During his ‘grand tour’ of western Europe, Tsar Peter the Great noticed the fashion for going beardless. On his return to Russia, he decided that his countrymen were looking old-fashioned and that facial hair was holding back Russia’s fortunes and her reputation on the world stage. In September 1698 he called together all his nobles to voice his concern.
According to the new legendary story, Peter embraced each nobleman on arrival, then had his guest’s beard snipped off with a pair of scissors. This happened to each of the noblemen in turn, and all were ordered to shave off the remains of their facial hair. This new rule applied to all men except priests.
Source: Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards, Lucinda Hawksley