The Importance Of Petrine Reforms Of Alexander II

In 1682 Peter I of Russia would ascend to the throne of Russia and over the course of his tenure in office execute a series of reforms, that would drastically change the administrative State that had previously existed throughout the empire. In 1855 a distant heir, Alexander II would ascend to the throne and in the footsteps of his predecessor, and in a similar manner, execute similar reforms. Both propelled using European models, both the reforms of Peter and those of Alexander sought to revitalize Russia, in order to make the Empire more successful against European powers. One would succeed and usher in a period of administrative prosperity, that would properly unite Russia under a central authority, the other would result in Russia’s internal …show more content…
This included ensuring that the public of Russia was educated, in order to ensure the success of the State , from the top to the bottom. In line with Peter’s fascination with the West, he recognized the importance of establishing and uplifting an informed populace. In 1710 the literacy rate of Russia was estimated to be 2.8%. To Peter, an uninformed populace equaled a state that was not self-sustaining. Being a promoter a Polzeistaat structure, which relied on a state supporting policies which engineered state interest, he used the State to engineer multiple educational institutions: The School of Navigation and Maths in 1701, The School of Medicine in 1707, The School of Engineering in 1712, and the School of Science in 1724. Peter’s administrative reforms were focused on bringing Russia up to Western standard and out of a “primitive era”, understanding that this required the restructuring of every part of the Russian Empire that the administrative government could control, and give the administrative government control of even more parts of the State …show more content…
His populace vied for a plan that was concrete and stable, fast moving and certain, not unsure and immobile. As a result of this emerged the formation of groups, ranging throughout classes (with a concentration in the young informed nobility), that sought from the Tsar to be removed. The success of his reforms can be measured in the way that they ended, with his assassination in 1881, carried out by Russia citizens who had taken issue with his ineffective approach.
Though both the reforms of Peter The Great and Alexander II followed the model of implementing Westernized structures in order to better Russia, the reforms of Peter the Great took on this action with a clear plan for the organizational structure they wished to develop, that would insure that the reforms positively influenced Russia as a whole. In contrast, Alexander’s reforms took on initiatives in response to the climate of Russia at a relative