Peter the Great

Peter the Great, written by William Marshall and published by Longman Group Limited in 1996, is a nonfiction historical work about the life and works of what some from the time hailed as "the greatest Monarch of our age (p 88)." The text lends a good deal of understanding to the now defunct U.S.S.R. and present-day Russia. Marshall presents Peter as a rather nontraditional ruler whose genius schemes and manipulations (though not always immediately successful) ushered in a new era for Russia and laid the foundation on the world scene and in Russia for what was to come in following centuries. Perhaps the most striking feature of Peter the Great as presented in this text was his unconventionality as a ruler. Peter's lifestyle was rather crass as far a world leaders go, and extremely unorthodox when compared to his Russian predecessors. Peter's shabby, foreign dress combined with his heavy drinking and love of the company of "common folk" were just a few peculiarities that contributed to his rough image. Marshall points out that at times this was to his advantage and at others it may have worked against him. Perhaps Peter wanted it that way, being the manipulator that he was. Peter lived the way he ruled. It was his way or the high way, and this may have been one of his ingredients for success (at least initially). One of the main emphases of the book (and rightly so) is the military ventures of Peter the Great. Marshall attributes Peter's love of the military to his growing up in the foreign districts of Moscow. Indeed much of Peter's character and behaviors are attributed to this. From the moment that Peter assumed authority, his immediate and long term goals centered around the military. Russia needed a warm-water outlet to western Europe. Peter desired conquest of foreign held territories bordering Russia. A large and effective military was needed to defend what Russia already held against its enemies. At the time Russia's infrastructure was infantile or nonexistent. The course of action that Peter pursued to attain his goals set Russia on a hurried pace to a seat at the world's table. Marshall repeatedly points out that Russia was already on a course for prominence and development (set by Ivan IV) but Peter did a great deal to speed the process. For Peter the key to advancing Russia lay in the Westernization of his empire. Peter was constantly recruiting foreigners for service and leadership in the military and his government, a process that Ivan IV had begun. The need for funds to finance Peter's great military and naval schemes as well as interior development had many significant short term and long term effects upon Russia. Extremely heavy taxes were imposed upon the Russian people as well as the Church. Soldiers for the army and sailors for the navy were forcibly enlisted. Forced migrations to areas where labor was needed were common. This was cause for much dissent at the time, but it had a much more far reaching effect. A general fee