1697, the Dutch coastal city of Sardan. A delegation of Russian ambassadors came to this famous Dutch shipbuilding center. Strange to say, the diplomatic activities of this mission are very limited, but it always goes to the shipyard to inquire about shipbuilding. A tall young man in his twenties in the regiment simply moved into the blacksmith's cabin and became an ordinary carpenter in the carpenter's room of the shipyard. The young man has a strong body and strong arms. He works very hard. During the break, he always asks the master for advice on various shipbuilding techniques and takes notes from time to time.
Dutch workers in the shipyard were very surprised by this, so they paid more attention to observing the Russian youth. He calls himself mikhailov, a sailor by profession, and a corporal attache in this mission. Whenever he replies to China's letter, he always puts a stamp on it, which says "A student seeking advice". What is even more puzzling is that officials of the Russian mission often visit the attache with a respectful attitude, while the attache talks to the official in such a casual manner.
Dutch workers can't help whispering, who is this man? He is the Russian czar, known in history as Peter the Great.
Peter I was born in May 1672, and his childhood was full of drama. 1682, after a complicated court coup, 10-year-old Peter and his half-brother Ivan were both established as czars, but the court power soon fell into the hands of Peter's capable half-sister Sophia. Peter and his mother were forced to live in seclusion in the suburbs of Moscow, leading a "decent" life in exile and having no right to ask about political affairs.
Peter has been in close contact with foreigners in the embassy district since he was a child and is deeply influenced by western European culture. At the same time, he loves military games, spends all day with his friends and lives in military drills. In order to facilitate training, he and his partners set up two boy scouts, one called preobrazhensky Army and the other called Semyonovski Army. As Peter and his companions grew up, Boy Scouts became a well-trained armed force. This can't help but cause Sophie's fear and worry. 1689, Sophia instigated the best-equipped archery rebellion, preparing to kill Peter and formally seize the throne. When Peter heard the news, he led the boy scouts to attack quickly, suppress the rebellion and take power personally.
At this time, Russia is in an important historical development period. The commodity economy is becoming more and more active, and the all-Russian unified market has begun to take shape. However, compared with some advanced countries in western Europe, Russia is at least half a century behind, and its social life is still full of medieval ignorance. At the same time, because Russia is a landlocked country and has no seaport, it is impossible to expand overseas markets. If we want to fundamentally change the closed state of Russia and open the door to the sea, we must build a strong navy.
All this requires Russia to abandon the old and establish a new one. Young Peter I complied with the needs of Russian social development and decided to follow the example of the West to carry out reforms. So there was the scene that happened before.
Peter returned to Russia on 1698, and carried out a series of large-scale reforms for the modernization and westernization of the Russian country. In order to encourage the introduction of western technology, he brought many western technicians into Russia and sent many young Russians to study in Eastern Europe. He encouraged the development of industry and commerce during his reign. Under his rule, the scale of towns expanded, the number of bourgeoisie increased and its influence expanded.
During Peter's reign, he founded the first large-scale Russian navy, reorganized the army according to the western form, equipped with military uniforms and modern firearms, and implemented western-style military training methods. Peter also brought many changes in Russian civil affairs, including a wise reform, that is, the promotion of civil servants should be based on performance, not hereditary status.
On social issues, Peter also advocates westernization. He issued a decree that no one should grow a beard (although he later amended it), required court personnel to wear suits, and encouraged smoking and drinking coffee. Although many of his policies were strongly opposed at that time, they had a long-term impact: Russia, a country ruled by the aristocratic class, finally conformed to western customs and culture in many ways.
Peter thinks that the Russian Orthodox Church is a backward reactionary force. Peter succeeded in partially reorganizing the Orthodox Church and gained control to a great extent. Peter founded a secular school in Russia to encourage the development of science. He also introduced julian calendar, popular in Europe, and modernized the Russian alphabet. During his reign, Russia founded the first newspaper.
In addition to all these domestic reforms, Peter also carried out foreign policy reforms, which had an important impact on the future. Under his leadership, Russia fought Turkey in the south and Sweden in the north. The first battle with Turkey was successful, and 1696 conquered the port of Azov, thus opening the road to the Black Sea for Russia to some extent. However, in the later period of his rule, Turkey gained the upper hand in the battle. 17 1 1 year was forced to return Azov port to Turkey. Then there was a war with Sweden and the Baltic Sea was opened. After defeating the Swedish army, Russia jumped into the ranks of European powers. Peter was also honored as the "Great Emperor" and "Father of the Motherland" by the Privy Council after the war, and Russia was officially renamed "Russian Empire".
Soon, Peter established a new city, St. Petersburg, on both sides of neva river, that is, on part of the land acquired by conquering Sweden. 172 1 year, he moved the capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Since then, St. Petersburg has become the main exchange place between Russia and Western Europe. ;