Emperor Peter I, also called the Great, made a real technical and cultural revolution in the country. He was the first in the dynasty who rejected a number of outdated norms and brought into the development of Russia a fresh stream of knowledge and culture, while jealously preserving Russian identity. The rigidity of his unpredictable and explosive nature in combination with a sharp mind turned him into one of the greatest rulers of the Russian Empire.
Peter the First ruled the country for 43 years – a period close to the record. Most of the other rulers lasted much less on the throne, with the exception of Ivan the Terrible and several others. Peter I was the first Russian emperor. Tsar young Peter was proclaimed at the age of ten years. He began to govern the country on his own at the age of seventeen. It was he who introduced in Russia skates with blades tightly riveted to the sole. Before that, they were simply fastened with belts or ropes. However, he did not invent this innovation himself – Peter I got the idea while he was in Holland. He taught the soldiers to distinguish the left side from the right, tying hay to one leg, and straw to the other. It now sounds like a trick, perhaps funny, but then, in the era of common illiteracy of commoners, it was a good achievement.
One of the emperor’s hobbies was dentistry – he liked to pull out bad teeth to his patients himself. Under the distribution usually came across the boyars from his closest circle. One of the decrees issued by Peter the First, ordered all his subjects to consider gophers as ferrets. Judging by the testimony preserved, Peter I possessed a heroic physique, but at the same time a modest foot size. As a second wife, the emperor chose a commoner for his wife. Subsequently, she became known as Catherine I. Peter the Great began his famous reforms after returning from a long journey through Europe, armed with a mass of new ideas. In total, he was absent in Russia for about two years. It was this emperor who first introduced to Russia such popular flowers as tulips.
Peter the First established the Medal “For Drunkenness,” which he “awarded” for a week to the boyars found in this vice. She weighed more than seven kilograms, hung her around the neck at the police station, locking the chain on the lock, and it was impossible to remove it yourself. By imperial decree, all counterfeiters were sent to work at the state mint as a punishment. Peter I reasoned that it was better to use their skills to good advantage than to send the guilty to jail. Cause of death of Peter I was pneumonia, developed from the common cold. He earned a cold by personally taking part in the rescue of drowning soldiers during a flood in the Gulf of Finland. The emperor perfectly mastered several crafts, including the most complex blacksmithing. However, he failed to succeed in weaving bast. It was he who ordered to celebrate the onset of the new year on the night of December 31 to January 1, introducing the Russian calendar according to the Julian calendar.
