On January 14 (January 4, old style), 1700 in Moscow, a decree of Peter I was announced "On wearing a dress in the manner of Hungarian", obliging eminent Russians henceforth "in Moscow and in cities to wear Hungarian caftans … whoever has time to do, wear from Epiphany of the present of the year". Naturally, many displeased the decree, but you cannot argue with the tsar. The boyars had to dress up themselves, and soon put their wives and daughters in "shameful" European dresses. Russia was not just entering a new century, it was entering a new era for itself, where, at the will of the tsar, it had to go through a difficult period of Europeanization in a few years.
Do not think that in Russia everyone was strict adherents of traditional Russian clothing. European fashion began to actively penetrate the country during the Time of Troubles. Already under Peter's father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, individual boyars and entourage began to establish European orders in their homes and wear clothes unusual for Russia, most often French, Polish or Hungarian. In many respects, this was facilitated by the appearance in the country of foreigners - diplomats, officers, merchants, artisans. But at the court at this time it was allowed to appear only in Russian clothes, an exception was made only to foreigners. The fact that the desire to wear European clothes was already at that time affirmed in the ranks of the Russian nobility is evidenced by the tsar's decree of 1675, which forbade wearing anything foreign at court.
The first changes took place during the reign of Princess Sophia, whose favorite, Prince Golitsyn, began to appear in European dress at court ceremonies. Some elements of "Western fashion" began to be adopted by ladies, it was at this time that fans appeared in Russia. Peter I himself became an adherent of European clothing thanks to his closest associates, Patrick Gordon and Franz Lefort, in whose company the tsar cheerfully drank in the German Quarter. Apparently, the final decision to dress Russians in foreign dresses was approved by Peter during the Grand Embassy, when the monarch traveled to a number of European countries.
The reason was not only the desire to make Russia at least outwardly similar to Holland or France. Peter looked at the matter much deeper. Carrying out large-scale reforms in the country, he created a new state elite for this, not paying attention to which estates the people coming close to his throne came from. Foreign clothes allowed everyone to equalize. Peter was convinced of this personally, seeing how difficult it is in Europe to distinguish an ordinary bourgeois from the first minister of state by dress. In Russia, only a blind man could confuse a boyar or a devious thing with someone.
Peter "voiced" the first demands to wear European dresses back in 1699, but they were only accepted by the tsarist entourage. The tsar, as they say, endured the decree of 1700 and suffered. Therefore, having announced, I began to firmly seek implementation. In total, during his reign, Peter issued 17 decrees, to varying degrees, regulating the appearance of subjects and the rules for wearing various types of clothing. The first decree was relatively short and gave eminent people some time to "swing". In December of the following year, another decree appeared "On the wearing of any rank for people of German dress and shoes and on the use of German saddles in horse riding", which was more specific and detailed, so it is worth citing it in full.
“Boyars and okolnichs and Duma and Near people and Stolniks and nobles and Clerks and Tenants and city nobles and clerks and dragoons and soldiers and archers and black settlements of all ranks to people of Moscow and city dwellers, and who landlord and patrimonial peasants, arriving, live in Moscow, for trades, besides the clergy, priests and clergymen, and arable peasants, wear a dress of German upper Saxon and French, and underwear camisoles and pants and boots and shoes and caps of German, and ride on German saddles; and for the female sex of all ranks, also for the priesthood and deaconess and church clerks and their dragoon and soldier and streltsy wives and their children wear dresses and hats and kuntushi, and underwear they are German bostrogs and skirts,and Russian dress and Circassian caftans and sheepskin coats and azams and trousers and boots and shoes and hats are by no means worn by anyone, and Russian saddles cannot be ridden, and artisans must not make or sell in the ranks. And if someone from this Majesty the Sovereign decree, they will wear a dress and pants and boots and shoes and hats, Russian and Circassian caftans and ayams and sheepskin coats, also ride on Russian saddles: from those people at the gate, kissers have a duty, from pedestrians to 13 altyn and 2 money, from horsemen for 2 rubles per person; also artisans will begin to do and trade in the ranks: and those people will be severely punished for disobeying them. "will wear a dress and pants and boots and shoes and hats Russian and Circassian caftans and azyams and sheepskin coats, as well as ride on Russian saddles: from those people at the gate, kissing people will have a duty, from pedestrians to 13 altins and 2 money, from horsemen to 2 rubles per person; also artisans will begin to do and trade in the ranks: and those people will be severely punished for disobeying them. "will wear a dress and pants and boots and shoes and hats Russian and Circassian caftans and azyams and sheepskin coats, as well as ride on Russian saddles: from those people at the gate, kissing people have a duty, from pedestrians to 13 altins and 2 money, from horsemen to 2 rubles per person; also artisans will begin to do and trade in the ranks: and those people will be severely punished for disobeying them."
The innovation took root hard, it was necessary not only to repeatedly announce and explain the decree, but even to hang special "stuffed animals" dressed in foreign dresses in crowded places to show how it is now necessary to look. It is clear that it will not be possible to change everyone's clothes overnight, so the king gave the poor for two years to bring old clothes. But since 1705, everyone was ordered to appear in public places only in a foreign dress.
Peter instructed the local authorities to monitor the strict execution of his decrees, but knowing about their venality, he also attracted the military to this. I can imagine what pleasure the soldiers enjoyed checking the compliance of the underwear with the monarch's requirements.
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Trouble, as they say, does not come alone. They gradually began to put up with new clothes, but shaving their beards was taken with great difficulty. True, with beards, Peter made concessions, but not to the detriment of the state treasury. Beards were allowed to be worn by those who paid a special duty (a kind of "beard tax") and received a token confirming this.
It is worth noting that Peter tried not only to dress up his subjects, but also to instill in them at least the foundations of European culture. The first educational institutions appeared, youths were sent en masse to study abroad, a special instruction on behavior was issued, "Honest Mirror of Youth, or Indication for Everyday Circumstance," assemblies (secular meetings) were held, to which noblemen and townspeople with their wives were invited. Not only clothes, but also European habits began to take root, and soon, especially among the nobility, they significantly squeezed the original Russian ones.
After the death of Peter I, the nobles continued to wear European clothing, although they sometimes began to introduce elements traditional for Russian dress into it. But part of the merchants and the urban population returned to traditional clothes, but the authorities began to turn a blind eye to this. It is worth noting that individual Peter's decrees related to the regulation of clothing and appearance were then confirmed by Empresses Anna Ioannovna and Elizabeth Petrovna, but to a greater extent they already concerned only the nobility and officials, for whom there was no question of retreating back.