I'm going to go. He's

a-a-ra-s-s-s-s-a-s-s-a-s-a-s- Again, 32, the Great Embassy, Part 1.

Last week, we told the story of Tsar Peter's two assaults on the Tatar stronghold,

The Fortress of Azov. The first was a disastrous failure, but the second one was a

magnificent success. With it, Peter becomes convinced that he needs to go west, not as it's are, but as a common

man to learn all things Western. He undertakes a grand voyage, one known to history as the Great Embassy.

Peter's trip west coincided with his sending about 50 Russian men to study shipbuilding

and navigation to Holland, Italy and England.

When they returned, the men were often met by the Tsar himself to find out what they had learned. There have been many scholars who have debated about the motives

behind Peter's decision to take this trip. Mind you, no Russian ruler had ever gone to another

country unless they were at the head of an army.

Voltaire had theorized that the Tsar just wanted to see what life was like as a commoner,

but that's very unlikely as he already had those experiences when he went to the German

quarter. Some thought he did it to get away from Moscow, which in my opinion is also unlikely

as he had his retreat in Priel Brajenskoy.

The real reasons for the trip included solidifying his alliances against the Turks, which

had suffered a mighty blow when Polish King Jan Sobayevsky died in 1696.

The French King Louis the 14th, who was a strange ally of the Turks, sought to put one of his own

puppets on the throne of Poland, which Peter could not tolerate.

Another reason was to stimulate trade with Europe, but the main reason I believe Peter's insatiable need to learn was what made him go, and he wanted to learn more about the West so he could change his country from the backward

Oriental nation to a European power.

Now why was Peter so enamored of Europe? You would just need to understand the differences

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