levo

Y210: Russia 1645–1741

The reforms of Peter the Great 1698–1725: consolidation of power, social change and government reform

  • 1 thing to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Peter’s consolidation of power, beards and dress, the Table of Ranks, the calendar and alphabet, the Senate and central departments, local and town government, and the poll tax.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

Why did Peter attack beards and traditional dress?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did Peter consolidate his power after 1698?

    Model answer

    He let the Boyar Duma wither away without formally abolishing it, promoted men of ability and low birth such as Menshikov alongside a few great families, made noble service to the state compulsory and lifelong, and destroyed the Streltsi as an independent force.

  2. 2

    Why did Peter attack beards and traditional dress?

    Model answer

    Long beards and long robes marked Russia out as different from Europe and were defended as religious obligations, so cutting them was a public declaration that the elite must change; from 1705 those who insisted on a beard had to buy a licence and pay a tax.

  3. 3

    Describe the Table of Ranks.

    Model answer

    Introduced in 1722, it set out fourteen parallel grades in the military, civil and court services through which every servant of the state had to rise, so that rank depended on office rather than birth and commoners who reached the required grade acquired noble status.

  4. 4

    What changes did Peter make to the calendar?

    Model answer

    From 1700 Russia counted years from the birth of Christ rather than from the supposed creation of the world and began the year on 1 January instead of 1 September, bringing dating into line with European practice.

  5. 5

    Why did Peter reform the alphabet?

    Model answer

    He introduced a simplified civil script and Arabic numerals from 1708 so that technical, military and administrative books could be printed and read easily, separating secular publishing from the old Church Slavonic type.

  6. 6

    Explain what the Senate was and why Peter created it.

    Model answer

    Set up in 1711 when Peter left for the Pruth campaign, the Senate was a small appointed body that governed in his absence, supervised justice, revenue and the provinces and issued decrees in his name, replacing the Boyar Duma as the summit of the administration.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

See a huge jump in your memorisation

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
Y103: England 1199–1272
Y104: England 1377–1455

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Franz Ferdinand was shot at in June.
SarajevoBelgradeVienna

Blank Blitz consolidates the facts

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA republic replaced the sultanate.
BThe caliphate was abolished in 1924.
CThe Latin alphabet was adopted.

Build It trains answer structure

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Simony means the buying and selling of Church office.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Y210: Russia 1645–1741, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.