Answer: Beards

In 1698, the emperor of Russia, popularly known as Peter the Great, wanted to modernize the look of Russia. Specifically, he wanted Russian men to adopt the clean-shaven look that had become popular in central and western Europe.

However, centuries of tradition stood in his way. In Russia, resistance was widespread with many believing that it was a religious requirement for a man to wear a beard, and the Russian Orthodox Church declared that being clean-shaven was blasphemous. He couldn’t simply decree that beards were bad and expect everyone to follow his lead. Instead, he imposed a significant tax on beards. The tax varied based on professional and social class, but was between 60-100 rubles (a small fortune for the time).

Although beard wearing persisted in some areas and social classes (Orthodox priests were, for example, exempt), the tax was for the most part successful as very few people could afford to pay it.