Peter the Great

I finally finished Robert Massie's massive tome of a biography, Peter the Great, given to me by my mother at Christmas. It's a great work, exciting at (almost) every page, and with historical detail on many colorful figures of the time (e.g. Karl XII of Sweden) not just the big man himself. I figured it would be appropriate reading while staying here, in the city that he imagined and built.

A few interesting notes:

• For official ceremonies and meetings with foreign envoys, Peter would often install a member of his circle on the throne, preferring to watch from the sidelines or slink out when proceedings were boring.
• During his two year grand tour of Europe, he spent months working as an apprentice in the shipyards of Amsterdam. 
• He insisted on inspecting everything himself and learning every trade first hand. He learned to build ships, make paper, mint coins, turn lathes, make chandeliers, cobble boots, and smith iron. Often working alongside a master, he would insist on being paid the standard amount for any apprentice.
• He was both strict (many would say tyrannical) and kind. To Europeanize the country, he forbid long beards - and often cut or ripped them out himself. He agreed to the torture and imprisonment of his first son. In the early years of his reign, he oversaw and was personally present for the torture and execution of approximately 1,500 traditional nobles and guards, fearing a conspiracy. When his two year old son died, he spent four days in his room, slammed his head against the wall, didn't eat. He elevated all men by merit, not traditional titles. He rewarded anyone who was honest and reported corruption or inefficiency. He married a Lithuanian peasant girl out of genuine affection, something unheard of for his time. 
• When traveling, he would use the stomach of an attendant as a pillow.
• At 6'7", he towered above most. He didn't fear the assassins who made attempts on his life. But he was horribly afraid of cockroaches, and insisted that all lodgings be inspected for them before he entered.

I think historians and ordinary Russians will endlessly debate the role of Peter, whether he successfully modernized a backward country or established an authoritarian template for those future leaders who would think of themselves as modernizers. Massie spends little time on such speculation, somewhat disappointingly. But it's hard to argue with his concluding words: "How does one judge the endless roll of the ocean or the mighty power of the whirlwind?"