The influence of internal reforms

Peter the Great's internal reforms were extremely influential in allowing Russia to become a great European country for the process of Westernization helped integrate the Russian identity into that of Europe. The combination of these internal reforms with Peter's competitiveness and desire to utilize military power allowed Russia to transform itself into a European power. As described in this site, Peter travelled to the Western European countries in order to observe and study the techniques that separated the modern Western European countries from the dated and traditional Russia. In order to facilitate the modernization and transformation of Russia into a great European power, Peter the Great needed to insure that the Russian public could mold into a westernized identity. This internal reformation of westernization had two benefits, the first being that it united the Russian people as a more westernized group of people and the second being that it was very demonstrative of Peter the Great's power and influence over his country (especially the nobility). Thus Peter the Great's internal reforms revealed the power that Peter the Great maintained and the influence that he was capable of.