Lesson 2: Пётр Первый

Lesson Description:

If this is the first time you are using a RAILS lesson, we recommend that you take a look at the page About the lessons to make sure that you understand how some features of the lessons work.

This is the second lesson based on an interview with Russian historian Aleksandr Logunov. You will watch four clips from an interview with Professor Logunov and complete exercises based on those clips. You will also listen to texts about the reign of Peter the Great, and about some of the artistic representations of Peter and his legacy. This lesson consists of the sections: Необычный царь, Образы Петра в политике, Художественные образы Петра, and Заключение.

You can find the Помощник and Словарь at the end of the lesson for easy reference, but they are also available in the lesson in places where you are most likely to need them.

What You Will Learn:

In this lesson, you will learn the dates of reign of the Russian tsars from Ivan III through Nikolai II. You will learn about some of the major events of Peter’s reign, and about how he differed from the tsars that came before him. You will learn about how some people used the image of Peter for political reasons, and identify how political perspective is reflected in opinions of Peter. You will analyze artistic interpretations of Peter and focus on how they affected society. You will organize arguments and evidence by making outlines. You will identify points of view by using inference, and you will practice using connectors, untangling complicated syntax, and finding clarifications and explanations.

Learning Tips:

Remember that the image of Peter is very ambiguous and contentious for different groups within Russian culture today and at different points in time. The image of Peter is rarely simple, even when one considers the view of just one Russian observer.

	Number of pages: 19
	Estimated completion time: 1.5 – 2 hours