Table of contents:
- Peter's educational reform failed
- Peter I could not defeat the beards and the bath
- Peter I could not feed his compatriots with potatoes
- Dentist from Peter I did not come out
- Peter I never learned to weave sandals
- Peter I was unable to create a strong family
- Peter I failed to realize his design project
- Tall stature hindered Peter I in many cases
- The Prut campaign - the most serious military failure of Peter I
- The death of Peter I marked the beginning of the era of palace coups
Video: 10 great failures of Peter I - the great reformer who pulled Russia out of the protracted Middle Ages
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Peter I is the last Tsar of All Russia from the Romanov dynasty, the first Emperor of All Russia, a great reformer and an ambiguous personality. He pulled Russia, literally by the beard, out of the protracted Middle Ages and kicked it into modern times. In history, the great Peter's undertakings are better known, but the tsar also had great failures - both in state undertakings and in his personal life.
Peter's educational reform failed
One of the most famous reforms of Peter I is the "educational reform", which turned out to be a complete failure. Being a fierce Westerner, Peter I tried to instill in the nobility a thirst for knowledge. Both the nobles and their children had to learn. This requirement extended to the clergy as well. The decree on 1714, which introduced universal training service (it did not apply only to peasants) read "". Those who did not want to comprehend science were subject to fines, they were taken to military service, and some were even forbidden to marry.
Under Peter I, 42 “digital schools”, 50 diocesan schools, “bishops” and garrison schools were opened, and the Russian Academy of Sciences appeared. But Peter I could not carry out his main task - to create a unified extra-class system of education.
Peter I could not defeat the beards and the bath
It is a well-known fact that Peter I forbade wearing beards. However, in fact, the ban on beards was partial, beards were taxed … The higher the class of "bearded men" was, the higher the tax was: a noble beard was estimated at 60 rubles, a merchant's - at 100 rubles, and a servant - at 30 rubles. Another Russian "shrine" that the progressive Russian tsar swung at is the baths. They were also taxed. According to the decree of 1704, the first-class merchants and people of the Duma had to pay 3 rubles from home baths, and the peasants - 15 kopecks each. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that Tsar Peter encouraged public baths. The decree of May 11, 1733 read: "" (today they would say a spa). The owner was advised to keep the price moderate and was forbidden to offer visitors vodka and wines.
Peter I could not feed his compatriots with potatoes
Potatoes are another Peter's innovation. It all started, allegedly with a sack of potatoes that Peter I sent from Holland to Count Sheremetyev with a strict order to breed it in Russia. Unknowingly, people ate not a root vegetable, but "green tomatoes" that remained on the stem of the plant after flowering. Written sources indicate that many people were poisoned by such a "flower soup", which did not add to the popularity of potatoes. Potatoes became a "garden" culture in Russia only under Catherine II, who in the 1760s decided that the "earthy" apple could be useful in times of famine. The notorious Abram Hannibal was the first, on behalf of the tsarina, to grow potatoes in his garden, and in 1765 the Russian Senate issued a decree on the massive promotion of potatoes on peasant farms. For this, 57 barrels of tubers were even ordered from Germany to Moscow and sent to Russian volosts for breeding.
Dentist from Peter I did not come out
Many historians are inclined to argue that Peter's incredible interest in everything at once played a cruel joke on him. Peter I was interested in such a huge number of things that his knowledge on many issues was very superficial. However, this did not prevent the emperor from doing, for example, medicine. So, Peter I was fascinated by dentistry, and he personally tore out sick teeth to his entourage. Whether out of excitement, or out of ignorance, the emperor could pull out several healthy teeth at the same time.
Peter I never learned to weave sandals
Another subject of immeasurable interest of the king was bast shoes. Peter I was so fascinated by this peasant craft that he wanted to master it. However, no matter how much the emperor tried, he failed to comprehend this science. “Tsar Peter reached everything on his own, but he thought about it and threw it away. In St. Petersburg, the tsar's unfinished bast shoe is kept and shown,”said the people.
Peter I was unable to create a strong family
Perhaps the biggest personal failure of Peter I was his family. Despite the immense love for his wife, Peter I did not disdain to go "to the left". Catherine I also allowed herself an affair, the most famous of which was the connection with the chamber-cadet Willim Mons. Peter I, having learned about this, Monsa ordered to wheel (executioners and torture were always in Russia), as if for embezzlement. Then they cut off the head of the adulterer, drank it in alcohol and left it in the queen's bedroom for several days. After that, the spouses stopped communicating. The children of Peter, unlike their father, who was famous for his excellent health, were extremely painful. All this did not give the emperor such a necessary peace of mind in the ocean of state concerns and intrigues.
Peter I failed to realize his design project
At the end of the Northern War, Peter I wanted the sculpture of Hercules twisting a multi-headed hydra to appear on most of the fountains of Peterhof. This was to symbolize Russia's victory over the Swedes. But the designers of that time found a much more symbolic embodiment of this victory. The Battle of Poltava took place on the day of St. Samson the Stranger, and there was a lion on the Swedish coat of arms, so they decided to install the fountain "Samson tearing the lion's mouth".
Tall stature hindered Peter I in many cases
According to the description of contemporaries, Peter I was very tall - about 2,000 cm. He stood out on his head in any crowd, was of strong constitution and was distinguished by excellent health. True, high growth deprived him of agility and even interfered in some matters. Interestingly, with such a high growth, Tsar Peter's shoe size was only 38.
The Prut campaign - the most serious military failure of Peter I
In 1711, during the war with Turkey, a battle took place on the Prut River, which became for Peter I a "catastrophe", "confusion" and "dizziness from success." The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter himself (although Sheremetyev was nominally in command) was surrounded by Turkish-Tatar troops, which had a significant numerical advantage. Peter I was forced to sign a peace treaty, under the terms of which it was necessary to return the territory conquered in 1696 during the Azov campaign. There is a version that the Russian army was saved from inevitable death by Catherine I, who gave her jewelry to bribe the vizier. This is confirmed by the fact that in 1714 Peter created a new Russian order of liberation, which was soon named the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. "", - the record in the documents has been preserved.
The death of Peter I marked the beginning of the era of palace coups
The last failure of Peter I was his literally dying reform of the succession to the throne. On February 5, 1722, the Russian emperor signed a decree abolishing the custom of transferring the throne to direct descendants in the male line. At the same time, it was assumed that by his will the monarch could appoint the successors of any worthy person.
Emperor Peter I did not manage to appoint a successor to himself. The death of Peter I marked the beginning of the era of palace coups.
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