今天部门春游活动，组织去爬厦大附近的鸿山。可惜台风登陆，虽然看到了厦门十景之一——鸿山织雨，但是9个人躲在不足四平的小茅屋内躲雨，真是又可笑又可怜。回来就感冒了。晚上头疼脑热的，什么事情也干不了，坐下来看了一部《彼得大帝》。
彼得于1672年生于莫斯科。当时的俄国是一个落后的国家，到处盛行着农奴制。俄国错过文艺复兴和宗教改革的大好时机。神职人员愚昧无知；文学暗淡无光，数学和自然科学无人问津。同西欧相比，俄国几乎还在中世纪时期。1697至1698年间，彼得到西欧作了一次长途旅行，他以一个下士彼得·米哈伊洛夫的身份，率领了一个大约由250人组成的“庞大的使团”。在这次旅行期间，他为荷兰的荷兰东印度公司当了一个时期的船长，还在英国造船厂工作过，在普鲁士学过射击。他走访工厂、学校、博物馆、军火库，学习解剖尸体和拔牙的技术，参观天文台、铸币厂、兵工厂，到奥地利的维也纳学习艺术，上流社会的宴乐方式，甚至还参加了英国议会举行的一届会议。总之，他尽了最大的努力学习西方的文化、科学、工业及行政管理方法。 1698年当几位大臣来问候远途归来的彼得大帝时，彼得突然操起手中的剪刀朝他们的胡子剪去，从而揭开了一系列改革的序幕。这些改革主要是在与瑞典进行北方战争的背景下施行的。
在军事方面，彼得实行义务兵役制，引进国外新式武器和战略技术，还建立了一支强大的海军。
在经济方面，彼得大力鼓励工商业的发展，他把许多西方技术人员带入俄国，还派遣许多年轻的俄国人到东欧去学习。
在政治上，建立完整的中央集权统治。剥夺贵族领主杜马会议的职能，代之以参政院，下设11个委员会负责具体工作；罢黜大教长，代之以宗教院，使教会成为国家政权的一部分；划分行政区域，将全国分为50个省。所有的官员不管门第出身，靠功绩晋升。
在社会问题上，彼得也主张实行西方化。规定人人都不得蓄胡子，要求宫廷人员必须穿西装，鼓励吸烟和喝咖啡。 在他的领导下，俄国在南部与土耳其交战，在北部与瑞典交战。与土耳其初战告捷，于1696年攻克了亚速港，从而在某方面来说给俄国开辟了通往黑海之路。但是在他的统治晚期，土耳其在战斗中占了上风，1711年他被迫把亚速港交还给土耳其。
PS：1696年，当彼得大帝攻克亚速港时，年仅25岁。写到这里，我突然想起游园的得奖感言：“我感到很悲哀，大家都知道，马其顿国王亚历山大在象我一样年轻的时候他已经征服了世界......”
影片最后一段的总结很好，听写如下，顺便练习一下听力： “As a boy, he found the freedom to dream and the courage to dare. He has the vision to conceive the great changes, and the energy to carry them through. His rein was one of the continuous territory expansion. He ? war for 21 years,creating a modern army and Russia's first army. He built harbors, fortresses and new capital city. He changed the face of Russia for ever. All what he did without borrowing a single gold piece from any men or nation. He achieved with the sacrifice of his ? sections, and ? of himself. In 1723, Peter was struck down by chronic bladder infection, and undertook an operation to remove gall-stones. His recovery seems to complete, and he resume his schedule, visiting fort of ? on the Baltic coast. But life of determination was ended by a moment of selflessness. In Novenber 1924, Peter dove over board to rescue some of his soldiers tracked on the sinking ship. He caught a chill which turned to fever, returning to Saint Petersburg a weakened man. His old infection took over once more. In unbearable pain, Peter begged for absolution for his sins because of the good he tried to do for his people. On the morning of Jaunary 28,1725, Peter slept into coma and died.He was buried in the tomb of his ? in Saint Petersbrug. He was 53. What drove Peter to do what no Russians had ever done before? And in grave seal he carried everywhere with description:"I am a pupil and need to be taught." He has the humility to learn with his own hands, and the arrogants to believe to teach a nation do abandon his past, and enbrace the future. The lessons from the giant man drove a giant nation forward, outward, and into a world that as a conquence would be changed for ever. "I see him everywhere," writes one Russian, "I refuse to believe there's but one Peter, and not several, Peter, the great!"