Russia commemorates the tsar who opened his country to Europe

(Saint-Petersburg) Russia commemorates Thursday the birthday of Tsar Peter the Great, who worked to bring the empire closer to Europe, an echo of the past which clashes three centuries later, in full rupture between Moscow and the West because of the conflict in Ukraine.

To mark the 350^e anniversary of the birth of Peter 1^erwho reigned first as tsar and then as emperor from 1682 to his death in 1725, President Vladimir Putin is to visit an exhibition dedicated to him in Moscow.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Mr. Putin “greatly appreciated the role of (Peter the Great) in the history of our country”.

After a trip to Europe which made him aware of the backwardness of development of Russia, Pierre 1^er modernized the empire at a forced march, reforming the army, the State and the Church, creating a navy and initiating a veritable cultural revolution of which present-day Russia is the heir.

He also had Saint-Petersburg built, the imperial capital which he saw as a “window open to Europe”. It is also in this city, today the second in Russia, that most of the celebrations will take place on Thursday, with shows and public conferences.

The figure of Peter the Great also remains associated with that of a conqueror who pushed back the borders of Russia and with that of a strong monarch, not suffering any form of dispute.

“Peter 1^er can be an emblematic figure for supporters of European-style liberalism as well as for supporters of a strong state,” historian Daniil Kotsubinski told AFP.

During the commemorations on Thursday, “the current power will emphasize its strongman side of the state”, he anticipates.

Mr. Putin has already set the tone by paying tribute, in a press release published on Wednesday, to an “exceptional military figure” and a “patriot”, whose “large-scale transformations have contributed to the strengthening of Russia’s international prestige and determined its development for the following centuries”.

“Close the window”?

In fact, the current context does not lend itself well to the celebration of the orientation towards Europe driven by the Emperor, at a time when Russia seems cut off from the Old Continent and is subject to Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine. launched on February 24.

In this context of high tensions between Moscow and Europe, many Russians are wondering if Mr. Putin intends to “close the window opened” three centuries ago by Peter the Great.

Russian social networks have for days been full of “memes” (images diverted on the internet for humorous purposes) on this subject, illustrating the questions of part of the population about the future of relations with the West.

“Peter 1^er has opened the window on Europe, Putin will close it,” laughs one of them. Another montage shows the emperor saying: “Close the window on Europe, the view is terrible”.

In this climate, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Mr. Peskov, assured last week that “no one has the intention of closing anything”.

For the historian Boris Kipnis, “whatever the historical circumstances, if we abandon the axis traced by Pierre 1^er, we can ruin the country and the people”. For him, no doubt: “Russia is a European country”.

Despite the current tensions between Moscow and European countries, Svetlana Stepanova, a 47-year-old Petersburger who will go to the festivities on Thursday, sees Vladimir Putin as an heir to the emperor.

“Peter 1^er has made Russia a great power, Putin also wants to see a great Russia,” she said. “That’s the main thing. »