainted with events in
Europe and corresponded with Diderot and Voltaire
• In December 1761, the Empress Elizabeth died and
Peter succeeded to the throne as Peter III
• Almost immediately he angered the nobles by
withdrawing Russia from the Seven Years’ War with
Prussia because of his admiration for Frederick II and
returning all occupied land even though victory was
almost assured and with Russian troops in Berlin. The
decision gained nothing for Russia
• Peter continued to alienate the nobility and the military
when he:
a) Formed an alliance with Prussia in a war with
Denmark
b) Revoked the requirement implemented by Peter the
Great that all male nobles either work for the military or
the civil service
c) Loved the Lutheran religion
more than the Russian Orthodox religion
d) Insisted that the military wear Prussian uniforms and
adopt Prussian discipline (which was much harsher)
• Economically he banned the importation of sugar to
promote domestic production and supported the western
ideas of mercantilism and capitalism
• Peter’s weak nature frustrated Catherine who believed
she had a better understanding of what was best for
Russia
• Catherine and her lover, Grigori Orlov started to plan
the overthrow of her husband when he thought he was
going to divorce her
• In 1762 members of the Leib Guard staged a coup,
forced Peter to sign his own abdication papers, and
proclaimed Catherine the new Tsarina
• Ironically the guard had replaced the Streltsy because it
was determined the Streltsy could not be trusted
• Three days after the coup, Peter was murdered – it is
suggested but never proved, that it was Catherine who
organized the murdered
• Catherine took over a country that was in turmoil after
the short, but ineffective rule of Peter
• Although Catherine was not Russian she was not the
first non-Russian to rule. Catherine, the second wife of
Peter the Great ruled as Empress of Russia from 1725 to
1727
• Although many nobles did support Catherine some saw
her as a usurper and believed she should rule only until
her son, Paul, could succeed her
• When there was the threat of another coup, Catherine
acted fast to remove all threats
• Once in charge it became obvious that Russia was
almost bankrupt and almost every aspect of the country
was a mess
• In fact no one really knew how big Russia was or how
many people lived in the empire
• There was corruption and mismanagement everywhere
• Catherine decided that since the country was basically
agrarian-based that she would start by improving the
agricultural production
• This would have two immediate benefits:
• 1) it would produce more food to keep the people fed
2) it would provide a tax-base
• Catherine advertised for farmers to come to Russia and
offered them favorable terms to purchase land
• She offered loans to farmers who improved productivity,
especially if they used English techniques
• She moved people to under-populated regions
• She encouraged selective breeding of animals
• She sent people to study in Europe to learn the most
efficient use of the land
• After agriculture she focused on mining and sent
geologists out to find ores and minerals
• She opened the first School of Mines in St. Petersburg
• In 1762 she decreed that anyone could open a factory
anywhere except in Moscow or St. Petersburg, which
were already overcrowded
• She encouraged trade, especially with China
• She sent workers to Europe to learn the latest techniques
and she recruited European to move to Russia to work
• In 1763 six departments were created in the Senate to
specialize in administration
• By 1765 the budget deficit had been replaced by a
budget surplus and most of the nation’s debt had been
paid
• In 1764 Catherine ordered a census and the accurate
mapping of each district
• While all of these reforms were taking place Catherine
sent Russian troops to support a coup in Poland
• In September 1764 Stanislaus Poniatowski is elected
king of Poland
• Catherine now turned to education and
mandated that every district and every town
should have a school
• In 1763 Catherine opened the first College of
Medicine in Russia
• To set an example for her people Catherine was
inoculated against smallpox in October 1768
• It was Catherine’s greatest regret that she was
unable to abolish serfdom, but the nobles needed
the serfs and she needed the nobles
• Catherine increased the size of the Russian
Empire by almost 200,000 miles² mostly by
taking land from Poland and from the Ottomans
• All the time she corresponded with other
sovereigns, notably Frederick the Great, and
leaders of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire and
Diderot
• She even purchased Diderot’s library when he
died
• She commissioned a statue of Peter the Great and
placed the following inscription on the base "Petro Primo--Catherina Secunda"
• There was almost constant warfare between
Russia and the Turks during the 16th and 17th
centuries as the Turks tried to retain possession
of their land and Russia tried to gain warm water
ports
• The First Russo-Turkish War (1768-74)
• Sultan Mustafa III, encouraged by France,
declared war on Catherine
• In 1771 the Russians conquered the Crimea and
installed a pro-Russian khan on the throne
• Russian troops also captured Moldavia and
Walachia
• The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774) gave
Russia considerable land in the south as well as
the right for Russian ships to pass through the
Bosporus to the Mediterranean Sea
• Russia also claimed the right to protect the
members of the Greek Orthodox Church
First Partition of Poland
• In the 18th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
was little more than a puppet state for Russia
• With the Russian victories in the First Russo-Turkish
war, Austria felt threatened
• France suggested a negotiated settlement that would
keep both sides happy and prevent war
• Austria would receive parts of Silesia from Prussia and
Prussia would receive part of Poland
• Prussia didn’t want to give up Silesia, but she was allied
to Russia so war between Russia and Austria would
mean war for Prussia, a country just recovering from
the Seven Years’ War
• Prussia also wanted to try and protect the Ottomans in
the event Prussia needed their help against either Russia
or Austria
• It was suggested that Russia, Prussia, and Austria all
settle for some part of Poland, with Austria getting the
lion’s share
• Although Poland was basically under the control of
Russia the Polish king, Stanislaus Poniatowski was
becoming too independent
• In 1772 Catherine joined Frederick the Great of Prussia
and Maria Theresa of Austria in the First Partition of
Poland
• Prussia received the smallest but most important area
Austria received the largest area
Russia received the least beneficial piece of land
Poland lost about 30% of its territory
• In 1773 Russia witnessed the largest peasant uprising in
its history – the Pugachev Revolt
• Peter the Great had granted whole villages to nobles,
while Catherine reinforced the authority of the nobles
over the serfs
• The Cossack Emelyn Pugachev, claiming to be Tsar
Peter III promised the peasants their own land and
freedom if they supported the revolt
• Local priests even supported Pugachev and
disseminated information to the peasants
• Initially Catherine did not take the threat seriously
which allowed Pugachev time to move and recruit
• As the revolt started to fail the Russian army ruthlessly
slaughtered anyone deemed rebellious
• In September 1774 Pugachev was betrayed and caught
as he tried to flee
• He was executed in January 1775
• Following the revolt the government implemented
several changes such as having officials elected
• In 1783 Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula
• In 1785 Catherine issued the Charter of Rights,
Freedoms, and Privileges of the Russian Nobility, which
created political groups for the nobles in each region
• Each region elected a spokesperson who could petition
the queen
• It also restored traditional privileges and exempted the
nobles from taxes
• The nobles became the sole owners of their serfs and
their estates
Second and Third Partitions
• After the French Revolution in 1789, Russia became
very fearful of a possible revolt in Poland
• Russian troops invaded in 1792
• In 1793 Russia and Prussia helped themselves to even
more land in the Second Partition of Poland
• Still there were problems in Poland and the Polish
people fought on against the Russians
• Once again Russia, Prussia, and Austria decided to act
by removing Poland from the map
• In 1795 the Third Partition of Poland removed Poland
as a nation
• In November 1796 Catherine died
• She was succeeded by her son Paul I
• Catherine was a contradiction. She pursued
Enlightenment ideals but sacrificed those ideals to
maintain her authority
• Seen by western monarchs as being an enlightened
monarch, she had no problem being repressive against
her own people and did little to reform the lives of most
Russians
Conclusion
• Both Peter and Catherine were absolute monarchs and
both members of the Romanov dynasty
• Both were very dynamic personalities with unlimited
energy
• They were both enlightened despots, but to differing
degrees
• Peter made Russia in to a modern state
• Both claimed the throne with problems:
• Catherine staged a coup, while Peter had to deal with his
half-brothers
• He attempted to westernize the country, especially the
government and the economy, but had limited success
• However, his main focus was always on improving the
military
• Catherine also tried to reform Russia but unlike Peter
she was hindered by the fact she was a woman, that she
was a foreigner (German), and that he needed to
support of the nobles
• Catherine wanted to abolish serfdom, but she could not
• Both monarchs realized that Russia was a backward
country with very little respect in Europe
• Peter modeled his programs after Louis XIV of France:
Catherine based her programs on the ideals of the
Enlightenment
• Catherine allied with the nobles, Peter controlled the
nobles