The article is devoted to the analysis of the views of Russian liberal leaders of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries on Peter I and his transformation. The subject of the article is the historical and publicistic works of such authors as M. Pogodin, S. Soloviev, K. Kavelin, B. Chicherin, P. Vinogradov, S. Frank. Using textological analysis, the author aims to analyze the assessments made by representatives of the liberal Russian public of Peter I.'s transformational activities. According to the author, representatives of the Russian liberal discourse spoke about Russia as a part of Europe primarily in the geographical sense, and the common destiny of Russia and Western European countries is often determined by geography. Thinkers believed that European culture found its place in Russia, which before Peter I distinguished by its originality and firmness of the original principles. The author concludes that Russian liberals recognized Europeanization as an organic historical phenomenon caused by the whole progress of development of the country and expressing its needs. In general, the Europeanization of Russia under Peter I was given a positive assessment. Europeanization was considered as a factor in the integration of the Russian state into the European processes and a guarantee of its economic and political development. At the same time, the transformation of Russia in the European direction, as liberal intellectuals believed, was unfinished. Pointing to the incompleteness of the transformation, liberal thinkers put forward various reasons for the incompleteness of the transformation along the European path. The general assessment of the Europeanization of Russia was associated with the assessment of the personality and the activities of the King-converter himself, including in connection with his role in strengthening the state and the autocratic system in Russia.