At the turn of the 18th century, Russia witnessed a wave of reform and modernization
under the reign of Peter the Great. But despite his positive moniker,
Peter’s rule was no exception to the Russian monarchy’s infamous paranoia and unpredictability.
Most of Peter’s shenanigans were normal monarchy political antics like headbutting with the church
and nobility and killing his son. You know, the usual old European Royal Family drama.
Peter, however, found a very unique way to carve his name in History’s hall of weird, by killing
his guests’ facial hair. Today on Nutty History it’s the story of the stubble slaughtering Tsar
who declared war on beards. Because, priorities. Sixteenth-century Russia was considered a backward
and remote kingdom by its western neighbors and peers. Peter the First was born to a progressive
mother and had a healthy childhood, unlike his unfortunate step-brothers. Their demise to
disease paved his way to the throne and Peter’s first resolution was to modernize his country.
Back then, Russia’s biggest weakness was its navy, and thanks to this Achilles heel,
Russia was sitting on the sidelines while the rest of European powers were playing a real-life game
of Risk imperializing the world. Peter, who had a kind of Ned Stark hands-on approach to
getting things done, decided to learn the craft of shipping from the Netherlands and England.
He spent 18 months in the two countries living like a common sailor and learning the art of
contemporary naval prowess. This is when Peter’s Europhilia developed into a despisal for thick,
manly Russian beards that had always been considered a proud symbol of masculinity.
But in 17th century Western Europe, a clean shave or rocking a ’stache
were all the rage. There was no chance that Peter would allow beards back home and let
his country fall behind on the hottest fashion trends. It also miiiight have had something to
do with his own inability to grow a proper beard himself at the age of twenty-five...just a guess.
At the end of his European tour, which was dubbed “The Grand Embassy,” Peter returned to
Russia and was greeted by a magnificent reception. Everyone was excited to learn about the incognito
adventures of their Tsar. And why not? The bigger the show of enthusiasm, the better your chances of
being favored by the emperor. At least, that’s what they were expecting. At a bare minimum...
But Petey had other plans. Every pair of eyes in the court went wide with shock and jaws dropped
to the floor as Tsar Peter greeted his Army commander-in-chief not with a hug, or a handshake,
or even a high-five. But with a big, sharp and shiny razor. Servants restrained the
commander-in-chief as the Tsar began shaving the big, curly beard of the highest military officer
of his country. Chaos ensued as the nobility looked for means of escape, but the Tsar made sure
that no hair would go unharmed. They were locked in and ordered to form a queue for their shaving.
The choice was pretty simple, either lose your facial hair or lose your neck. One’s a little
more vital than the other. Peter didn’t spare anyone present in the court except for an old
guardian of his family. The guests were appalled but didn’t dare question their royal highness,
as one by one he greeted them with embrace and commanded that they sit down for a shave.
By the by, we’d never command, but we politely request that you like this video!
If you’re wondering why the Russian elite took such offense to their emperor’s demand
of sacrificing facial hair, it’s important to understand that there was a higher power in play.
God. Well technically the church, but for 18th century Russians they were one and the same.
The Russians loved their beards not only as a symbol of their masculinity but because the
Orthodox church of Russia had proclaimed shaving a cardinal sin. Peter’s ancestor Ivan the Terrible
once said: “Shaving the beard is a sin that the blood of all martyrs will not wash away.
It would mean blemishing the image of man as God had created him.”
So needless to say, the church was not pleased with the coercive shaving parties organized by
Peter the First. The resistance among the clergy against the beard war was strong
and they began riling the commoners against the ban on the beards as well. Unsurprisingly, the
commoners were also not huge fans of the law that led to forceful shavings from the police guards.
Despite his violent aversion to facial hair, Peter is not called The Great satirically.
The Tsar had smarts to find opportunity among strife. And that’s exactly what he did when
he eventually learned that his pet war against beards was pretty impractical. He was able to
keep the men in his inner circle beardless, but it became less logistically feasible when the entire
Russian population was concerned. Moreover, he was realizing that the beard war was turning
masses towards religion instead of against it as he would have liked. So, the Tsar made peace with
the Church. The clergy was allowed to keep their beards unconditionally. And nobles and commoners
were once again allowed to let their whiskers grow wild…for a price. Peter’s beard tax ended up being
a win-win. The tax was reasonable and varied based on the economic status of the taxpayer,
while the Tsar was making money instead of losing it to maintain his shaving crusade on the streets.
Nobles had to pay a hundred rubles annually to stay bearded, and for commoners, the price was as
low as 1 kopek. Upon paying the tax, the taxpayer would receive a token which they could keep for
a year as a receipt. Although many of Peter the first’s reforms aren’t routinely recalled today,
the beard tax has gone down as one of history’s quirkier moments. But
one thing is for sure—Peter the first did change Russia forever with his “cutting edge” thinking.
So how much would you bristle if someone came for your beard? Let us know in the comments,
along with what nutty history you’d like to hear about next.