Europe

When Peter the Great visited Europe for the first time, he did not know what to do with forks and knives.

After visiting Archangel City at Northern Sea (modern Archangelsk), talking with European seamen and merchants he turned his eyes West. Traditionally Russians traded more with the East.

Europeans and Europe turned out to be different from what Czar expected. Those who lived in the Moscow colony were foreigners but they were assimilated and russified. Peter did not care for European music, hunting, games and dances. He was interested in shipbuilding and weaponry. He also had a phobia to high ceilings and preferred to stay in houses rather than palaces. In Amsterdam he visited saw mills, factories, plants and makes notes. During his first visit to Europe he hired 900 people. Most of them were trade or industry experts.

Russian Army

Northern war was thought not by the czar but diplomats. Russia needed an access to the Baltic Sea and Europe. Secretly, Russians pulled 40,000 troops to Narva-city. But Narva did not surrender. It was a huge army but consisting mostly of green and poorly trained peasants. There were only a few trained Cossack units. Then in November 8,000 troops strong Swedish army arrived by boats to proximity of Narva and Russians panicked. Peter gave last orders and left for Moscow. Swedes destroyed Russian army at once. Swedish king Carl XII was only 18 at that time but he was already experienced commander and his army was the strongest in Europe. After the defeat Czar understood that the knowledge, experience and the best equipment win in any war.

Old cavalry shown its poor training at Narva and Czar ordered to gather 70,000 new hussars and train them. Old artillery was lost and Czar ordered to use church bell’s metal for new cannons. It did not make him more popular among church leaders and believers. Peter doubled taxes on Staroveri (believers who ignored Nikon’s reforms). He established a tax on the beard that was considered an important manly attribute by many. But this was Russia and populism was never a part of the culture. In 1700 Peter asked experts what else he could do to get a good army? Experts said that one could not "get an army". Russian army has to be built, trained and has to learn to believe in its strength. It has to believe its commanders.