Question

What did Peter the great do to modernize Russia

Answer 1

Peter was concerned that Russia was falling behind other European countries in terms of economics, the sciences, art & literature as well as trade and manufacturing (this has been a constant theme throughout Russian history). 
Peter wanted to create a new city, built in the Western, European style to reflect Russia's new, Western looking thinking. It, St Petersburg, was designed to be an architectural marvel, a glittering city on the Baltic to rival Paris or Venice or Vienna. The problem with the previous capital, Moscow, was that it was, in Peter's mind, a provincial, Eastern looking city, full of eastern minded people - the Boyars - and dominated by the Orthodox Church. He stipulated what clothes people could wear - and how they could cut their hair & beards, again adopting Western, rather than Easyern styles. St Petersburg was build to attract architects, artists, writers, as well as to create the perfect place for manufacturing new products - it had a port with easy access to Helsinki, the Hansa ports of Germany, Stockholm, Copenhagen as well as the Dutch cities and, the heart of World trade - London. The city was also sited to act as a deterrent to Swedish designs on the Southern Baltic coast - Russian territory. 

The Boyars were noble families, traditionally associated with Moscow, who had a great deal of autonomy and influence over state affairs. Many Tsars had had difficulties controlling them.