Proclamation of Peter the Great
The Russian Empire has experienced and is continuing to experience, great and momentous changes for the better. Likewise, it is conventional wisdom to understand that human society evolves in tandem with changes in the environment. The imperial government has expanded the territories of the empire, and thus provided more land for the Russian people to live in and prosper.
In the days of old, the boyars (the local elite) would have misappropriated this land even though they did not ever participate in expeditions to conquer them. These virgin lands need to be settled by a people of nice character, humble persona, and great ambitions. The church wants the government to surrender more than half of the land over to the Patriarchate. The Tsar has refused to concede to their request, and for good reason. The church is one of the institutions which is opposed to change and enlightenment of the Russian Masses.
The Church fathers despise education and disavow secular learning, not because secular education is inherently bad, but because the church fathers fear that an educated mass would recognize their ignorance and lack of proper understanding of religion.Russian males have for long been required, either by culture or religious norms, to wear long beards. Though a mark of respect to religious traditions, it is not proper for men to let their beards grow long as this action works contrary to the evolution of society.
Presently, Western Europe is at the nadir of its renaissance, and most of the great thinkers and scholars of religion do not spot a long beard. These Renaissance scholars have written tractates legitimizing men to shave off their beards and wear the clothes of the Englishman. In Europe, this is the norm. Here in Russia, it must be made the norm because Russia needs to modernize.The boyars value the church because it keeps the masses under control as well as discourages them from attempting to question or change the state of affairs. For this reason, the boyars have been able to subdue the peasants and keep them in a state of serfdom. Serfdom demands the stratification of society into classes and castes.
The best way to accentuate these differences is through the mode of dress. The elite dress differently from the peasants, most of who wear tattered clothes. That is a blot in the collective conscious of Russians and Russia, and it must be expunged. That blot has retarded the progress of Russia throughout the ages, as the accomplishments of a person were tied to his or her status at birth, and not his or her potential. That has led to a waste of human potential, and the government is set to checkmate such irrevocable wastage.
The Imperial Government at this moment announces that all Russian males are encouraged to adopt the mode of dressing of the Englishman and that these English clothes will be hanged at the gates of Moscow so that people can familiarize themselves …
