When?
What?
Who?
Surprise
100
When was St. Petersburg founded?
1703
100
What is the name of the war that Russia fought against Sweden from 1700 through 1721?
The Great Northern War
100
Who described St. Petersburg as Russia's window to Europe?
An Italian traveler (scientist and writer Count Francesco Algarotti, visited St. Pete in 1739)
"Entering the Neva estuary he was ostensibly shocked to find that the river, “this sacred way,” was “not adorned with either arches or temples” but rather was “flanked by forest to both left and right—and that not of majestic oaks or tufted elms or evergreen laurels, but of the most wretched species of trees on which the sun shines.” His first glimpse of St. Petersburg seemed to make up for its dreary approaches, for:
"all of a sudden the river bends; the scene instantly changes, as in an opera, and we behold before us the Imperial city. On either bank groups of sumptuous edifices, towers topped by gilded spires, ships with banners flying . . . such is the brilliant spectacle that greets us. Here, they tell us, is the Admiralty, there the Arsenal; here the fortress, there the Academy; ahead, the Winter Palace."
(Cracraft, The Revolution of Peter the Great, 154)
100
True or False: Peter believed that progress required forceful direction from above?
True.
"As he wrote in November 1723: 'our people are like children who, out of ignorance, will never get down to learning their alphabet unless the master forces them to do so'"
200
When did Peter declare himself Emperor of All Russia?
1721
200
What was the name of the fortress founded by Peter upon the capture of a small Swedish trading settlement in 1703?
The Peter and Paul Fortress
200
Who were the Slavophiles and the Westernizers?
Technically, 19th century intellectuals but it all goes back to Peter's Westernization project (w/ St. Pete at its centre). Westernizers: Russia needs to align itself w/ the West. Slavophiles: Russia has its own unique path (Orthodox faith + the peasant communes).
200
When and how did Peter I die?
"Peter died, aged 52, on January 28, 1725, following complications from a recurrent bladder infection. Venereal disease, alcohol, and sheer exhaustion may have contributed to his comparatively early demise."
300
When was the Table of Ranks created?
1722
300
What is serfdom?
Serfs were bound to the land of the landowner. Their labor and property were at the disposal of the lord. The status was hereditary.
300
If ______ hadn't been killed, he would have been Peter's heir to the throne.
Peter's son Alexis
Did not share Peter's passions (esp. for the navy and St. Petersburg). Allegedly plotted to depose and assassinate Peter. Escaped abroad, lured back to Russia, sentenced to death. Died before the execution.
male primogeniture (the unspoken rule) is replaced by Peter I w/ a new law: the reigning monarch nominates the successor
300
Name Peter's first and second wives. Who were they?
1. Evdokiia Lopukhina, from the noble Lopukhin family; the last ethnic Russian wife of a Russian monarch. Three sons; two died in infancy. The third was Tsarevich Alexis.
2. Marta Helena Skowrońska (aka Catherine I), a Polish-Lithuanian peasant. Converted to Orthodox Christianity. The first woman to rule Imperial Russia. The first empress of what became known as "the Age of the Empresses" (incl. her daughter Elizabeth and her granddaughter-in-law Catherine II).
400
In what century was Moscow first mentioned in the chronicles?
12th (1147)
400
What is the Table of Ranks?
A classification of ranks in the Russian military, naval, and civil services introduced by Peter. All military servants were granted hereditary nobility. Civil servants had to reach rank eight to earn the privilege. Based at least in part on the principle of meritocracy but did not always work that way.
400
Who designed the Peter and Paul cathedral?
Swiss architect Domenico Trezzini
400
How did Peter reform the Russian alphabet in 1708-1710?
He reformed the Russian alphabet, creating a plain new “civil” typeface to be used alongside the traditional church script for the publication of increasing numbers of practical manuals on such topics as shipbuilding, navigation, artillery, architecture, and geography, as well as countless government decrees and statutes.