These days, shaving is a personal choice in democratic societies. But in the early 1700s, Russian emperor Peter the Great so loathed beards that anyone who was not clean-shaven was taxed. He wanted his men beardless, to show the rest of Europe how civilised and westernised Russians were. Fashionable men of the time throughout Europe had shunned the beard, and Peter the Great wanted his people to fit in.]]>
These days, shaving is a personal choice in democratic societies. But in the early 1700s, Russian emperor Peter the Great so loathed beards that anyone who was not clean-shaven was taxed. He wanted his men beardless, to show the rest of Europe how civilised and westernised Russians were. Fashionable men of the time throughout Europe had shunned the beard, and Peter the Great wanted his people to fit in.