Peter the Great and Catherine the Great

Outline


Peter:
       Made Russia more like Europe
       Changed the Capital of Russia
       Let his personal beliefs influence how he ran his country

Catherine:
       Continued with the reforms that Peter had established
       Abandoned her husband so she could rise to power
       Patronized the arts and founded academies

Thesis:
       The two greatest rulers of Russia changed their country with their own personal ideas: Peter the Great's knowledge concerning the fundamental ideas that had allowed Western Europe to grow and prosper coupled with his own radical ideas changed Russia drastically, and then Catherine the Great revolutionized the country even further with her patronage of the arts and her skill as a diplomat.


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       In the late 17th century, Russia appeared to be falling behind on the times. It was not an influential country, and it did not have the power to become one. Peter the Great wanted to see to it that this was changed for the better. He instituted a multitude of reforms to try and make Russia more like its Wester European neighbors. Catherine the Great saw to it that Russia was made even stronger than Peter had made it. She placed a few of her own reforms and established academies and libraries. Each of the great rulers worked off of each other. Without Peter, Catherine would not have made such drastic changes by herself, and Peter would not have done anything had he not been sure that his reforms would be enforced and even lengthened by another noble.The two greatest rulers of Russia changed their country with their own personal ideas: Peter the Great's knowledge concerning the fundamental ideas that had allowed Western Europe to grow and prosper coupled with his own radical ideas changed Russia drastically, and then Catherine the Great revolutionized the country even further with her patronage of the arts and her skill as a diplomat.

       During his reign throughout the late 1600's and early 1700's, Peter the Great found a great need for change in Russia. In Peter the Great's mind, Russia was not as modernized as the rest of the world. He took much inspiration from Western Europe and went so far as to borrow military tactics from the west. He also worked in Western Europe and gleaned many useful techniques in the areas of industry and administration. Even though Peter's Russia was becoming more up-to-date with the times, he still had to make it better. The greatest and most controversial reform that Peter initiated was the change of the capital city. His new city was to be built from the ground up on the Gulf of Finland. The capital was changed from Moscow to St. Petersburg partially because Peter had never liked Moscow from a young age and partly because he wanted to have a port city so that he could train a navy. Unlike many great rulers before him, Peter allowed his personal beliefs influence how he ruled. This made him a much more powerful Emperor.

       Catherine the Great helped to re-institute some of the reforms that Peter had made that had not been upheld after his reign. Even when she was not officially the sovereign of Russia, Catherine was still well respected by many and by some she was respected even more so than her husband, the true Tsar of Russia. Catherine wanted to rule Russia, and she knew she had supporters, and she abandoned her husband to do so. She was a skilled diplomat who was able to increase Russia's influence in external affairs, a dream that Peter had always wanted. Her patronage of the arts advanced Russia socially. She founded museums, libraries, and academies after her adoration of the arts and knowledge. She wanted to have her citizens educated, and she wanted for there to be equal opportunities for boys and girls. Unfortunately, Catherine repealed many of her and Peter's reforms. In some ways, Catherine helped Russia become a great world power, but towards the end of her reign, she made things worse for her country, something that Peter would not have appreciated.  

       Russia was greatly changed by both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great during each Great's reign. While Peter focussed more on how to make Russia more westernized, Catherine focussed on how to make her country more intellectually sound. During each ruler's rule, Russia was morphed from a mildly known, semi-powerful nation into a country that was intelligent, powerful, and capable of supporting an army and a navy. However, after every change that seemed to better the nation, the peasantry was left reeling. Since everyone in Russia was not charmed by the changes, Russia would never become the world's greatest nation. Peter and Catherine had done what they thought was right, but ended up making a few aspects of their country worse. Many of  Peter and Catherine's reforms aided the nation in prospering greatly, but many others would lead to its demise, so through the ages other changes had to be made. Peter and Catherine's reigns would never be forgotten, but in the eyes of some, they died in infamy.

       Together, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were the greatest rulers that Russia had seen up until their respective rules. But neither would have seemed great or had as much of an impact had it not been for the other one. Peter was very controversial during his reign with his changing of the capital city, and he was not readily accepted by the commoners. He had faith that after him, there would come another ruler who would revitalize what he had done. This next great ruler was Catherine. She established some of her own reforms and also let Peter's original ideas grow. Without Peter, Catherine would never have had the initiative to change Russia as drastically, and without Catherine, Peter's ideas would have been lost.