How did Peter the Great enforce such things as shaving and dressing when he "Europeanized" his empire. I learned that he was known for tearing beards off with his bare hands.
There are apparently accounts of him doing so. It's also a fact that he personally shaved a number of the aristocracy in public to begin the ban, which was enforced by a tax - if you kept your beard, you paid a tax.
Source: Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie, which goes into more detail than I can summarize sitting here at the moment.