Economically the Tsar would immediately have an advantage in that the royal families had the ability to command monopolies upon businesses which were going through a stage of flush prosperity which earned the Tsar money, However, as they were being used for their prosperity it may of discouraged people from setting up a business as they the benefits they were searching weren’t being reaped by themselves but instead there Tsar. It’s also questionable how wisely the Tsar spent this income, was it on financial and economic growth ? or was it for expansion of his military ? or would it to be to satisfy his personal want’s and needs ?
Russia did have large quantities of valuable resource, these being objects such as Salt and Tar and it was up to the Tsar to promote that these resources be used wisely. Moving onto farming, now farming and the technique they partook in was seriously inadequate, it was 300 years out of date and seriously ineffective when one looks at the fact they were still using a medieval farming method when there western counterparts were using much more modernized equipment which could fulfill a higher purpose. This poor farming usually resulted in poor harvests, which intern resulted in hunger amongst the poorer, taxable population, this and a plague in 1644 which killed significant amounts of the peasantry meant that there was a significant reduce in the taxable population, Russia’s Economic Structure was extremely astern which would make making the country function adequately a problem for any Tsar, however making economical reforms is a certain way of making this possible and possibly as the title states make the Tsar’s rule easier.
Russia in 1682 was beginning to have some small foreign contact which if continued would make it easier for a ruler to begin modernizing by the affiliation of western ideology, However, this would be far from an easy task to accomplish as many of Russia’s surrounding neighbors were deeply belligerent, it’s also worth noting that Russia was at war with some of them, but even this seemingly negative point can be turned to the leader’s advantage as it allowed the opportunity to conquer hostile territory which as well as gaining them land also gained them resources, wealth and could even bring some fresh culture into the Russian society. Furthermore their support of promoting trade of their goods was not only gaining them income but also foreign awareness about Russia the country. Whilst on the topic of Russia as a country, a large problem came from the fact that Russia itself was divided into various factions and dynasties which opposed the Tsar and his autocratic rule. As well as this being a problem, so was the fact that the capital city of Moscow was in the west, which when one looks at the size of Russia one soon realizes what a difficulty communication was, that’s if one hasn’t already seen it as pretty much impossible. Russia’s Foreign Affairs were also socially impaired as there was not anywhere near enough contact with western countries to make a modernization process happen quickly, this made it extremely difficult for a Tsar to make Russia into a great power amongst other countries, e.g Sweden & The Ottoman Empire.
The Main Religion in Russia in 1682 was that of The Russian Orthodox Church, their fundamental belief was that only they were holy and pure. The patriarch of the church often had equal powers to the Tsar, this setup could have potential advantage to the Tsar, as religion has the power to bring people together, so if the control of the church was able to be managed by the Tsar then he would systematically have control of the majority of the population. However, this wasn’t going to be an easy task as there would be a divide between the R.O.C and those who saw themselves as the ‘Old Believers’ who followed their lives in step with the greek services, it’s also worth noting that due the patriarch’s power it would be extremely difficult to exert his power over the church which could also take it upon themselves to interfere with politics and state affairs. Actually the biggest problem the church posed for any Tsar was the fact they strictly opposed ‘Westernization’ as they believed western ideology would tamper and endanger the souls of Russians, if the Tsar wanted to proceed with this policy of westernizing and modernizing the country then the Tsar would need to overcome this, but in no way would this be easy to achieve as devotion to the R.O.C was thorough throughout Russia.
Russia’s geographical position was plagued with difficulties, however it wasn’t completely negative, the main opposition from inside the country to the Tsar’s rule was that of the Mongol Khanate, however they’d recently been Conquered by the Cossacks which allowed Russia to develop contact with other foreign countries. Other than this however, land was uninhabitable to the south of Russia and was plagued by the Tartar’s who’d frequently raid. Most of Russia was under constant risk of attack because of it’s neighboring countries hostile temperament. Also because of the Western and Eastern influences of Russia it was culturally backward which made it difficult to implement changes without difficulty for the Tsar. Russia’s east would make it very difficult for a Tsar to help control and relations with neighboring countries would either need to be improved or Russia’s military would need to have their strength increased in order to keep it’s position that of secure.
In Conclusion when Peter assumed the role of Tsar, politically he’d need to be more secure and an autocrat but would need to gain control over the army if his rule would to be easy. However when facing economic problems, his position would be difficult as the systems which were in place at present were backward and inadequate which also wasn’t complimented by their foreign policy which made trade with other countries difficult. Geographically, he’d face various problems including inadequate land and being surrounded by aggressive neighbors. Religion would also cause another major problem with it’s prevention of westernization, making it difficult for Russia to be more forward as a country, As a whole Peter was going to need to face a great number of difficulties in modernizing Russia but there was also advantages he could make use of to make changes such as his absolute power and the vast resource russia possessed.