Peter the Great — "The Russian spirit is strong, but it needs to be guided."
The Russian spirit is strong, but it needs to be guided.
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More from Peter the Great
"I am not afraid of death, but I would like to live a little longer."
"I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of a bad reputation."
"I have reformed the church, but I cannot reform the faith."
"I am a Tsar, but I need to learn to build ships."
"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."
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.