Peter the Great’s War on the Beard, Russia 1705.One of the most celebrated Czar’s in Rus

Peter the Great’s War on the Beard, Russia 1705.One of the most celebrated Czar’s in Russian history, Peter the Great is credited with expanding and modernizing the Russian Empire.  By the late 17th and early 18th century Russia had changed little since the Middle Ages.  As Czar Peter the Great sought to reform the government, modernize the military, and enact social changes that would make the empire a more enlightened nation.Part of his reforms included fashion as well.  Schooled in Europe during the height of the Enlightenment, Peter the Great wanted his empire to looked modernized, meaning the adoption of Western European clothing and style.  Peter himself adopted European style clothing and sported a European style mustache.  However, Russia was not so inclined to follow in his footsteps.  Peter the Great would have to drag Russia into the modern world kicking and screaming.The strongest opponents to Peter’s reforms were the Boyars, the Russian nobles who had exerted hereditary power over the country for centuries.  The Boyars traditionally wore very long and thick beards as well as a heavy rob.  Peter hated their beards, to him the Boyar’s beards represented the old order Russia, a Russia that had to go.  In 1705 Peter the Great issued a proclamation stating that anyone who was caught wearing a beard would be subject to a 30 ruble fine.  In order to keep a beard, a person had to pay a 100 ruble tax and carry a token which said, “The beard tax has been taken, the beard is a superfluous burden.”  Peter even went as far as creating special beard patrols who would go door to door, collecting taxes from bearded men and forcibly shaving the beards of those who refused.The Boyars were enraged by this policy and many refused to obey the law.  So what did Peter the Great do to the Boyars who disobeyed his proclamation? Prison? Torture? Execution?  Peter had the bearded Boyars rounded up and brought before him.  One by one Peter personally cut off their beards with a large pair of sheers.   In the end Peter the Great’s war on the beard was unsuccessful in the long run.  However he is credited with modernizing Russia while building it into a powerful empire and founding the great city of St. Petersburg. -- source link

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