On the basis of the civilized approach to the historical process the question on the modernization of Russia by Peter I was considered in this work. There was no common opinion concerning the estimation of this event in a domestic historiography till now. Obtained as a result of studying the data allow to look differently at the Russian historical process, find out in it some unknown before features. At the same time the results of this research have not only historical value, but also enable to estimate the condition of the modern political process in Russia in a new way.