Peter I – The King of catching up development

The activity of Peter the Great on large-scale reforms in practical terms began with the war, coincided with the war and in a number of key issues was determined by the need to wage war, arming and supplying the army, restructuring management. Starting with the moderate goal of opening a "window to Europe", after 1714 administrative reforms became broader and more comprehensive. But by this time, critical steps to move away from the "boyar" management, the creation of an army on a modern basis and the development of industry on the basis of serfdom had already been taken made. The logic of reforms was determined not only by the desire for Europe and not by the teleology of empire creation. We are talking about the pragmatic need to use the window of opportunity to get out of the "ring track" of a vast forest power compressed by three imperial (regardless of titles) neighbors of other faiths - Turkey, Poland and Sweden. All three had goals in relation to Russia within the framework of their own political, economic and territorial interests. Progress and needs The Northern War largely determined the nature of the reforms, and the success of the war led to towards the formation of an empire. The results of the reforms and the war gave the country a chance for development, although a large-scale transition to more mature European socio-economic institutions in these short terms and under conditions of war was not realized and could not be realized.