Government reform of Peter the Great

During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), which dominated most of Peter's reign, Russia, along with a host of allies, seized control of the Baltic Sea from Sweden and gained considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe.

[1] During his Grand Embassy (Russian: Великое посольство, Velikoye posol′stvo), Peter conducted negotiations with a number of European powers to strengthen his position against Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, and his exposure to the more developed nations of Western Europe motivated him to take steps toward turning Russia into an industrial economy.

Despite Russia's vast size and considerable natural resources, a number of factors, including corruption and inefficiency, hampered economic growth.

Like most of Russia's legal system at the time, Peter's reforms were codified and articulated in a series of royal decrees (Russian: указ, ukaz, literally "imposition"), issued chiefly between 1700 and 1721.

In 1708, Peter abolished these old national subdivisions and established in their place eight governorates (guberniyas): Moscow, Ingermanland, Kiev, Smolensk, Archangelgorod, Kazan, Azov, and Siberian.

The Table of Ranks established a complex system of titles and honorifics, each classed with a number (I to XIV) denoting a specific level of service or loyalty to the Tsar.

The establishment of the Table of Ranks was among the most audacious of Peter's reforms, a direct blow to the power of the Boyars which changed Russian society significantly.

Furthermore, Peter's new tax code significantly expanded the number of taxable workers, shifting an even heavier burden onto the shoulders of the working class.

Evidence even suggests that Peter's advisers recommended the abolition of serfdom and the creation of a form of "limited freedom" (a reality that did not come to pass until two centuries later).

In contrast, legislation under Peter's rule covered every aspect of life in Russia with exhaustive detail, and they significantly affected the everyday lives of nearly every Russian citizen.

A testament to this lasting influence are the many public institutions in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, such as Moscow State University, which trace their origins back to Peter's rule.