This is a magnificently comprehensive survey of the Russia of the
late 17th and early 18th century, and a convincing portrait of the
extraordinarily energetic giant of a man who did so much to
transform it from an almost barbaric state to a nation on the verge
of greatness. All manner of social detail is touched upon from
education to the arts, the Russian navy and army, popular culture,
dress and manners, as well as entertainments such as 'the
All-Drunken Assembly' in which a priest 100 years old marries a
mock bride of over 80 in the presence of a mock tsar carried on a
sledge drawn by bears. Hughes paints a vivid and authoritative
picture of a vast country in transition and of a man who, by
transferring his capital from an archaic Moscow to a specially
built St Petersburg, opened his 'window on the west'. (Kirkus UK)
Peter the Great, often known as the Tsar Reformer, initiated a
program of modernization and Westernization that affected the lives
of all his subjects. He founded a new capital, St. Petersburg,
which became a symbol of cultural change, and a navy, which
signaled Russia's emergence as a maritime power. He also reinforced
the old institutions of serfdom and autocracy. This magisterial
book-a history of Peter and the Russia he governed-examines the
impact of a man who was both acclaimed as the architect of the New
Russia and condemned as a crude despot who sacrificed cherished
traditions for the sake of international success. Drawing on
previously unavailable sources, Lindsey Hughes provides an
engrossing account of one of the most significant periods in
Russian history. She proceeds thematically, discussing Russia's
foreign policy, the army and navy, economy, governing institutions,
society, arts, education, and religion. She explores the experience
of women and investigates the life of the court (including Peter's
"All-Drunken Assembly"), feasts, entertainments, and popular
culture. Although the book is not a biography, Peter is a vivid
presence throughout-a six-foot-seven-inch giant who enjoyed the
company of dwarfs and ordinary people, adopted disguises and
pseudonyms, married a peasant, and had a passion for cultural
reform. Hughes recounts the events that shaped Peter's youth,
provides an intimate character sketch, and explores his complex
family relations (including the tragic conflict with his eldest son
Alexis, whom he condemned to death). Her account closes with a
reconsideration of the Petrine legacy from Peter's time to our own,
as his name and image become harnessed to sell beer and cigarettes
and the erection of his statue provokes recent controversy.
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