Peter's Triumph NYPL, Map Division

The reign of Peter the Great (1682–1725) proved a great watershed in Russian history. The timid attempts of Muscovite leaders to become more European were replaced by a structured drive toward westernization and globalization. Through war, Russia became a great European military power at a time when European states dominated the globe. Through more pacific contact, Russia also became a part of the European cultural world. In addition, Peter turned his attention to other parts of the globe, inaugurating a program of exploration and insisting that Russians learn Chinese, Japanese, and the languages of the native peoples of the empire. As the land opened up to Europe, Asia, and then the other continents, Russia and the Russians would lose their insularity and acquire a global perspective. Peter’s successors could not approach the talent of their forebear, but they generally continued the direction of his policies, emulating things French and German and expanding upon the program of exploration.