Peter imposed a tax on beards. He wanted Russia to go clean-shaven 'to sever the people from their former Asiatic customs, and instruct them how all Christian peoples comport themselves. 'The medal is a receipt for tax paid, and had to be worn with the beard as a licence. Those opposed to Peter's new ways, like the boyar were referred to by the Tsar as 'long beards'. Peter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Pyotr I or Pyotr Velikiy) (9 June 1672 - 8 February 1725 [30 May 1672 - 28 January 1725 O.S.) ruled the Russian Empire from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V. Peter carried out a policy of "Westernization" and expansion that transformed the Tsardom of Russia into the Russian Empire, a major European power. 固opFoto