Peter the Great

by Vasily Klyuchevsky, Василий Ключевский

Recreates the life of the Russian tsar, focusing on social and administrative progress which took place during his reign

Genres: History, Biography, Russia, Nonfiction, Romanovs, School

Paperback

First published October 31, 1937

Reviews

[Jonathan Jerden]

Good historical writing and fair translation, describing the rein of Peter the Great (roughly 40 years ending 1726) of Russia. Reforms, started in the last 20 years of Peter's rule, remain his lasting contribution, covered in good detail starting about 40% into this book. At first the reform unfolding is tedious, but a little patience reveals a multitude of both political & administrative good-intension rationale that applies very much to today, then followed by results disappointing to Peter, but again very much a mirror of government greed, fraud, incompetence, lack of accountability (no one gets fired) . . . just like today. What is further revealed in this book is also what Adam Smith had something to say in his 1776 publication of Wealth of Nations . . . that public administrators and their minions can never match the speed at which decisions need to be made to act on market demands of supply & demand. Peter often complements himself on his active, speedy decisions, and yet he is notoriously slow in catching up with the Europe he dreams of emulating.

[Jason]

This book is half biography, half analysis of Peter the Great's reforms. It was fascinating seeing how dysfunctional life in 17th/18th century Russia was and the many, many individual reforms that go into modernizing a country like it. Reading this will give you a vivid picture of what Russian civic life was like for both serfs and nobles, and introduce you to one of the most interesting and unique historical figures you'll ever meet. It's high level of detail can make it a bit dry at times, but if you enjoy history or biographies you'll enjoy this book.

[Barksdale Penick]

Just skimmed this book, as it seems quite dated a history, but learned a tad about Peter. For instance, he traveled to Holland incognito and worked in a shipyard for four months. And in his efforts to reform the Russian tax system, he really did end up with a tax on souls (persons), which is how Dead Souls came about. But I expect there are more contemporary treatments of Peter that are a better bet.

[Nicholas]

If you have ever wondered how the typical Russian sees Peter the Great, then here is your chance. Kliuchevskii, a nineteenth century Russian historian, wrote a superb biography of Peter for his own multi-volume History of Russia. This book contains the scandals, romance, reforms, and travels of Peter, notwithstanding the author's own literary ability which even shows through in translation. When Vasilii Kliuchevskii retired, the students after his final lecture carried him out of the room.