Socio-cultural aspects of Peter's the Great architectural transformation

. The article examines the problem of interrelation and interdependence of architectural and urban planning process and the general socio-cultural dynamics of the XVII-XVIII centuries in Russia. Based on the analysis of the main trends in the development of domestic and foreign policy, the place and role of the Russian Orthodox Church in public life, the peculiarities of intra-dynastic and inter-class relations an attempt is made to explain the inevitability of the separation of ways of development of Russian architecture as a result of the transformations of Peter the Great. It emphasizes the attractiveness and desirability to the emperor of the idea of rapid architectural and urban transformation and at the same time utopianism of its ultimate goals. Conclusions are made about the essence and consequences of Peter's architectural transformations. The importance of this phenomenon in the general cultural context of the Petrine era and in the future is emphasized.