ABSTRACT
Traditionally, westernization or modernization is equated with the development of a pluralistic social structure and a widening scope for individual activity based on security of person and property. This view clearly has its roots in the experience of England and its extensions beyond the seas, especially as it was interpreted by liberal historiography in the 19th century. Not surprisingly, Russian liberal historiography, too, argued that Russia's "europeanization" would lead to social pluralism and political liberalization. It is universally agreed that whatever the antecedents, Peter the Great's reign was the "take-off" period of Russia's westernization or modernization. Peter's notions and techniques, modelled on the European absolutist Polizeistaat, also proved of great significance with respect to his successors' approach to the multinational character of the Russian empire. Modernization meant the coercive setting of limits to the development and structuring of social forces and institutions.
