Lives in Parallel: The Reforms of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great
Quick answer: How did Peter the Great and Catherine the Great transform Russia?
Peter the Great rebuilt Russia's army, founded its navy, reorganized government, pushed Western customs, and opened a capital on the Baltic at St. Petersburg. Catherine the Great continued the work later in the 18th century with administrative reform, Enlightenment ideas, and territorial expansion.
John has visited Russia twice, before and after the Cold War. He has walked through the Kremlin, jogged across Red Square, and toured the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and those places brought two of Russia's most consequential rulers to life for him. Peter the Great, who ruled from the late 1600s until 1725, overhauled the army, introduced a ranking system that rewarded service over birth, and built a navy almost from nothing, along with the shipyards to support it. He reorganized government into specialized departments, ordered his nobles into European dress, and pushed roads, canals, and industry. Catherine the Great, who took the throne in 1762, followed his path and made her own. She reorganized provincial administration, corresponded with Enlightenment thinkers, championed education and the arts, and pushed Russia's borders south to the Black Sea and west into Poland. John doesn't present either as a model of virtue. He presents them as case studies in how determined leaders drive lasting change, and in what that change costs.
Why it matters for leaders: Large-scale change usually depends on a leader who pairs a clear vision with the persistence to see it through.
Q: When did Peter the Great rule?
A: He was crowned in 1682 and ruled until his death in 1725, sharing the throne with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696.
Q: When did Catherine the Great reign?
A: From 1762 until her death in 1796.
Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lives-parallel-reforms-peter-great-catherine-john-fenzel-7tzle
By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation