Missed Notes

Peter the Great

• Russain Empire- continued after the four empires ended in WWI
• rise and fall of empires is a theme of this course
• Peter Great was given for expanding Russia
• what Peter the Great did-pushed back the neighbors that had blocked the expansion of Moscow-Sweden
• poltava, Poland, Turks, and Swedes are defeated for expansion
• dreamed of capturing constantinople that would give him control of the straights to black sea
• peter the great was te first of russian tzars that dreamed of this-
• azov-access of black sea-lose and are forced to surrender after an unsuccessful
• despite this dramatic expansion of russain empire, does not get this outlet to the black sea
• russia’s participation in european affairs had been minimal-
• Louis XIV sent a letter to russain Tzar who had been dead for 12 years because russia was so out of communication
• after russain victories began, europeans began to recognize Peter and began to have a fear of him and Sweden too with Gustovos Adolphus
• There is no other European states expanding their empire overseas that adds as much land to its empire from the 1630-1740’s as Russia
• about 2 million square miles
• first child of father’s second wife
• bujair threw over nobles
• died in 1725-no strict rules for succession of tzar
• family battle royale
• no foreign minister-
• council of the nobles-met in the throne of nobles-known as Duma
• his absolutism is because of his personality
• opening up of russia to Euro ideas
• he does this himself
• as a boy he was very smart and into science
• traveled often to Europe
• took archaic structure and transforms it into an absolute monarchy
• common to hapsburg, france, Sweden
• wants to open up russia to commerce-wanted wealth for improvement of russain life
• made russia a huge military power
• injects european culture
• the tension in russia between
• peter was at least 6 foot 7-guards of Frederick the Great were Giants because they were six feet tall
• most people were 5 foot 4
• napoleon was the average height of most people in france
• he had extremely small hands and feet and stumbles sometimes when he walked
• odd facial ticks that he could not help-terrets
• torturous-sometimes kept people alive to suffer longer-had people come and watch so that people could be warned not to act up
• executed people himself
• incidents where his merciful side came through as well-when it came to treason he was less likely to be nice
• ex. his son that he tortured
• his second wife was a latvian peasant maid- the nobles thought it was horrific
• he was capable of playing the role of a tzar but there are more images of him in battered clothing to recognize his struggles
• like the company of ordinary people-identified himself with the cmmon people
• liked to walk, avoided carraiges
• commoners were sometimes better dressed than he was
• ate standing up and jumped from table to table to socialize
• liked living in a basic peasant house found in the outskirts of Moscows
• drunken assembly-mock parliament
• getting waisted then making mockery decisions
• saying that being a Tzar is more than just playing the role
• he had to manifest strength, firmness, and bravery
• got to work earliest
• loved maps and geography-self taught
• made spelling mistakes-had bad handwriting
• built a private library with ordinary books and teaching books
• sang religious music and played the drums
• peter wanted a navy-needed a port
• he first built a navy on rivers using dutch shipmasters from amsterdams
• learned dutch in 1696 he went to western europe incognito to learn military skills
• interesedt in baroque
• makes nobles junior partners in absolutism
• asked men and women to dress like european and to adopt nonrussian customs for russia
• tremendous tensions with the church eventhough he is deeply religious
• some put on western syled wigs
• woman began to wear heals
• his son was more under influence of tradition
• plots agaisnt his father
• father totures him
• son dies of a cold after being put in a cell
• weakened
• what lasted was the europeanization of western culture
• has books translated from west into russian
• russain students sent anbraod to study at universities
• peter was a son of european rationalism-rationality rather than traditionalism
• not agaisnt the church but thought people were waisting their time being monks
• did not serve state or the dynasty

• in siberia, this empire amounted to little more than a series of trrading posts. Peter the great creates this create empire that will have great influence after a while
• will have an enormous influence on asian powers as well
• open up russia to comemrce knowing that trade means wealth
• makes russia a military power in 17th and early 18th century
• injects euro culture into russia
• what is russian that should stay nonsecular and what is russian that should be modified?
• peter is at least 6’7’’--extremely small hands and small feet
• very torturous
• enormous ambivolous to his power-married a lativian commoner
• boyars-horrified
• sad childhood
• loved sleeping on ships-rocking allowed him to sleep
• he ate peasant food
• had a natural manner-could be considered inappropriate
• liked masquerades
• always took fake names as commoners so that he would look like a peasant
• very interested in the sciences