Peter the Great was the Czar (and later self-proclaimed emperor) of Russia from 1682-1725. At that time, the country was an absolute monarch. Meaning that Peter could do whatever he pleased, whenever he pleased. There were no restrictions to keep him from doing something that violated the rights of his citizens. Though it isn't like anyone would stop him anyway, because he was nearly seven feet tall. The things he did ranged from modernizing the military, to having his own son killed for treason.

Peter was born on June 9th, 1672. His father, Alexis, died in 1676. (So when Peter was four years old.) For a while, his half-sister Sophia held as regent until Peter was 17 years old (1689). As a boy, he enjoyed things like sailing and ship-building. …show more content…
The military may have been made strong, but that can be pretty expensive. And how did he pay for it? Taxes. He introduced all sorts of taxes, including a beard tax. The beard tax was targeted toward the boyars, which were a group of aristocrats. They were told to shave their beards, or pay for them. However laughable it may seem, it probably wasn't very funny to the boyars. It was also a form of westernization for Peter. He wanted people to look more European, and the long beards that the boyars were sporting just didn't make the cut. However, that may be pretty outrageous, but he also used the tax money to build several schools. He built schools for Science, Mathematics, and even a school for …show more content…
Petersburg was formed after Peter gained the control of the Baltic sea. He was obsessed with European culture, and had this city built with inspiration taken from his travels. St. Petersburg became Russia's capital, and all of the focus was set on it for a while. There were many people forced to spend their time on the construction, and he demanded that things be done there before anything was done anywhere else. People that were forced into labor (serfs) probably didn't enjoy it.

In 1721, Peter proclaimed himself the Emperor of all Russia. I'm not sure what the people thought of him, but I know that he had his son murdered for treason after being tortured. I want to say that the public opinion was bad, but most likely it wasn't. Not that it would actually matter, anyway. Seeing as Peter was the leader of an absolute monarch, and what other people thought didn't mean anything to him. Peter the Great died in 1725, of a reason the internet could not decide upon (fever, pneumonia, or gangrene), ending this leader's rule for