Peter the Great sought to modernize and reform Russia in the late 17th/early 18th century in several major ways: 1) Politically, he reorganized the government administration and established new institutions to make it more efficient and spread knowledge. 2) Economically, he tried to abolish serfdom and model the economy after Western Europe, though he was only partially successful in eliminating serfdom. 3) Religiously, he made himself the head of the Orthodox Church and abolished the position of patriarch, replacing it with a new governing body to further modernization efforts. 4) Socially, he mandated changes in dress to emulate the West and established a new social hierarchy