The period spanning 1682 to 1725 marks a transformative era in Russian history, encompassing the regency of Sophia Alekseyevna, the joint reign of Ivan V and Peter I (later known as Peter the Great), and finally, the sole rule of Peter I. It was during these decades that Muscovy, already extending its reach into Siberia, firmly established itself on the European stage. The culmination of this period, the creation of the Russian Empire in 1721, heralded a vast multinational state with a population of approximately 17.5 million. Within this empire, Russians constituted 13.5 million, with 5.5 million men subject to the poll tax. The social structure was heavily agrarian, with only 3% of the tax-liable population residing in towns and the vast majority, 97%, being peasants. These peasants were further categorized by their land tenure: 25% cultivated church lands, 19% state lands, and the majority toiled on the estates of around 100,000 secular landowning families. Geographically, the Russian Empire encompassed a massive territory of roughly 4,633,200 square miles (12,000,000 square km), incorporating valuable recent territorial gains.
Peter the Great’s military victories against Sweden in the Second Northern War were pivotal in expanding Russia’s European territories. These victories led to the reclamation of Ingria and Finnish Karelia, and the acquisition of Estonia and Livonia. These new territories brought with them crucial Baltic Sea ports such as Narva, Revel (Tallinn), and Riga, providing Russia with vital access for trade and naval power. However, these Baltic successes came at the cost of setbacks in the south. Territories around Azov and Taganrog, which had been won from Turkey in 1696, were surrendered in 1711. Furthermore, control over Zaporozhye, including both banks of the Dnieper River, was lost to Turkey, and the Zaporozhian Sich, a significant Cossack fortress on the lower Dnieper, was destroyed in 1709.
In the Caspian region, Peter the Great’s campaigns against Persia in 1722 resulted in the temporary occupation of Dagestan, Gīlān, and Māzandarān, further extending Russian influence southward. Simultaneously, eastward expansion continued in Siberia, with the annexation of Chukchi territories and the Kamchatka Peninsula in the 1720s. Perhaps the most enduring symbol of Peter the Great’s reign and Russia’s westward orientation was the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703. Built on marshland, this new city, conceived as a “window to Europe,” replaced Moscow as the Russian capital in 1712. St. Petersburg was strategically located to connect Baltic sea routes with Russia’s extensive inland waterway system leading to the Caspian Sea, facilitating both trade and communication.
Economic Transformation Under Peter the Great
The economic policies of Peter the Great’s era were heavily influenced by the demands of his ambitious military and administrative reforms. The peasantry bore the brunt of the fiscal burden, not only through taxes but also through compulsory state service. Peasants were conscripted into the military, and forced labor was used extensively for large-scale construction projects, including fortresses, canals, shipbuilding, and the building of St. Petersburg itself. Peter’s 1723 prohibition against selling peasants “like cattle,” while seemingly benevolent, underscores the harsh realities of serfdom and the limited freedoms of the rural population, which ultimately hindered broader industrial development. The lack of a free labor market, coupled with capital scarcity and a limited entrepreneurial class within the townspeople, posed significant challenges to economic diversification. The urban population remained relatively small, with only about 170,000 townsmen by the end of this period, a mere 10% increase since 1700.
Despite these challenges, the merchant class demonstrated considerable enterprise. The government actively intervened to stimulate industry and trade, establishing state-owned factories and encouraging private initiatives. State support included addressing capital and labor shortages. State serfs were assigned to factories, and non-nobles were permitted to acquire labor through the purchase of entire villages. This state-driven industrialization led to a significant increase in manufacturing capacity. Of the 199 factories operating in Russia by 1725, the vast majority (all but 13) were established during Peter’s reign, with about half being state-owned. The industrial focus was primarily on textiles (18%) and metallurgy (31%). These factories were strategically located in emerging industrial centers like St. Petersburg, areas northeast of the capital along the Svir River, around Moscow and Tula, along the upper Don River, and around Yekaterinburg. The primary purpose of this industrial expansion was to supply the military, equipping Peter’s army and navy with arms and uniforms. By 1726, Russia had even begun exporting pig iron, marking an early step in its emergence as an industrial power.
Military, Financial, and Administrative Modernization
Peter the Great revolutionized the Russian military, establishing a regular army through conscription from the peasantry and lower urban classes by 1710. This marked Russia as the first European power to adopt such a system. By 1724, the army comprised a well-trained and equipped force of 131,400 infantry and 38,400 cavalry. While the Black Sea fleet and territories around Azov were lost in 1711, a Caspian flotilla was active in the Persian campaigns of 1722. The Baltic fleet, largely built in Russia after 1700, grew significantly, reaching 44 ships of the line and numerous frigates by 1724, armed with over 200 guns and manned by approximately 16,000 sailors. The military consumed a significant portion of the state budget, costing 4 million rubles annually and representing the largest single expenditure.
Financial and administrative reforms were crucial to supporting these military ambitions. The introduction of the poll tax in 1718 aimed to improve state revenue collection and gradually reduced the state deficit, leading to a surplus by 1724. Central to the administrative overhaul were the kollegii (colleges), established between 1718 and 1722. These were specialized central administrative departments responsible for war, navy, foreign affairs, trade, revenue, expenditure, audit, justice, mining, manufacturing, church affairs, gentry estates, and Ukraine (referred to as “Little Russia”). Territorially, Russia was divided into 50 provintsii (provinces), each governed by a voyevoda. These provinces were subordinate to both the colleges and the Senate. The Senate, established in 1711 as a replacement for the older council of ministers (derived from the boyar duma), became a supreme governing body tasked with coordinating and controlling all government organs, including the secret police. To oversee the Senate and ensure imperial control, the office of procurator was created in 1722. This all-powerful chief bureaucrat was directly accountable to the emperor.
Church and Education Reforms
Peter the Great’s reforms extended to the Church, aiming to bring it under state control. In 1721, he abolished the Moscow Patriarchate, replacing it with the Holy Governing Synod. This Synod, effectively a government ministry for ecclesiastical affairs headed by a lay chief procurator, subordinated the Russian Orthodox Church to the state. The economic power of the Church was also curtailed. In 1722, the Church, which controlled lands with approximately one million peasant families, was effectively nationalized in economic terms, with income from church lands redirected to the state treasury. While diminishing the Church’s independent power, the state also mandated it to contribute to education, requiring the establishment of diocesan schools for clergy sons, in addition to supporting existing ecclesiastical academies in Moscow and Kiev.
Beyond ecclesiastical education, Peter the Great prioritized secular education, driven by the needs of the military and navy. Navigation schools were established starting in 1701, followed by a naval academy in 1715, designed to train Russian officers domestically, reducing reliance on sending nobles abroad for education. Basic literacy and numeracy became compulsory for the gentry class, with provincial elementary schools established in 1714 for this purpose. Specialized schools, such as an engineering school (leading to the Engineering Company in 1719) and a teaching hospital in Moscow (1707), were also founded. In 1724, a secular academy was decreed, further expanding opportunities for higher learning outside of religious institutions.
Expanding Relations with the West
Peter the Great actively sought to engage with the West to modernize Russia. Foreign experts were recruited to assist in establishing new schools, government departments, industries, and military training. Simultaneously, Russians were sent abroad to study and acquire skills. Trade with Western countries increased significantly. By 1726, imports through St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk included wine, sugar, silk, woolen goods, and dyestuffs, valued at 1.5 million rubles. Exports, exceeding 2.5 million rubles, comprised hemp, flax, sailcloth, linen, leather, tallow, and pig iron. A high protective tariff was introduced in 1724 to favor domestic production. Commercial ties were particularly strong with the Netherlands and England, though diplomatic tensions briefly disrupted trade with Britain between 1719 and 1730. Russian consuls were stationed in key Western ports to protect trade interests, while trade with the East focused on Persia and China. With permanent diplomatic missions in major European capitals, Russia integrated diplomacy and military strategy. By 1725, Russia’s victory over Sweden cemented its dominance in the Baltic Sea. While the struggle with Turkey for Black Sea access remained unresolved, the long-standing Tatar tribute was no longer paid. Dynastic links with Holstein and shared policies with Prussia regarding Poland, along with closer ties to Austria, positioned Russia within the complex web of European power politics.
Internal Opposition and Control
The rapid transformation of Russia under Peter the Great, characterized by secularization, Westernization, a large standing army, and a centralized bureaucracy, also generated internal resistance. Major uprisings included the Astrakhan revolt in 1705–06, where the populace briefly overthrew local government. The Bulavin Rebellion of 1707–08, led by a Cossack ataman, erupted on the Don, involving runaway serfs, deserters, and conscripted laborers protesting against boyars, foreign officials, tax collectors, and the official church. Between 1704 and 1725, numerous peasant riots, driven by hunger and resentment against conscription and heavy taxation, occurred. Peter’s government responded decisively to these disturbances through the secret police and punitive military expeditions, suppressing all forms of opposition and consolidating state control.
