The reforms of Peter the Great – more harmful than good?

[Lord Winter]

I would argue that the divide between the nobility and the peasantry was not a result of Peter the Greats reform but more of a consequence of a decentralized inefficient government. Peasants in imperial Russia saw very little of the outside world beyond tax collectors and the local nobility. As tax burdens grew heavier and Russia failed to modernize in the 19th century the peasantry largely stayed in the mindset of the 1600's while the nobility stayed attuned with European culture. If you must blame anyone I would blame Alexander I for his reactionary policies. The transportation, agricultural and industrial revolution in Russia would have created a greater sense of nationalism and education in the peasant resulting in the creation of a modernized middle class like it did in much of Europe. If this had happened perhaps the Russian Revolution wouldn't have happened.