Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
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Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
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Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#2I bought a few replicas of the pictured token for my friends in Austin, all of whom have these Rasputin-ass facial carpets. https://www.beardtoken.com
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#3The article states that this was part of an effort to reorient the country's culture. That might seem strange to Americans / Western Europeans today, but this was not an isolated case and while it might not be PC to say so, this could be a constructive thing (with the right approach and an amount of luck).
A more modern example is Turkey, where Atatürk revised script, clothing, education, and many other aspects of the country's culture. While no one will every know "what would have been", it's arguable that these reforms made Turkey more "European" and less "Middle Eastern" - which I think was the intent.
So, today Turkey is more like an Italy than a Syria (though that is changing), and perhaps those reforms are part of the reason why.
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#4It sounds like being ruled over by a socialite.
I don't know anything about Peter, did he take anything apart from fashion from his grand tour?
It says he worked at a shipyard which is admirable but no further mention of what impression that left.
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#5It sounds like being ruled over by a socialite. I don't know anything about Peter, did he take anything apart from fashion from his grand tour? It says he worked at a shipyard which is admirable but no further mention of what impression that left.
Peter reformed Russian army, build an effective navy, won a few wars, and founded St. Petersburg, among other things.
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#6Coincidentally, I recently stumbled across a really great lecture series with maybe 50 hours of great university lecture style content on Imperial Russia and I've been listening to it as I go to bed. Around episode 7 or 8 I believe he discusses this episode. If anyone wants to learn about something off their normal radar, I really recommend this lecture series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qsss5phzpg&list=PLEETkM6vwQ...
It starts off kind of slow. Id say the first episode is probably the worst of the series but the guy's got a captive student audience so I don't think he's prioritizing reeling in the audience.
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#7It sounds like being ruled over by a socialite. I don't know anything about Peter, did he take anything apart from fashion from his grand tour? It says he worked at a shipyard which is admirable but no further mention of what impression that left.
Peter reformed Russian army, build an effective navy, won a few wars, and founded St. Petersburg, among other things.
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Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#8This decision -- along with many others inaugurated by Peter -- contributed to the perception of a european/slavic bifurcation in the Russian soul. Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and many others wrestled with the implications of this centuries later. I daresay it still shapes russian self-perception.
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#9This decision -- along with many others inaugurated by Peter -- contributed to the perception of a european/slavic bifurcation in the Russian soul. Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and many others wrestled with the implications of this centuries later. I daresay it still shapes russian self-perception.
Not just perception - there was a very real conflict in the 19th century between traditional Russian values and western ideas such as nihilism and socialism. Dostoevsky was such an idealist in his youth, then turning his back on those movements after being imprisoned in hard labor camp. In his book Demons, he very much groks the dangers of these western ideas, which led to the disastrous 70 year reign of the Bolsheviks
Re: Peter the Great’s Beard Tax
#10As someone with a beard, I just cant imagine shaving every morning. Seems like a huge pain in the ass and waste of time. You do you if thats your thing though.