Peter and the British

The reports resulting from tentative connections with Russia developed since the Dutch and English trading ventures of the sixteenth century were not very encouraging: travellers described the inhabitants of "this rude and barbarous kingdom" as "coarse, unsophisticated and addicted to strong drink". The country's government consisted of a court system that had developed no legal or constitutional ties. It was a system was based upon personal ties that encouraged jealousy, corruption and court intrigue.

Peter Mikhailov Romanov inherited a landlocked country surrounded by strong neighbours (Poland, Sweden, the Ottomans) that blocked any intercourse with western European nations and denied it direct contact with the commercial highways of the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The Tsar was in theory an autocrat and in reality dependent on the support of his boyars and the leaders of the Orthodox Church feared contamination by contact with the heretic Catholic and Protestant nations of Europe.

Peter learned the consequence of violence at a tender age in 1682, when several people were killed in front of his eyes by rebellious militia men. It had left him desensitised to the pain and suffering of others. Peter spent most of his time outside Moscow's Kremlin, satisfying his interest in how carpenters and metal workers made things. He also enjoyed visiting Kokui, the settlement for foreigners in Moscow and spent a lot of time playing military games with his regiment. He also learned how to sail. From Samuel Pufendorf's Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe Peter learned about mercantilism and the usefulness of international trade. For that Russia needed access to the sea. In 1693 Peter had formed his first fleet in Archangel. At first Peter had ruled with his handicapped half-brother who had lived in the Kremlin and had fulfilled all the ceremonial duties of a Tsar. Peter's first military adventure was as a bombardier in the attack on the Turks in Azov, an incomplete siege that failed. Analysing his failure, Peter understood that he lacked a navy and recruited ship builders from Venice. He personally supervised construction, leading by example. The next time Azov capitulated.

In March 1697 Peter went on his Grand Embassy to the West. He gave himself the role of a junior officer, allowing him more opportunities to pursue his interests. In diplomatic correspondence the trip was announced with the purpose to reduce the role of Islam on Russia's south. In the various countries visited Peter explored the docks and military headquarters. Ryswick, where peace between France and a coalition of European states was negotiated, was one of the places the Tsar aimed to visit. Here diplomats of all nations had gathered. Peter found scant interest for Russian goals like fighting the Ottomans or Baltic affairs. Still, it made Russia one of the leading members of the European diplomatic club. Peter also used his trip to visit scientists and ordered his delegation to abandon their national dress in favour of the "German style". Peter returned via Vienna to renew his anti-Ottoman alliance. The Austrians gave him the cold shoulder, but the Tsar learned about architecture at the time that Vienna was turning into a baroque city and Schönbrunn was built. In Warsaw he discussed war with Sweden. After Peter speeded home because of an insurrection he forced the shaving of beards of his boyars even before he ordered torture and execution of over 1,200 men, in some cases wielding the axe himself. Rotting corpses and heads on poles were shown in the streets of Moscow.

The atrocities seem to have shaken his reputation abroad more seriously than in his own country.

The modernisation programme was extended to the Julian calendar and German dress (models were sent out in the streets, p.68) to make Russia emerge from "sloth and barbarism". Other reforms included the tax system, the church and the introduction of the first newspaper. Peter also became more autocratic. His army was huge but not efficient. He negotiated peace with the Turks to allow for war with Sweden, but was subsequently defeated in Estonia. Taxes and a debased currency were needed to speed up the building of his armed forces. These measures helped to grease a few palms and led to an inflation rate of 30-40 percent, but also helped to expel the Swedes from the area that would later become Saint Petersburg.

Peter appreciated that trade was the lifeblood of a prosperous nation. Amsterdam was his example for a maritime capital on soggy, flood-prone ground; in his letters to Menshikov he called it "Paradise". As a control freak he managed development in great detail. Every year 30-40 thousand serfs were brought in for construction. As the city grew he gradually moved his government from Moscow, the city he hated. He designed the external style of domestic buildings to create greater uniformity. When he was not busy with his city, Peter fought against Charles XII of Sweden, who "became the first of a hapless succession of dictators who believed that military invasion of Russia was a viable option". First Smolensk, then Moscow were Charles’ main targets. A scorched earth defence, stretched supply lines and extreme winters caused disaster for Charles, plus Peter could top up fresh gun fodder if required. The Battle of Poltava was decided in Russia's favour, leading to useful treaties and land grabs. One of the other prizes was Martha Skavronska, a young servant girl for a Lutheran pastor that would become Peter's wife Catherine. She was a housewife that shared his drinking bouts and joined him on his military campaigns. After ending the war with Sweden and the Ottomans he married off his son, again increasing Russia's diplomatic standing. He also used his navy to conquer Helsinki and attack Sweden while Charles was still stuck in Ottoman lands.

Peter employed Le Blond, Louis XIV's architect for his palace, who also set up workshops. Lacking quarries, Peter ordered every wagon, boat or ship coming into the city to carry a consignment of stone. Being the most generous patron of his age he also attracted the starchitects Trezzini, Chiaveri and Schluter. The result of Peter's enthusiasm for talent and new ideas was less uniformity than originally required. Peter was greatly helped by Alexander Menshikov, who filled his coffers in the process.

While the conflict with Sweden was not over yet, Peter's second trip to the west was one of a leading but over-indulgent European monarch. This also meant diplomatic action to contain Russia’s rise. The kingdom greatly expanded Peter gave the bureaucracy a makeover, personally drawing up regulations of almost military precision. In the mean time his estranged conservative son Alexis and Alexis’ "vulgar ex-serf" mistress Euphrosyne were trying to find support at home and abroad to replace Peter. Tolstoy, a "reincarnated Torquemada", followed him all the way to Naples. Peter applied "two vital props of despotism": efficient intelligence-gathering including torture" and demonstration of determination. Alexis complied with Peter and betrayed his friends. He was forced to watch the executions and the ring of impaled heads on the Kremlin. Euphrosyne's more extensive confession to Peter meant torture for Alexis. Alexis died in prison: nothing should endanger the Russia Peter had built.

But at least peace with Sweden was near. Subsequently Peter became emperor and hoping for trade with the Orient, he now waged war successfully on Persia. His reforms from 1718 were very much inspired by Charles XII's form of absolute monarchy. The oppression of his latest reforms caused many people to flee:

The Iron Curtain was not an invention of the twentieth century.

New reforms led to even more detailed procedures and stiffened initiative. His Table of Ranks was a great example of social engineering to increase the power of the state (at the expense of individual risk taking). The parallel Fiscal authority meant to check on corruption was itself corrupt, even at the highest level. Officials everywhere extracted money from poor farmers. Peter "collected political ideas as he collected mechanical devices, ship designs and architectural drawings". Whilst life continued in St. Petersburg with a "constant round of celebrations, national and religious events, royal birthdays and bizarre public rituals", Peter founded centres for higher learning based upon the Parisian Académie des Sciences. Theology was no subject at his universities; the church had to care for itself, Peter thought. Peter crowned Catherine as empress, likely to allow a woman as ruler after his death. This she did for a few years together with Menshikov after Peter died died at the age of 52.

The book ends with an overview of Russia’s subsequent development as a European nation. However, the author’s claim that “we” (i.e. Britain) have much more in common with a greater Europe than with "our" “transatlantic friends" is not substantiated. Unfortunately, he makes few comparisons to leaders with equivalent ambitions like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk or Mohammed Reza Pahlavi , or with the modernisation of colonies by European nations.

Mr. Wilson takes great pain pointing out that many of the issues Russia dealt with and the solutions its monarchs found were shared by other countries at the time. What is probably a weaker point is that Mr. Wilson, whose other books are mainly about English history, only uses English sources for his book. This has not only resulted in the bad spelling of foreign names, but has also given the book a British bias. On the other hand I enjoyed its size. Most books about Russia seems to imitate Tolstoy's War and Peace in its number of pages. Mr. Wilson needs just two hundred pages for his vivid portrait. This book is a typical product of one of Britain's most successful cottage industries. ( )