#valentin serov
Valentin Serov. Peter I The Great.
1907. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
Peter I, or Peter the Great (1672-1725), was one of the most outstanding rulers and reformers in Russian history. He was at first a joint ruler with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V, and his sister, Sophia. In 1696 he became a sole ruler. Peter I was Tsar of Russia and became Emperor in 1721. As a child, he loved military games and enjoyed carpentry, blacksmithing and printing.
Peter I is famous for carrying out a policy of ‘westernization’and drawing Russia further to the East that transformed Russia into a major European power. Having travelled much in Western Europe, Peter tried to carry western customs and habits to Russia. He introduced western technology and completely changed the Russian government, increasing the power of the monarch and reducing the power of the boyars and the church. He reorganized Russian army along Western lines.
He also transferred the capital to St. Petersburg, building the new capital to the pattern of European cities.
In foreign policy, Peter dreamt of making Russia a maritime power. To get access to the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Azov Sea and the Baltic, he waged wars with the Ottoman Empire (1695—1696), the Great Northern War with Sweden (1700-1721), and a war with Persia(1722-1723). He managed to get the shores of the Baltic and the Caspian Sea.
In his day, Peter I was regarded as a strong and brutal ruler. He faced much opposition to his reforms, but suppressed any and all rebellion against his power. The rebellion of streltsy, the old Russian army, took place in 1698 and was headed by his half-sister Sophia. The greatest civilian uprising of Peter’s reign, the Bulavin Rebellion (1707—1709) started as a Cossack war. Both rebellions aimed at overthrowing Peter and were followed by repressions.
Peter I played a great part in Russian history. After his death, Russia was much more secure and progressive than it had been before his reign.
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Valentin Serov. Alexander Pushkin In A Park.
1899. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
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