Peter the Great — "I have to drag my people out of darkness into the light."
I have to drag my people out of darkness into the light.
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More from Peter the Great
"We need Europe for a few decades; then we must turn our back on it."
"I have cut off the beards of my boyars, but I cannot cut off their stubbornness."
"The pen is mightier than the sword, but only if the sword is at the service of the pen."
"I do not know what is good for Russia, but I know what is not."
"I have no time for those who are idle."
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
Reflecting his view of Russia's backwardness and his mission for modernization.
Date: Early 18th century
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Found in 1 providers: grok
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