Peter Michaelowitz was born in Moscow on June 9, 1672. He was born the son of Czar Alexis I. Mikhailovich. Peter’s mother, Natalia Naryshkin, was Alexis’s second wife and therefore putting Peter at the bottom of the list for becoming the future czar. Peter had thirteen half siblings and one real, his sister, Catherine I. His sister and half sisters were not allowed to receive heir to the throne. In this time period, it was not allowed and only the son’s of the czar were able to claim the throne. The daughters were placed in convents when they reached the marrying age and were forbidden to hav

e babies. It was believed that they would use their born sons to claim heir. (Abbott 14)

Peter, being the headstrong person that he was, did not do what Sophia had hoped. Rather, he took his playmates, and made a mock military out of them and continued his studies. He taught himself music, every aspect of it. He taught himself the beats, the measures and the scientific procedures that coincide with it. He learned to recognize and use tools. He had made a pretend work environment with the fifty boys he had originally received as playmates to corrupt his mind. Peter treated them all equally and fairly; and although he knew that when he became a man, he would be the emperor of all Russia, he never acted like the boys were inferior. Peter demonstrated the characteristics of a natural born leader at a very young age, and used them to get as far as he did in life.

During the reforms of Peter the great, education was one of the most extreme. Russia was in need of new schools and these schools “were not so much a green fruit grown on the poor soil of the old Russian education, but rather the seeds from which a comprehensive system of popular education could sprout in the distant future”.(Rozhdestvenskii 57)

Aside from education being a problem in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the church, which Peter wanted the education system to be based on, was in need of serious improvement. To say the least, all the members of the religious hierarchy were drunkards. To be accepted into the institution, you were to answer yes to the question; do you drink? If you were ever to say no, forget about being initiated. Also, if one were to go sober after being inducted, they were to be banned from all the inns of the empire. Peter found this to be not only funny, but he actually made fun of, and ridiculed the church for what it stood for and what it did. Peter had a tremendous sense of humor, a characteristic of his father Alexis. His humor is probably how he got through so many reforms and hard times with such ease. One heavy problem that rested on Peter’s shoulders during this time was that many people were saying that the Czar was the anti-Christ. For some reason, it has always!

When Peter was only three years old, he was given a head start on learning the alphabet. Also, at a very young age, it was suggested by his half-brother/Godfather that he “started his lessons”.(Massie 27) Starting his lessons meant that he was to begin his long journey of studying, reading, and memorizing the bible. Many believed that this was a substandard form of education for a future czar of Russia but no matter. Peter would grow up to be one of the most famous rulers of his time.

Some topics in this essay:
Princess Sophia, Peter Aside, Holy Synod, Naryshkin Alexis’s, Peter Ivan, Russia Peter, St Petersburg, Monastery Moscow, Ivan Peter, Fedor Peter, st petersburg, peter michaelowitz, education system based, emperor russia, half brothers, popular education, sophia’s intentions, late 17th, peter grow, sister sophia, education religion,