7 Peter I 7purposes were to examine the international situation and
to strengthen the anti-Turkish coalition (to no avail), but
also to gather information on the economic and cultural
life of Europe. Peter pretended to be a ship’s carpenter
named Peter Mikhailov and worked in English and Dutch
shipyards. He also visited factories, schools, and museums
and studied everything from anatomy and engraving to
European industrial techniques.
When Peter could not secure anti-Turkish alliances, he
abandoned his plans for pushing forward from the Sea of
Azov to the Black Sea. He now turned his attention to the
Baltic instead, which led to the long-running Northern
War (1700–21) with Sweden. At the war’s end, the eastern
shores of the Baltic were ceded to Russia. In the middle of
the Northern War, Turkey declared war on Russia (1710–13),
which ended with Azov left to the Turks. From that time
on, Peter’s military effort was concentrated on winning
his war against Sweden. In 1722, hearing that the Ottoman
Turks would take advantage of Persia’s weakness and
invade the Caspian region, Peter himself invaded Persian
territory. In 1723 Persia ceded the western and southern
shores of the Caspian to Russia in return for military aid.
Despite being occupied with several wars for many
years, Peter managed to make many widespread reforms
and changes in Russia. At the beginning of Peter’s reign,
Russia was less developed by comparison with the coun-
tries of western Europe. This inhibited foreign policy and
even put Russia’s national independence in danger. Peter’s
aim, therefore, was to overtake the developed countries of
western Europe as soon as possible, in order both to pro-
mote the national economy and to ensure victory in his
wars for access to the seas. He initiated a series of reforms
that affected, in the course of 25 years, every field of the
national life—administration, industry, commerce, tech-
nology, and culture. He modernized the calendar, making