Peter the Great

By (author) Paul Bushkovitch

Publication date:

14 January 2016

Length of book:

174 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442254626

Centuries after he ruled Russia from 1689 to 1725, Peter the Great remains one of the most revered and enigmatic leaders in world history. Now in a new edition, this penetrating study by noted Yale historian Paul Bushkovitch casts new light on Peter and his times, and demonstrates why it is impossible to comprehend the later course of Russian history without first grasping Peter's profound influence. Bushkovitch illustrates how Peter, during his thirty-six years as tsar, transformed his country into a modern nation—he strengthened the state, reorganized the army, established a navy, and conquered new territories. In addition to these momentous achievements, Peter changed the face of the Russian character by introducing European culture, scientific innovations, and political thought to Russia. His influence ultimately paved the way for liberalism, Western-style nationalism, and communism. In the end, neither his contemporaries nor generations of future historians can agree on how Peter should be remembered: was he a heroic reformer who brought Russia into the modern age, or a violent despot who valued the ideas of foreigners over Russian heritage?

Chronology
Introduction
Chapter 1: Russia at the End of the Seventeenth Century
Chapter 2: Tradition and Westernization
Chapter 3: A Quarter-Century of Conflict, 1676–1699
Chapter 4: The Era of Experimentation, 1700–1716
Chapter 5: Crisis and Resolution, 1716–1725
Chapter 6: Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Reform
Primary Sources
Index
About the Author

This deceptively simple book pulls off a nearly impossible task. It tells the story of Peter the Great and the different, complex worlds in which he lived—from the Moscow of the boyars to the Greenwich observatory to the shipyards of Zaandam and Amsterdam. Bushkovitch brings to life both Peter and the entire Russian court in their encounter with Europe beyond Poland, Sweden, and Denmark. Scottish doctors, English astronomers, Italian architects, French garden designers, Ukrainian clerics, and German engineers all take their turn in bringing Peter and his family into an ever-wider orbit. Most remarkable is the balance of deft, vivid character sketches with a sophisticated analysis incorporating the latest research. Bushkovitch manages to distill decades of scholarship and reflection into a single short volume. Thus this is not only an introduction to Peter and to Russia in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, but to the state of the field.