European Influence In 18th Century Russia

Peter Alexeyevich (1672-1725), better known as Peter I or Peter the Great was the ruler of the Tsardom of Russia and later the ruler of his own Russian Empire. He is referred to as one of the greater and more impactful leaders in not only Russian but European history. Peter is best known for his vast number of reforms and changes made to Russia’s government and society. One might say that Peter the Great “changed the game” for Russia. Though, not only did Peter change Russia and his Tsardom of Russia, but he impacted bordering nations and all of Europe.

"I am the enlighten despot" , the starting of a new idea and a new ways of thinking, new method is questioning. Catherine the great, part of one of one of the most important time periods in European and Russian history, the enlightenment. A period when philosophy, science, and politics thrived. Compared to other places, Russia was behind in terms of developing the new enlightened mindsets. Such as Russia still was very medieval like they still used the old feudal system with many lords with serfs.

Both Catherine the Great and Peter the Great sought to enhance and further Russia’s international position. This I believe is most consistent with classical realism as they both sought to place their country in a more powerful position, through the expansion of both their state abroad and within their nation-state. These readers without a doubt westernized Russia, but were limited by the constraints of the Russian culture and power structure. The first issue I would tackles is the attempt of Peter the Great to establish Russia as a formidable regional power by taking the traditional metrics of power such as a more centralized government and modernizing the Russian military. In addition, to these reforms he sought to westernize Russia in other ways, whether it was the dress of those in the Russian courts, the establishing of Western style education and creating a state that effectively raised revenue.

That book was Two Treatises on Government by John Locke. This work was written to justify the overthrow of James II by Parliament to invite his son in law William of Orange to become king. Locke was arguing that monarchs should respect the rights of citizens and allow the wealthy to make money and run the country. Locke was a liberal, and liberalism was an ideal that spread throughout the 19th century, and would influence concepts on power sharing and authority within societies. Liberalism was linked to the Enlightenment movement, though that movement was linked to socialism and the general will as well.

The concept of enlightened absolutism can be described through the actions of King Frederick II of Prussia. The late 18th century leader was an outstanding example of an enlightened absolutist. Rulers who accepted the newfound Enlightenment rationalism and made the forward-thinking policies into laws became known as enlightened absolutists. Gaining its momentum among the working class and eventually expanding to the aristocracy, Enlightenment ideologies questioned the traditional social and political practices of the time. Former Russian historian and professor at Columbia University Marc Raeff claimed, “The very contradiction inherent in the notion of enlightened absolutism doomed the effort to failure” (1221).

The Tsar leadership before the 1905 Russian Revolution was not supported by the Russian people. Tsar Nicholas II inherited the throne in 1894 when his father Alexander III passed. Alexander III believed in ruling Russia with an autocracy, when Tsar Nicholas II inherited the throne he wanted to do right by his father by upholding the autocracy. Tsar Nicholas II’s wife Alexandra highly influenced Nicholas’s autocratic tendencies. Majority of the Russian people believed that Alexandra had too much of a significant impact on the Tsar leadership.

The King, however, made treaties with other countries without consulting Parliament. Finally, Parliament believed they should be called regularly by the King. This contradicted King Charles 's belief in divine right (he can do anything he wants). The Glorious Revolution solved these disagreements about politics by William and Mary signing the Bill of Rights, which states the King cannot keep the army in time of peace without Parliament 's consent. This document also states that the King has to call Parliament

Catherine the Great was born in the early 18th century who reigned in Russia that was a well remembered ruler. Before she was old enough to rule, Russia was ruled by Peter, who wasn’t a good ruler for Russia at the time. Russia was losing power and needed a good ruler to help them be strong again. When Catherine ruled she did many things to increase the power of Russia. In the end, Catherine’s achievements led Russia to continue to be prosperous.

The Enlightenment was a period that was during the 17th and 18th century that highlighted the reason and the individual person rather than tradition. The Enlightenment occurred because after the French Revolution the people wanted to advocate reason, and wanted a way to establish a system of ethics, government, and religion. The Enlightenment took place in Europe. It began with the publication of Francis Bacon’s “Novum Organum” and ended with Immanuel Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason”. The ideas influenced the United States by determining the almost every part of the colonial United States.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in History; it was accepted into the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence summarizes the colonist’s motivations in seeking their own independence away from Great Britain. By doing so, they had acknowledged themselves as an independent nation. The American colonists were now able to approve an official alliance with France and to gain French support in the war against Great Britain. During the 1760’s the North American colonists found themselves more and more at chances with the British imperial policies in regards to the taxation and policies.