Anisimov E. Peter the Great and his Empire

Evgenii Anisimov
Saint Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-9093-586X
E-mail: vbrevis@yandex.ru

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ABSTRACT. The article deals with the circumstances of the proclamation of Russia as an Empire. The history of the change of ideologemes during the implementation of Peter’s reforms is traced. They influenced the internal state of Russia, as well as affected the status of Russia and its foreign policy being an emanation of the regime of autocracy strengthened under Peter. The change of ideologemes concerned the representation of supreme power. Peter renounced the attributes of power of his ancestors — the heirs of Byzantium — as the Byzantine way seemed to Peter to be a dead end. He believed that Byzantium weakened its armed forces, pursued a peaceful policy, and thereby allowed the Turks to enslave themselves. The model for Peter, in contrast to Byzantium, was the Roman Empire during its heyday — the ideological primary source of the major European powers of that time. Peter wanted to legitimize his power in a new political context. He hoped to achieve in Europe, for himself and for Russia, a high state reputation, positively tinged with Roman tones. The power achieved during the war was the most significant argument for recognizing Russia as an Empire. However, with the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystad, which confirmed the real status of Russia, such recognition became possible. Since then, Russia has been characterized by the main features of imperial state reputation: the cult of imperial power, the desire for hegemony and territorial expansion. All this was supposed to generate fear in the neighbors and discourage them from seeking revenge.

KEYWORDS: Peter I, autocracy, proclamation of empire, change of ideology, Byzantium, Roman Empire, Treaty of Nystad

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2022-1(15)-6-11
УДК 94(47).05

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