Absolutism
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Introduction
The reign of Peter the Great Russian
Absolutism is a form of government whereby where complete and unlimited authority is sustained by a sovereign individual with no incoming balance from any part of the government. The rulers in these types of governments have absolute power with no challenges to his power. Over time, the term has been used to single out various leaders-from Hitler’s dictatorship to monarch rulers such as Louis XIV of France- to Julius Caesar. Early absolutism existed across Europe; however, it mostly existed among the western states of Austrian, Prussia and Spain. Through absolutism, a central government could exercise much control and command on its people. It is these qualities and components of the system that led to the rise of Peter the great who through successful wars transformed Tsardom of Russia to become a dominant European power.
Analysis
Peter the great is acknowledged with pulling Russia out of the dark ages times to the point that when he died in 1725, Russia had become a leading state in the Eastern Europe. He accomplished these by employing a centralized government, modernizing the army, creating a navy and increasing the subjugation and subjection of the local peasants. It is easy to conclude that Peter’s outlook on life and people was toughened by his childhood. At 17 years, Peter removed his sister (Sophia) and the prince (Golitsin) to step down from the seat as their reign was filled by chaos at the government level much to the public’s dismay. Upon sitting on the throne, Peter portrayed a physical presence (7 feet tall and very broad) which seemed to indicate how his rule would go. His ambition led to his enquiry about how to be a carpenter, talking to mathematicians, and he also leant how best to train soldiers (including how to torture people).
After inheriting an administration full of problems, Peter the great tried to solve these issues. This consisted of navigating to other states in search of knowledge and studying other cultures so as to apply these and even better reforms upon returning home. In his European trip, he visited museums, factories, theaters, arsenals and even attended some sessions in parliaments. By the time Peter was forced to come back home, he was full of knowledge, brilliance and ready to steer Russia towards the Western culture. His actions to westernize Russia, however, did not always produce the wanted effect. As a result of his reforms, the Russian society became splintered in classes that could not even have a dialog-factions and disputes never ceased in the context of the same class. (Olive, 1969)
In his efforts to westernize Russia, he labored at the reform of dressing. His period was marked by people wearing long beards, (which was cherished and preserved with care) thus allowing them to hang on their bosoms without cutting the mustache. Some people even slept with shoes! Short hair accompanied the long beards except for the ecclesiastics who kept their hair long for people to distinguish them from the public. In order to change that custom, Peter ordered that merchants and gentlemen i.e. except priests and peasants should be imposed a tax of one hundred rubles for those who wanted to keep the long beards. The act was regarded as a sin and that it abolished their religion. Also, the Russians wore very long that reached the heels. Peter commanded that all the nobles and those with positions at the court to dress like the English fashion. They were also supposed to adorn the clothes with silver or gold according to their means.
The rest of the people were instructed to wear a suit of clothes cut in accordance to the new fashion. Failure to that, a penalty of 2 grieves or kneeling and having the long part of the garments that went below the knee cut off, was set for any time that a person entered the town in the old style. Women changed their dressing to include stays, skirts and bodices. Also, he introduced practice that-all men and women should be invited to entertainments e.g. wedding and banquets where they would mingle freely. He encouraged people to drink coffee and even smoke cigarettes. His majesty presented himself as an example to all the new rules. (Basu-Zharku, 2011)
Peter took Russia to war against the Ottoman Empire so as to have access to the black sea from where he builds the first ever naval base in Russian history. In 1700, he went to war against the Swedish Empire, which lasted for 21 years. After coming out victorious, the Russian Tsardom transformed to the Russian Empire. During the war, Peter transformed the scattered kingdom into a central state, with 12 provinces being managed by governors. Also, he created a senate and a cabinet to help bring the public supervision closer to the people. In fact, the first Russian newspaper was printed in Peter’s reign. (Cheney, 2013)After setting up two academies, Peter promoted the Russian industry until Russia became the world’s top producer in cast iron melting. The production of the melted iron bolstered the industry as well as the military. He designed new guns from Russia and also made the army and navy professional standing units.
Peter knew that Russia needed immediate change once he took over. He also knew that the majority of the public disagreed with his plans to westernize Russia. So, he decided that in order to inflict the changes he engineered, he would have to push the people. In order to force the people to follow him, he increased his power as an absolute ruler. He brought he Russian Orthodox Church under the state control for closer supervision. He went ahead to abolish the office of the patriarch. Apart from that, he set up a group entitled ‘the Holy Synod’ for the purpose of running the church-under his direction.
To make more impact as the head, he reduced the powers of the great landowners and recruited men from the lower ranking families. He promoted them into positions of authority and even rewarded them with grants of lands. He wanted to make sure that the recruited men would owe everything to him, and be loyal to him. He added potatoes and started Russia’s first ever newspaper, and was the first person to edit it. Peter saw himself as the prime servant of the nation as he accepted the title the great, a title which elevated him above the rest. He controlled nobility while also demanding the state service from them and also drafted their lives. He used his self-elevated powers to force thousands of people to make Saint Petersburg (that he named after himself) without pay. (Cross, 2003)
In 1700, there was a war that lasted for 21 years. The great Northern war comprised of two conflicting groups. A fight raised between the coalitions led by peter the great verses Sweden’s Charles X11. As a result, Sweden lost her supremacy to the Tsardom Russia. The Russian Empire became the most dominant nation in the Baltic area. Though the war occurred from 1700, the causes are traced back to the 1690s. A coalition was made in 1699, and it included Russia, Denmark and Poland. The three nations seemed to agree that a 15-year old Sweden’s king Charles X11 would be a soft target. While Denmark and Poland had their reasons to battle Sweden, Peter’s main reason was to attain greatness in the area. Sweden possessed Estonia, Inglia and Karelia and thus became acknowledged as the greatest in the Baltic region. In order for Russia to become the greatest, Peter needed his area to advance to the West. Thus, Sweden stood as the only state blocking Russia’s advancement to the West.
The only waters surrounding Russia were the Archangelsk, but the water was ice-shut for most of the year. The fact that he could not use these water bodies for export to Europe meant that Russia had to use the ports of Eastern Baltic that were controlled by Sweden. It also meant that the Russia’s goods for export were put in the hands of the customs and tolls of the people of Sweden. Peter’s ambition to make Russia a naval power was not achievable until she had a port in Eastern waters. Russia became successful against the Swedish empire. Peter seized Riga and large portions of Finland (Sommerville, n.d.).
The campaigns of the Russian army under the rule of Peter the great, towards the Sea of Azov occurred at the time of the Russo-Turkish war that happened between 1686 and 1699. Peter’s main purpose of the campaigns was to capture the fortress of Azov with a garrison of seven thousand men, which blocked the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The campaigns occurred in two phases- the first and second Azov campaign. The first phase started in the spring of 1695. An army of 31000 men with 170 guns composed of rack regiments and Don Cossacks and divided into three detachments was sent towards Azov. A different army comprising of 120,000 noble cavalrymen, musketeers and Ukrainian Cossacks (under the command of B.P. shere-metev) shifted along the lower reaches of the Dnieper so as to distract the Crimean taters. On the th of July, the Russian armies marched and surrounded Azov by land. However, after two unsuccessful assaults, the siege was lifted.
The preparations for a second Azov campaign commenced officially at the end of 1695. On April 23rd to 26th, the main force comprising of 75,000 men commanded by S.A. Shein arrived by boat and land. Peter led fleet galleys on 3rd of May. Azov surrendered on July 19th after bombardments from the land as well as from sea. These campaigns showed the importance of fleets, and it also marked the beginning of the Russia transformation into a naval power. Even before Peter the great came to power, Russia was still doomed by Geography never to become a European naval power because it had no warm-water port and also, no access to the Mediterranean. To improve Russia’s state on the seas, Peter set out to attain more maritime outlets as the only possible outlet since White Sea snowed mostly through the year.
The Baltic Sea was controlled by the Swedish nation in the North. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire was in full control of the black sea in the south. As a result, Peter’s primary goal became capturing the Ottoman fortress of Azov (located near the Don River). He launched an attack in 1695 but failed to capture the port. He returned to Moscow and rebuilds a large navy. The next year, (1696) Peter the great launched about thirty battle ships against the ottomans. As a result of the assault, Peter the great captured Azov in July. The war marked a conflict that would last for more than a century with the Ottoman Empire over the control of the Black sea.
Peter’s reign was symbolized by great enthusiasm, ambition, authority and will to compete. He employed the western style and also engineered series of reforms. His will to succeed and vision for the future pushed him into inviting the best engineers, merchants, shipbuilders and architects in order to modernize Russia. He also sent lots of people to Europe to attain the best available education so that they can sustain Russia in its future growth. Among his main achievements was regaining access to Baltic trade and sea as well as other access to European trade routes which aided in the development. Success on his part also came as he reorganized the government, introduced a new poll tax, he boosted national trade and product manufacturing; he organized an army and found the Russian navy among others.
Conclusion
Though peter (and his admirers and imitators) tried probably the best he could, he never came into terms with the fact that: human rights, dignity and personal autonomy were and still are the absolute essentials to achieve a cohesive, productive, and self generating community. Peter’s rule only lists in a list of many dictators, absolute rulers and autocrats in Russia who have tried to pick and choose for the western technology and culture packages in the hopes of surviving, maintaining the society cohesion, or even overtaking and surpassing the western. The lesson however is that the entire package applied by these people yields short-lived success before the next one comes and overrides the previous accomplishment to pave ways to his.
References
Bushkovitch, P. (2004). Peter the Great: A Biography. The Journal of Modern History:, Vol. 76 (03), Pg, 732/734
Cross, A.G. (2003). St.Petersburg. 1703-1825. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmllan Publishers.
Olive, L.J. (1969). Russia in the era of Peter the Great. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall publishers.
Basu-Zharku, I.O. (2011). The Reign of Peter The Great. Student Pulse: The International Student Journal:. Vol.3 (01). Pg, 1/2.
