Pushkin and His View of Petersburg in the Bronze Horseman

Peter the Great and the Petrine Reforms

The reforms of Peter the Great, or the Petrine Reforms, changed the character of Russia to a much more administrative and secular one from the religious character that it had assumed hithertofore. Anisimov notes that there was a "decisive triumph of secular principles over confessional and religious ones" as a result of the Reforms, which themselves were the result of an infusion of humanism and Enlightenment philosophy from Europe in the late 17th century (216). Peter's administrative reforms saw the breaking up of Russia into more manageable parts, rather than overburdened administrations overseeing densely populated cities; and his Table of Ranks was established so as to provide a standard list of rank in the government, court and military. The Table of Ranks was meant to serve as a system of title/honors according to numeral, which would indicate one's closeness to the Czar. It was Peter's way of destabilizing the Boyar power elite structure. Peter made it so that any common man in Russia could now socially climb his way to the top of the Table of Ranks if he had the will and ability to do so, whereas before this reform, ranks were simply handed down from one generation to another. Peter's reform of the ranking system essentially challenged the classist paradigm that had existed in Russia in prior times; in doing so, the reforms promoted a more egalitarian system (in that all positions were now open to anyone) while also retaining the dignity and stature of the ranking system (only those so well-equipped/skilled could attain them).

At the same time, Peter's reforms reinforced the fact that the peasants were tied to the land, even though he did institute a new peasant class -- the serfs -- who were called "state peasants" (Anisimov 196). The purpose of this reform was to make it easier for the State to supervise the populace: essentially it was an administrative move built upon the Enlightenment ideology of liberty in vogue in Europe. There was a pattern to Peter's reforms in that they grew out of a desire to modernize Russia, to streamline it, and to make it more practical and efficient in terms of the demands for social change emanating from Europe. Peter wanted to show that Russia was neither backward nor out of control -- and to a large extent the Petrine Reforms were about amassing control for the State while offering a European sensibility. For example, the administrative reforms were modeled on Sweden and the religious reforms followed the examples set by European states in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The religious reforms undertaken by Peter consisted of transforming the Orthodox church "into a government institution" (Anisimov 216). This move by Peter was performed in order that the sacred institution might be a more willing participant and supportive structure of the overall "regime of autocracy" that was Russia under Peter (Anisimov 216). It was not a reform based on the principles of atheism but rather another administrative reform meant to shore up power for the Czar.

The pattern to the Petrine Reforms was the speed with which they were initiated: Peter came into power and essentially changed the landscape of Russia with whirlwind-like abilities, passing sweeping legislature that would ultimately set Russia on a course for liberal modernization under Catherine the Great. They were also all geared towards consolidating power for the Russian administration while opening the door to a more liberal/secular approach to social organization.

The prologue to Pushkin's "Bronze Horseman" suggests that views about Peter and his imperial city Petersburg were full of awe, admiration and love. Peter had transformed the city into a marvel of architecture and ability. Peter transformed it from a Swedish fort to a majestic capital, where the administrative forces of Russia gathered and where the city could reflect the elegance and refinery of all the best that Europe had produced along with that special Russian style. Pushkin is effusive in his praise of Petersburg and, implicitly of Peter the Great, who built the city and raised it from its frontier-style make-shift fort baseness to its majestic splendor of grace, sophistication, authority, charm, beauty, and fortification. Pushkin writes: "City of Peter, just you shine / And stand unshakable as Russia!" For Pushkin, Petersburg is a symbol of all that is good in Russia -- its nobility, its strength, its inner light, grace, and steadfastness. It is transcendent and splendorous: "May make a peace with beauty, thine, / The conquered nature's casual rushes," and its splendor is based on the fact that Peter himself, much like grace, built upon nature a home for civilized Russia in Petersburg, once a small outpost of Finnish fortifications.