Peter the Great vs. Catherine the Great--Who Was Greater?

Essay by wruz6Junior High, 9th grade April 2003

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During the strife and civil unrest of Russia, after the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584, there was an prevailing demand for a powerful leader ready to rule and reestablish Russia to become more stable, more westernized, and most importantly, to become a reckonable force. Russia answered by providing a czar and a czarina to rebuild Russia and lead it away from the troubles it faced following its Mongolian rule--Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. These two rulers did precisely what was required for them to do for Russia to accelerate and become a nation able to boast its power.

Like many other rulers who rule with an iron fist, Czar Peter I was not someone one would label amiable or even simply cold to others--he was cruel. He was a tall man who possessed a fiery temper, which he did not attempt to suppress. Peter I was cruel and ruthless to the point where he locked up his own son in prison under suspicion of infidelity and let him die there.

On the other hand, Catherine the Great was well composed and well educated and tought herself the philosophies of Voltaire and various other well-known philosophers of her time. She was quite the opposite the characteristics--mental instability, immaturity, and inappropriate behavior--Peter the Great passed down to Catherine II's husband Peter III, which was the primary reason for Peter III and Catherine the Great's mutual hatred for each other.

Despite the faults in Czar Peter as a person, he accomplished many great deeds in his reign, thus earning him the reserved title "the Great." Peter the Great knew unerringly what Russia needed from him to thrive. That included access to warm-water ports on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Russia, being landlocked at very high...