The legacy of Peter the Great: the Service State; the role of the Church;…

The idea

Peter the Great’s death in 1725 left a complex legacy that defined Russian governance and society. He established the Service State through the 1722 Table of Ranks, compelling the gentry into lifelong military or civil administration, fundamentally altering their relationship with the autocracy. The Church was subordinated to the state via the Holy Synod (1721), replacing the Patriarchate and turning clergy into state officials. Socially, the divide between the Westernised gentry and the enserfed peasantry deepened, as serfdom was entrenched through the poll tax and conscription. Internationally, Peter transformed Russia into a major European power, securing Baltic access through the Great Northern War, which forced his successors to maintain a costly, active role in European diplomacy and conflicts.

What earns the marks

• Explain the function of the Table of Ranks (1722) in creating a meritocratic Service State that bound the nobility to the autocrat.
• Analyse the impact of the Holy Synod in removing the Church's political independence and transforming it into a department of state.
• Evaluate how the introduction of the soul tax (poll tax) and military conscription solidified the institution of serfdom and widened the social chasm.
• Assess the consequences of Russia's new status as a European great power, particularly the financial and military burdens of maintaining Baltic territories and a standing army.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Assuming the Table of Ranks abolished the nobility.

  Put it right: It actually restructured it to base status on state service rather than birthright alone.

• Claiming Peter abolished the Orthodox Church.

  Put it right: He abolished the independent Patriarchate, replacing it with the state-controlled Holy Synod.

• Stating that Peter introduced serfdom.

  Put it right: Serfdom already existed, but Peter's poll tax and conscription significantly worsened the serfs' conditions and entrenched the system.

Exam tips

• Link the concept of the Service State directly to the growing cultural and economic divide between the Westernised gentry and the traditional serfs.
• When discussing international affairs, use the Great Northern War as the catalyst for Russia's permanent entanglement in European power politics.
• Evaluate Peter's legacy as a dual-edged sword: it modernised the state apparatus but created deep structural resentments that fuelled the subsequent palace coups.