When Peter 1 was born, a short biography, years of government

The study of the topic "The Personality of Peter 1" is of great importance for understanding the essence of his reforms in Russia. After all, in our country with a monarchical form of government, it is often the character, personal qualities and education of the sovereign that determined the main line of socio-political development. The reign of this king covers a fairly long period of time: in 1689 (when he finally removed his sister Sofia from public affairs) and to death in 1725.

General characteristics of the era

Consideration of the question of when Peter 1 was born should begin with an analysis of the general historical situation in Russia at the end of the XVII - the beginning of the XVIII century. It was a time when the country was ripe for serious and profound political, economic, social and cultural changes. Already during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the tendency towards penetration of Western European achievements into the country was clearly noted. With this ruler, a number of measures were taken to transform certain aspects of public life.

Therefore, the personality of Peter 1 was formed in an environment where the notion of the need for serious reforms was already clearly established in society. In this connection it is necessary to understand that the transformative activity of the first emperor of Russia did not arise from scratch, it became a natural and necessary consequence of the entire previous development of the country.

Childhood

Peter 1, a brief biography, whose reign and reforms are the subject of this review, was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672. The exact birthplace of the future emperor is unknown. According to the common view, this place was the Kremlin, but Kolomenskoye or Izmaylovo villages are also mentioned. He was the fourteenth child in the family of Tsar Alexis, but the first from his second wife, Natalia Kirillovna. Peter 1 on the maternal line came from the Naryshkin family. She was the daughter of small noblemen, which, perhaps, subsequently determined their struggle against the large and influential boyar Miloslavsky group at the court, who were relatives of the tsar by his first wife.

The childhood of Peter the Great passed among the nannies, who did not give him a serious education. That is why he did not learn how to read and write with errors until the end of his life. However, this was a very inquisitive boy, who was interested in everyone, he possessed an inquisitive mind, which determined his interest in practical sciences. The end of the 17th century, when Peter the Great was born, was a time when European education began to spread in the higher circles of society, but the early years of the future emperor were far from the new trends of the era.

Teenage years

Life Tsarevich proceeded in the village of Preobrazhenskoe, where he, in fact, was left to himself. No one seriously engaged in the upbringing of the boy, so his studies in those years were superficial. Nevertheless, Peter's childhood was very rich and fruitful in terms of shaping his worldview and interest in scientific and practical studies. He was seriously interested in the organization of the troops, for which he arranged himself so-called amusing shelves, which consisted of local courtyard boys, as well as the sons of small noblemen, whose possessions were located nearby. Together with these small detachments he took improvised bastions, arranged battles and charges, and made attacks. At the same time, it can be said that the fleet of Peter the First appeared. At first it was just a small boat, but it is nevertheless considered to be the father of the Russian fleet.

The first serious steps

It has already been said that the time when Peter 1 was born is considered to be a transitional period in the history of Russia. It was during this period that the country was in a situation when all the necessary prerequisites for its entry into the international arena emerged. The first steps were taken in this direction during the overseas travel of the future emperor to Western Europe. Then he managed to see with his own eyes the achievements of these states in the most diverse areas of life.

Peter 1, whose brief biography includes this important stage in his destiny, appreciated the achievements of Western Europe, primarily in technology and armament. However, he drew attention to the culture, education of these countries, to their political institutions. After his return to Russia, he attempted to modernize the administrative apparatus, the army, the legislation, which was to prepare the country for entry into the international arena.

The initial stage of government: the beginning of reforms

The era when Peter was born was the preparatory time for major changes in our country. That is why the transformation of the first emperor was so to the point and survived for a whole century of its creator. At the very beginning of his reign, the new sovereign abolished the Boyar Duma, which was a legislative body of authority under the former tsars. Instead, he created the Senate on a Western European model. In it meetings of senators on drawing up of laws should occur. Indicative is the fact that initially this was a temporary measure, which, however, proved to be very effective: this institution existed until the February Revolution of 1917.

Further conversions

It has already been said above that Peter the Great on the maternal line comes from a not very noble noble family. However, his mother was brought up in the European spirit, which, of course, could not but affect the boy's personality, although the queen herself, in the upbringing of her son, adhered to traditional views and measures. Nevertheless, the tsar was inclined to transform almost all spheres of life of Russian society, which was literally an urgent necessity in connection with Russia's gaining access to the Baltic Sea and the country's access to the international arena.

And so the emperor changed the administrative apparatus: he created colleges instead of orders, the Synod for the management of church affairs. In addition, he formed a regular army, and the fleet of Peter the Great became one of the strongest among the other maritime powers.

Features of transformative activity

The main goal of the emperor's rule was the desire to reform those areas that he needed to solve the most important tasks while conducting military operations on several fronts. He himself, obviously, assumed that these changes would be temporary. Most modern historians agree that the ruler did not have any preconceived program of activities to reform the country. Many experts believe that he acted on the basis of specific needs.

The significance of the reforms of the emperor for his successors

However, the phenomenon of his reforms is precisely that these seemingly temporary measures survived their creator for a long time and lasted almost unchanged for two centuries. Moreover, his successors, for example, Catherine II, largely focused on his achievements. This indicates that the reforms of the ruler occurred at the right time and at the right time. The life of Peter 1 was, in fact, devoted to changing and improving the most diverse spheres in society. He was interested in everything new, however, borrowing the achievements of the West, first of all he thought about how this would benefit Russia. That is why his transformational activity for a long time served as an example for carrying out reforms during the reign of other emperors.

Relationships with others

When describing the nature of the king, we should never forget which boyar family Peter belonged to. On the maternal line, he came from a not very noble nobility, which, most likely, determined his interest not for nobility, but for man's merits before the fatherland and his skill serve. The emperor valued not the rank and rank, but the specific talents of his subordinates. This speaks of the democratic approach of Peter Alekseevich to people, despite his harsh and even harsh nature.

Mature years

In the last years of his life the emperor strove to consolidate the achieved successes. But here he had serious problems with the heir. The dynastic crisis subsequently had a very bad impact on political governance and led to serious difficulties in the country. The fact is that Peter's son, Tsarevich Alexei went against his father, not wanting to continue his reforms. In addition, the king had serious problems in the family. Nevertheless, he took care to consolidate the achieved successes: he took the title of emperor, and Russia became an empire. This step has raised the international prestige of our country. In addition, Peter Alekseevich achieved recognition of Russia's access to the Baltic Sea, which was of fundamental importance for the development of trade and fleet. Subsequently, his successors continued their policy in this direction. Under Catherine II, for example, Russia gained access to the Black Sea. The emperor died as a result of a complication after a cold and before his death did not have time to make wills, which led to the emergence of numerous pretenders to the throne and repeated palace coups.