Russian archeologists have found an exceptionally rare 'beard kopek'

I haven't read the book, but one explanation is a power grab from the Church. Prior to Peter's reforms, the beard was essential to orthodox christian tradition and culture, walking around "barefaced" ("босое рыло") was considered a sin. Forcing people to cut the beard was a strong indication of his authoritarian ambitions, and a step to make Russia a more secular state according to his vision of a modern country. The tax was extremely unpopular and led to occasional riots and even suicides (as a form of protest particularly popular among Old Believers half a century before Peter I during Raskol), but in the end he succeeded in changing the culture - the ban was partially lifted a century after that, but it was considered inappropriate to wear a beard since then, unless you was a priest or an elderly person.

He did plenty of similar things, for example ordering the Boyars to cut their long sleeves (a traditional status symbol of a feudal who doesn't need to work) which was a thinly veiled message for them that the old power structure was obsolete and new institutions were coming.

I wonder how they got from ~1697 to 1987.