Peter the Great was Tsar of Russia between 1682 and 1725. He began to influence Russia's development almost immediately after becoming Tsar and transformed Russia from an isolated agricultural society into an empire like the European Powers. Under his reign there was a period of significant reforms, due to their great effects, constructive, useful and advantageous for his country. Peter's reforms, especially in the field of education, revealed that his actions belonged to the characteristics of a reformer. The modernization of Russia was mainly based on Europeanization, which brought elements from Europe to Russia. After being defeated by both Sweden and the Ottomans, it became clear to Peter that the creation of a navy and modernization of the army would be important if Russia wanted to become a more dominant and influential country. Shortly after becoming tsar, Peter began visiting European countries to observe their culture. He was impressed by its modernity and, as a result, brought these influences back to Russia in an attempt to make Russia reach the same heights. His reforms ranged from educational and militaristic to simple things like making Russian men shave their beards to appear more European. He knew that great changes had to occur in Russia if it was to become a dominant European power. Many scholars of Peter's time described him as a reformer or revolutionary because of his goal to modernize and transform Russia for the better. Some of the reforms he passed include a church reform, economic reform, and government reforms. A reformer is someone who is dedicated to bringing about political, social, and other reforms. A revolutionary, however, is someone who is committed to promoting a… medium of paper… which is cities and a small area around them, while European nations had more organized and controlled cities. The uyezds system causes problems in city management and distributes the population unevenly. Peter eliminated this problem by abolishing this system and having eight governorates govern larger areas. In 1713, another reform established “landrats” in each of these governorates, who aided the leaders of that governorate. Peter also changed the previous family land tax to a new poll tax. During the reign of Peter the Great, finances had been faltering for two decades due to the war with Sweden. To overcome this financial crisis, Peter did things like reduce Court expenses, establish monetary measures, and ban the export of precious metals, all while increasing already existing taxes. In 1725 there were about 40 types of taxes.