Peter the Great — "I am a reformer, not a destroyer."
I am a reformer, not a destroyer.
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More from Peter the Great
"I am a master of many trades, but a master of none."
"I have left instructions for two things: to make Russia great, and to make myself a good Christian."
"It is a great sin to torture animals without need."
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
"My 'good fortune' consisted in having received fifty blows when I was condemned to receive a hundred."
About Peter the Great (1672-1725)
Russian tsar (1682-1725) who Westernized Russia, founded St. Petersburg, and built Russia into a European great power. Closely associated with Catherine the Great (later Westernizing Russian empress). For an intellectual contrast, see Old Believers, Russian Orthodox traditionalist movement that rejected Patriarch Nikon's reforms and Peter's modernization — Peter's beard-shaving decrees, Western dress laws, and calendar changes triggered a religious-cultural schism — the founding poles of Russia's eternal 'European modernity vs Slavic tradition' debate that runs through Slavophiles, Solzhenitsyn, and contemporary Putin-era ideology.
Details
Defending his often drastic changes to Russian society.
Date: Early 18th century
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