Peter The Great's Progressive Reforms

The difference of opinions voiced by both the commentators, from the late 18th century, has yet to be resolved to this day. A minority of historians hold that his liberal reforms in Russia were mostly for the sake earning the respect of the powers of Western Europe and claim that his despotism outweighs any reforms he made. A greater majority of historians agree that Peter the Great was a despot, but argue that while Peter’s progressive reforms (as will be discussed below) had little effect during his reign, they created a firm foundation for the advancement of Russia and defined its future.Peter I (only known as Peter the Great in the latter part of his life) was born on June 9, 1672 to Nataliya Naryshkina, the second wife of tsar Alexei I
In 1700, a war (later dubbed the Great Northern War) started between Poland and Sweden over the succession of the Polish king. Taking advantage of Poland's and Sweden's preoccupation with their war, Peter seized the provinces of Estonia and Latvia thereby encroaching on Swedish territory. Peter had two reasons to seize the two provinces: 1) he wanted a war with Sweden, so if he defeated them, he could gain control of the Baltic Sea, 2) it gave Russia more land a more ports for trading. In order to secure these provinces, Peter decided to build a fort nearby and he built what is now known as Saint Petersburg. Due to the war, the city was built with haste, which led to many of the workers dying. The fort was completed in 1703. While the city was meant to be a military installation, Peter also envisioned it to be a "Gateway to the West." If he could possibly defeat Sweden and take control of the Baltic, then St. Petersburg would literally be Russia's lone gateway to the west. However, Peter was never able to completely defeat Sweden. While Russia's army and navy had several spectacular victories, the Swedish military was able to fend off the Russian invasion while successfully defeating Poland. In 1721, Peter, tired of the war, was forced sign the Treaty of Nystad with Sweden. Russia surrendered most of its possessions in Finland to Sweden and was allowed to keep Estonia and Latvia. The peace treaty effectively ended any Russian expansion to the West. However, Russia continued to expand over the unclaimed areas in the East until 1744. Soon after the war, at the urging of his advisers, Peter took the title "Emperor of all Russias" and was now Peter "the Great" instead of