1 to Catherine 2. Catherine II the Great and her contribution to the development of Russia

Time of Catherine II (1762–1796)

(Start)

The situation of the accession of Catherine II

The new coup was carried out, like the previous ones, by the guards noble regiments; it was directed against the emperor, who very sharply declared his national sympathies and personal oddities of a childish capricious nature. In such circumstances, Catherine's accession to the throne has much in common with Elizabeth's accession to the throne. And in 1741, the coup was carried out by the forces of the noble guard against the non-national government of Anna, full of accidents and the tyranny of non-Russian temporary workers. We know that the coup of 1741 resulted in the national direction of the Elizabethan government and the improvement of the state position of the nobility. We have the right to expect the same consequences from the circumstances of the coup of 1762, and indeed, as we will see, the policy of Catherine II was national and favorable to the nobility. These features were adopted into the empress's policy by the very circumstances of her accession. In this she inevitably had to follow Elizabeth, although she treated the practices of her predecessor with irony.

Portrait of Catherine II. Artist F. Rokotov, 1763

But the coup of 1741 put Elizabeth at the head of the government, an intelligent but poorly educated woman who brought to the throne only feminine tact, love for her father and sympathetic humanity. Therefore, Elizabeth's government was distinguished by reasonableness, humanity, and reverence for the memory of Peter the Great. But it did not have its own program and therefore sought to act according to Peter’s principles. The coup of 1762, on the contrary, placed on the throne a woman who was not only intelligent and tactful, but also extremely talented, extremely educated, developed and active. Therefore, Catherine’s government not only returned to good old models, but led the state forward according to its own program, which it acquired little by little according to the instructions of practice and abstract theories adopted by the empress. In this, Catherine was the opposite of her predecessor. Under her there was a system in management, and therefore random persons, favorites, had less influence on the course of state affairs than was the case under Elizabeth, although Catherine’s favorites were very noticeable not only by their activity and power of influence, but even by their whims and abuses.

Thus, the circumstances of Catherine’s accession to the throne and the personal qualities of Catherine determine in advance the features of her reign. It is impossible not to notice, however, that the personal views of the empress, with which she ascended the throne, did not fully correspond to the circumstances of Russian life, and Catherine’s theoretical plans could not be translated into action due to the fact that they had no basis in Russian practice. Catherine was educated on the liberal French philosophy of the 18th century. , adopted and even openly expressed its “free-thinking” principles, but could not put them into practice either due to their inapplicability, or due to the opposition of the environment around her. Therefore, a certain contradiction appeared between word and deed, between Catherine’s liberal direction and the results of her practical activities, which were quite faithful to historical Russian traditions. That is why Catherine is sometimes accused of the discrepancy between her words and deeds. We will see how this discrepancy came about; We will see that in practical activities Catherine sacrificed ideas to practice; We will see that the ideas introduced by Catherine into Russian social circulation did not, however, pass without a trace, but were reflected in the development of Russian society and in some government events.

First reign

The first years of Catherine's reign were a difficult time for her. She herself did not know current state affairs and had no assistants: the main businessman of Elizabeth’s time, P. I. Shuvalov, died; She had little confidence in the abilities of other old nobles. One Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin enjoyed her trust. Panin was a diplomat under Elizabeth (ambassador to Sweden); She was appointed teacher of Grand Duke Paul and was retained in this position by Catherine. Under Catherine, although Vorontsov remained chancellor, Panin became in charge of Russia's foreign affairs. Catherine used the advice of the old man Bestuzhev-Ryumin, whom she returned from exile, and other persons from previous reigns, but these were not her people: she could neither believe in them nor trust them. She consulted with them on various occasions and entrusted them with the conduct of certain affairs; she showed them external signs of favor and even respect, standing up, for example, to greet Bestuzhev as he entered. But she remembered that these old men had once looked down on her, and more recently they had destined the throne not for her, but for her son. While lavishing smiles and courtesies on them, Catherine was wary of them and despised many of them. She would not want to rule with them. For her, more reliable and pleasant were those persons who elevated her to the throne, that is, the younger leaders of the successful coup; but she understood that they did not yet have either the knowledge or the ability to manage. These were guards youth who knew little and were poorly educated. Catherine showered them with awards and allowed them into business, but felt that it was impossible to put them in charge of affairs: they had to ferment first. This means that Catherine does not introduce those who could be immediately introduced into the government environment because she does not trust them; she does not introduce those whom she trusts because they are not yet ready. This is the reason why, at first under Catherine, it was not this or that circle, not this or that environment that constituted the government, but rather a collection of individuals. In order to organize a dense government environment, it was, of course, necessary to take time.

So, Catherine, not having reliable people fit for power, could not rely on anyone. She was lonely, and even foreign ambassadors noticed this. They also saw that Catherine was going through generally difficult moments. The court environment treated her with some demands: both people elevated by her and people who had power earlier besieged her with their opinions and requests, because they saw her weakness and loneliness and thought that she owed them the throne. The French ambassador Breteuil wrote: “In large meetings at court, it is interesting to observe the heavy care with which the empress tries to please everyone, the freedom and annoyingness with which everyone talks to her about their affairs and their opinions... This means that she strongly feels her dependence to bear it."

This free circulation of the court environment was very difficult for Catherine, but she could not stop it, because she did not have true friends, she was afraid for her power and felt that she could preserve it only with the love of the court and her subjects. She used all means in order, in the words of the English Ambassador Buckingham, to gain the trust and love of her subjects.

Catherine had real reasons to fear for her power. In the first days of her reign, among the army officers gathered for the coronation in Moscow, there was talk about the state of the throne, about Emperor John Antonovich and Grand Duke Paul. Some found that these persons had more rights to power than the empress. All these rumors did not develop into a conspiracy, but they greatly worried Catherine. Much later, in 1764, a conspiracy to free Emperor John was discovered. From the time of Elizabeth, Ivan Antonovich was kept in Shlisselburg. Army officer Mirovich conspired with his comrade Ushakov to release him and carry out a coup in his name. Both of them did not know that the former emperor had lost his mind in prison. Although Ushakov drowned, Mirovich alone did not give up the cause and outraged part of the garrison. However, at the very first movement of the soldiers, according to the instructions, John was stabbed to death by his overseers and Mirovich voluntarily surrendered into the hands of the commandant. He was executed, and his execution had a terrible effect on the people, who, under Elizabeth, had become unaccustomed to executions. And outside the army, Catherine could detect signs of fermentation and displeasure: they did not believe the death of Peter III, they spoke with disapproval of G. G. Orlov’s closeness to the empress. In a word, in the first years of power, Catherine could not boast that she had solid ground under her feet. It was especially unpleasant for her to hear condemnation and protest from among the hierarchy. Metropolitan of Rostov Arseny (Matseevich) raised the issue of the alienation of church lands in such an inconvenient form for the secular authorities and for Catherine herself that Catherine found it necessary to deal harshly with him and insisted on his removal and imprisonment.

Portrait of Grigory Orlov. Artist F. Rokotov, 1762-63

Under such conditions, Catherine, understandably, could not immediately develop a definite program of government activity. She had the hard work of coming to terms with her environment, adapting to it and mastering it, taking a closer look at the affairs and main needs of management, choosing assistants and getting to know more closely the abilities of the people around her. It is clear how little the principles of her abstract philosophy could help her in this matter, but it is clear how much her natural abilities, observation, practicality and the degree of mental development that she possessed as a result of her extensive education and habit of abstract philosophical thinking helped her. Working hard, Catherine spent the first years of her reign getting to know Russia and the state of affairs, selecting advisers, and strengthening her personal position in power.

She could not be satisfied with the state of affairs that she found upon ascending the throne. The government's main concern—finance—was far from stellar. The Senate did not know exactly the figures for income and expenditures, military expenditures resulted in deficits, troops did not receive salaries, and financial management disorders terribly confused already bad matters. Getting acquainted with these troubles in the Senate, Catherine gained an understanding of the Senate itself and treated its activities with irony. In her opinion, the Senate and all other institutions had gone beyond their foundations; The Senate arrogated to itself too much power and suppressed any independence of the institutions subordinate to it. On the contrary, Catherine, in her famous manifesto of July 6, 1762 (in which she explained the motives for the coup), wanted “every state place to have its own laws and limits.” Therefore, she tried to eliminate the irregularities in the position of the Senate and the defects in its activities and little by little reduced it to the level of a central administrative-judicial institution, prohibiting its legislative activity. She did this very carefully: to speed up the process of affairs, she divided the Senate into 6 departments, as it was under Anna, giving each of them a special character (1763); began to communicate with the Senate through Prosecutor General A. A. Vyazemsky and gave him secret instructions not to encourage the Senate to perform legislative functions; finally, she carried out all her most important activities besides the Senate with her personal initiative and authority. The result was a significant change in the center of government: the diminishment of the Senate and the strengthening of individual authorities who stood at the head of individual departments. And all this was achieved gradually, without noise, with extreme caution.

Ensuring her independence from the inconvenient old orders of government, Catherine, with the help of the same Senate, was actively involved in business: she was looking for means to improve the financial situation, solving current management issues, looking closely at the state of the estates, and was preoccupied with the matter of drawing up a legislative code. In all this no definite system was yet visible; the empress simply responded to the needs of the moment and studied the state of affairs. The peasants were worried, embarrassed by the rumor of liberation from the landowners - Catherine was dealing with the peasant issue. The unrest reached great proportions, guns were used against the peasants, the landowners asked for protection from peasant violence - Catherine, taking a number of measures to restore order, declared: “We intend to inviolably preserve the landowners with their opinions and possessions, and keep the peasants in due obedience to them.” Along with this matter, something else was going on: Peter III’s charter on the nobility caused some confusion due to the shortcomings of its edition and a strong movement of nobles from the service - Catherine, having suspended its effect, in 1763 established a commission to revise it. However, this commission came to nothing, and the matter dragged on until 1785. Studying the state of affairs, Catherine saw the need to draw up a legislative code. The Code of Tsar Alexei is outdated; Peter the Great already took care of a new code, but to no avail: the legislative commissions that were under him did not develop anything. Almost all of Peter's successors were preoccupied with the idea of drawing up a code; under Empress Anna, in 1730, and under Empress Elizabeth, in 1761, even deputies from the estates were required to participate in legislative work. But the difficult task of codification failed. Catherine II seriously considered the idea of processing Russian legislation into a coherent system.

While studying the state of affairs, Catherine wanted to get acquainted with Russia itself. She undertook a number of trips around the state: in 1763 she traveled from Moscow to Rostov and Yaroslavl, in 1764 to the Ostsee region, in 1767 she traveled along the Volga to Simbirsk. “After Peter the Great,” says Solovyov, “Catherine was the first empress who undertook travel around Russia for government purposes” (XXVI, 8).

This is how the first five years of the young empress’s internal rule passed. She got used to her surroundings, took a closer look at things, developed practical methods of activity, and selected the desired circle of assistants. Her position was strengthened, and she was not in any danger. Although during these five years no broad measures were discovered, Catherine, however, was already making broad plans for reform activities.

The topic of this article is the biography of Catherine the Great. This empress reigned from 1762 to 1796. The era of her reign was marked by the enslavement of the peasants. Also, Catherine the Great, whose biography, photos and activities are presented in this article, significantly expanded the privileges of the nobility.

Origin and childhood of Catherine

The future empress was born on May 2 (new style - April 21), 1729 in Stettin. She was the daughter of Prince Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in Prussian service, and Princess Johanna Elisabeth. The future empress was related to the English, Prussian and Swedish royal houses. She received her education at home: she studied French and German, music, theology, geography, history, and danced. Expanding on such a topic as the biography of Catherine the Great, we note that the independent character of the future empress appeared already in childhood. She was a persistent, inquisitive child and had a penchant for active, lively games.

Catherine's baptism and wedding

In 1744, Catherine and her mother were summoned by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna to Russia. Here she was baptized according to Orthodox custom. Ekaterina Alekseevna became the bride of Peter Fedorovich, the Grand Duke (in the future - Emperor Peter III). She married him in 1745.

Hobbies of the Empress

Catherine wanted to win the favor of her husband, the Empress and the Russian people. Her personal life, however, was unsuccessful. Since Peter was infantile, there was no marital relationship between them for several years of marriage. Catherine was fond of reading works on jurisprudence, history and economics, as well as French enlighteners. Her worldview was shaped by all these books. The future empress became a supporter of the ideas of the Enlightenment. She was also interested in the traditions, customs and history of Russia.

Personal life of Catherine II

Today we know quite a lot about such an important historical figure as Catherine the Great: biography, her children, personal life - all this is the object of study by historians and the interest of many of our compatriots. We first meet this empress at school. However, what we learn in history lessons is far from complete information about such an empress as Catherine the Great. The biography (4th grade) from the school textbook omits, for example, her personal life.

Catherine II began an affair with S.V. in the early 1750s. Saltykov, guards officer. She gave birth to a son in 1754, the future Emperor Paul I. However, rumors that his father was Saltykov are unfounded. In the second half of the 1750s, Catherine had an affair with S. Poniatowski, a Polish diplomat who later became King Stanislav August. Also in the early 1760s - with G.G. Orlov. The Empress gave birth to his son Alexei in 1762, who received the surname Bobrinsky. As relations with her husband deteriorated, Catherine began to fear for her fate and began to recruit supporters at court. Her sincere love for her homeland, her prudence and ostentatious piety - all this contrasted with the behavior of her husband, which allowed the future empress to gain authority among the population of St. Petersburg and the high society of the capital.

Proclamation of Catherine as Empress

Catherine's relationship with her husband continued to deteriorate during the 6 months of his reign, eventually becoming hostile. Peter III openly appeared in the company of his mistress E.R. Vorontsova. There was a threat of Catherine's arrest and possible deportation. The future empress carefully prepared the plot. She was supported by N.I. Panin, E.R. Dashkova, K.G. Razumovsky, the Orlov brothers, etc. One night, from June 27 to 28, 1762, when Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine secretly arrived in St. Petersburg. She was proclaimed an autocratic empress in the barracks of the Izmailovsky regiment. Other regiments soon joined the rebels. The news of the empress's accession to the throne quickly spread throughout the city. The residents of St. Petersburg greeted her with delight. Messengers were sent to Kronstadt and the army to prevent the actions of Peter III. Having learned about what happened, he began to send proposals for negotiations to Catherine, but she rejected them. The Empress personally set out for St. Petersburg, leading the guards regiments, and on the way received a written abdication of the throne by Peter III.

Personality and character of Catherine II

Not only the biography of Catherine the Great is interesting, but also her personality and character, which left an imprint on her domestic and foreign policy. Catherine II was a subtle psychologist and an excellent judge of people. The Empress skillfully chose assistants, while not being afraid of talented and bright personalities. Catherine's time was therefore marked by the appearance of many outstanding statesmen, as well as generals, musicians, artists, and writers. Catherine was usually reserved, tactful, and patient in dealing with her subjects. She was an excellent conversationalist and could listen carefully to anyone. By the empress’s own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she caught worthwhile thoughts and knew how to use them for her own purposes.

There were almost no noisy resignations during the reign of this empress. The nobles were not subject to disgrace; they were not exiled or executed. Because of this, the reign of Catherine is considered the “golden age” of the nobility in Russia. The Empress, at the same time, was very vain and valued her power more than anything in the world. She was ready to make any compromises to preserve it, including to the detriment of her own convictions.

Religiosity of the Empress

This empress was distinguished by her ostentatious piety. She considered herself the protector of the Orthodox Church and its head. Catherine skillfully used religion for political interests. Apparently her faith was not very deep. The biography of Catherine the Great is noted for the fact that she preached religious tolerance in the spirit of the times. It was under this empress that the persecution of the Old Believers was stopped. Protestant and Catholic churches and mosques were built. Nevertheless, conversion to another faith from Orthodoxy was still severely punished.

Catherine - opponent of serfdom

Catherine the Great, whose biography interests us, was an ardent opponent of serfdom. She considered it contrary to human nature and inhumane. Many harsh statements on this issue were preserved in her papers. Also in them you can find her thoughts on how serfdom can be eliminated. Nevertheless, the empress did not dare to do anything concrete in this area for fear of another coup and noble rebellion. Catherine, at the same time, was convinced that Russian peasants were spiritually undeveloped, therefore there was a danger in granting them freedom. According to the empress, the life of the peasants is quite prosperous under caring landowners.

First reforms

When Catherine ascended the throne, she already had a fairly definite political program. It was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment and took into account the peculiarities of the development of Russia. Consistency, gradualism and consideration of public sentiment were the main principles of the implementation of this program. In the first years of her reign, Catherine II carried out a reform of the Senate (in 1763). His work became more efficient as a result. The following year, 1764, Catherine the Great carried out the secularization of church lands. The biography for children of this empress, presented on the pages of school textbooks, necessarily acquaints schoolchildren with this fact. Secularization significantly replenished the treasury and also alleviated the situation of many peasants. Catherine in Ukraine abolished the hetmanate in accordance with the need to unify local government throughout the state. In addition, she invited German colonists to the Russian Empire to develop the Black Sea and Volga regions.

Foundation of educational institutions and the new Code

During these same years, a number of educational institutions were founded, including for women (the first in Russia) - the Catherine School, the Smolny Institute. In 1767, the Empress announced that a special commission was being convened to create a new Code. It consisted of elected deputies, representatives of all social groups of society, except serfs. For the commission, Catherine wrote “Instructions,” which is, in essence, a liberal program for the reign of this empress. However, her calls were not understood by the deputies. They argued over the smallest issues. Deep contradictions between social groups were revealed during these discussions, as well as the low level of political culture among many deputies and the conservatism of most of them. The established commission was dissolved at the end of 1768. The Empress assessed this experience as an important lesson, which introduced her to the sentiments of various segments of the state's population.

Development of legislative acts

After the Russian-Turkish war, which lasted from 1768 to 1774, ended, and Pugachev’s uprising was suppressed, a new stage of Catherine’s reforms began. The Empress herself began to develop the most important legislative acts. In particular, a manifesto was issued in 1775, according to which it was allowed to establish any industrial enterprises without restrictions. Also this year, a provincial reform was carried out, as a result of which a new administrative division of the empire was established. It survived until 1917.

Expanding on the topic “Brief biography of Catherine the Great,” we note that the Empress issued the most important legislative acts in 1785. These were letters of grant to cities and nobility. A letter was also prepared for state peasants, but political circumstances did not allow it to be put into effect. The main significance of these letters was associated with the implementation of the main goal of Catherine’s reforms - the creation of full-fledged estates in the empire on the model of Western Europe. For the Russian nobility, the diploma meant the legal consolidation of almost all the privileges and rights that they had.

The last and unimplemented reforms proposed by Catherine the Great

The biography (summary) of the empress we are interested in is marked by the fact that she carried out various reforms until her death. For example, education reform continued into the 1780s. Catherine the Great, whose biography is presented in this article, created a network of school institutions in cities based on the classroom system. In the last years of her life, the Empress continued to plan major changes. The reform of the central government was scheduled for 1797, as well as the introduction of legislation in the country on the order of succession to the throne, the creation of a higher court based on representation from the 3 estates. However, Catherine II the Great did not have time to complete the extensive reform program. Her short biography, however, would be incomplete if we did not mention all this. In general, all these reforms were a continuation of the transformations begun by Peter I.

Catherine's foreign policy

What else is interesting about the biography of Catherine 2 the Great? The Empress, following Peter, believed that Russia should be active on the world stage and pursue an offensive policy, even to some extent aggressive. After her accession to the throne, she broke the alliance treaty with Prussia concluded by Peter III. Thanks to the efforts of this empress, it was possible to restore Duke E.I. Biron on the Courland throne. Supported by Prussia, in 1763 Russia achieved the election of Stanislav August Poniatowski, its protege, to the Polish throne. This, in turn, led to a deterioration in relations with Austria due to the fact that it feared the strengthening of Russia and began to incite Turkey to war with it. In general, the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 was successful for Russia, but the difficult situation within the country prompted it to seek peace. And for this it was necessary to restore previous relations with Austria. Eventually a compromise was reached. Poland fell victim to it: its first division was carried out in 1772 by Russia, Austria and Prussia.

The Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was signed with Turkey, which ensured the independence of Crimea, beneficial for Russia. The Empire took neutrality in the war between England and the colonies of North America. Catherine refused to help the English king with troops. A number of European states joined the Declaration of Armed Neutrality, created on Panin’s initiative. This contributed to the victory of the colonists. In subsequent years, the position of our country in the Caucasus and Crimea was strengthened, which ended with the inclusion of the latter into the Russian Empire in 1782, as well as the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk with Irakli II, the Kartli-Kakheti king, the following year. This ensured the presence of Russian troops in Georgia, and then the annexation of its territory to Russia.

Strengthening authority in the international arena

The new foreign policy doctrine of the Russian government was formed in the 1770s. It was a Greek project. His main goal was the restoration of the Byzantine Empire and the announcement of Prince Konstantin Pavlovich, who was the grandson of Catherine II, as emperor. In 1779, Russia significantly strengthened its authority in the international arena by participating as a mediator between Prussia and Austria in the Teschen Congress. The biography of Empress Catherine the Great can also be supplemented by the fact that in 1787, accompanied by the court, the Polish king, the Austrian emperor and foreign diplomats, she traveled to Crimea. It became a demonstration of Russia's military power.

Wars with Turkey and Sweden, further divisions of Poland

The biography of Catherine 2 the Great continued with the fact that she started a new Russian-Turkish war. Russia now acted in alliance with Austria. Almost at the same time, the war with Sweden also began (from 1788 to 1790), which tried to take revenge after the defeat in the Northern War. The Russian Empire managed to cope with both of these opponents. In 1791 the war with Turkey ended. The Peace of Jassy was signed in 1792. He consolidated Russia's influence in Transcaucasia and Bessarabia, as well as the annexation of Crimea to it. The 2nd and 3rd partitions of Poland took place in 1793 and 1795 respectively. They put an end to Polish statehood.

Empress Catherine the Great, whose brief biography we reviewed, died on November 17 (old style - November 6), 1796 in St. Petersburg. So significant is her contribution to Russian history that the memory of Catherine II is preserved by many works of domestic and world culture, including the works of such great writers as N.V. Gogol, A.S. Pushkin, B. Shaw, V. Pikul and others. The life of Catherine the Great, her biography inspired many directors - creators of such films as “The Caprice of Catherine II”, “The Tsar’s Hunt”, “Young Catherine”, “Dreams of Russia”, “ Russian revolt" and others.

On February 14, 1744, an event occurred that was extremely important for the subsequent history of Russia. Arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanied by her mother Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst. The 14-year-old girl was entrusted with a high mission - she was to become the wife of the heir to the Russian throne, bear sons to her husband and thereby strengthen the ruling dynasty.

Court leapfrog

The middle of the 18th century in Russia went down in history as the “era of palace coups.” In 1722 Peter I issued a decree on succession to the throne, according to which the emperor himself could appoint a successor. This decree played a cruel joke on Peter himself, who did not have time to express his will before his death.

There was no obvious and unconditional candidate: Peter's sons had died by that time, and all other candidates did not find universal support.

To the Most Serene Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov succeeded in enthroning the wife of Peter I Ekaterina, who became empress under the name Catherine I. Her reign lasted only two years, and after her death, the grandson of Peter the Great, the son of the prince, ascended the throne Alexei Peter II.

The struggle for influence over the young king ended with the unfortunate teenager catching a cold during one of the many hunts and dying on the eve of his own wedding.

The nobles, who were again faced with the problem of choosing a monarch, gave preference to the dowager Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, daughters Ivan V, brother of Peter the Great.

Anna Ioannovna did not have children who could legally occupy the Russian throne, and appointed her nephew as heir Ioann Antonovich, who was less than six months old at the time of his accession to the throne.

In 1741, another coup took place in Russia, as a result of which the daughter of Peter the Great ascended the throne Elizabeth.

Looking for an heir

Elizaveta Petrovna, 1756. Artist Toke Louis (1696-1772)

Elizabeth Petrovna, who by that time was already 32 years old, ascended the throne, immediately faced the question of an heir. The Russian elite did not want a repetition of the Troubles and sought stability.

The problem was that the officially unmarried Elizaveta Petrovna, like Anna Ioannovna, could not give the empire, so to speak, a natural heir.

Elizabeth had many favorites, with one of whom, Alexey Razumovsky, she, according to one version, even entered into a secret marriage. Moreover, the empress may even have given birth to his children.

But in any case, they could not become heirs to the throne.

Therefore, Elizaveta Petrovna and her entourage began to look for a suitable heir. The choice fell on the 13-year-old Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, son of Elizaveta Petrovna's sister Anna And Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich.

Elizabeth's nephew had a difficult childhood: his mother died of a cold, which she got during a fireworks display in honor of the birth of her son. The father did not pay much attention to raising his son, and the appointed teachers preferred the rod out of all pedagogical methods. Things got really bad for the boy when, at the age of 11, his father died and distant relatives took him in.

At the same time, Karl Peter Ulrich was a great-nephew Charles XII and was a contender for the Swedish throne.

Nevertheless, the Russian envoys managed to get the boy to move to St. Petersburg.

What didn’t work out for Elizabeth and Catherine?

Pyotr Fedorovich when he was Grand Duke. Portrait Georg Christopher Groth (1716-1749)

Elizaveta Petrovna, who saw her nephew alive for the first time, was in a slight shock - a thin, sickly-looking teenager with a wild look, could hardly speak French, had no manners, and was generally not burdened with knowledge.

The Empress rather arrogantly decided that in Russia the guy would quickly be re-educated. To begin with, the heir was converted to Orthodoxy and named Petr Fedorovich and assigned him teachers. But the teachers wasted their time with Petrusha - until the end of his days, Pyotr Fedorovich never mastered the Russian language, and in general he was one of the least educated Russian monarchs.

After the heir was found, it was necessary to find him a bride. Elizaveta Petrovna generally had far-reaching plans: she was going to get offspring from Peter Fedorovich and his wife, and then independently raise her grandson from birth so that he would become the empress’s successor. However, in the end this plan was not destined to come true.

It is curious that Catherine the Great would subsequently try to carry out a similar maneuver, preparing her grandson as heir. Alexander Pavlovich, and will also fail.

Princess as Cinderella

However, let's return to our story. The main “fair for royal brides” in the 18th century was Germany. There was no single state, but there were many principalities and duchies, small and insignificant, but with an overabundance of well-born, but poor young girls.

Considering the candidates, Elizaveta Petrovna remembered the Holstein prince, whom in her youth was predicted to be her husband. The prince's sister Johannes Elisabeth, daughter was growing up - Sofia Augusta Frederica. The girl's father was Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, representative of an ancient princely family. However, a big name did not come with large incomes, because Christian Augustus was in the service of the Prussian king. And although the prince ended his career with the rank of Prussian field marshal, he and his family spent most of his life in poverty.

Sophia Augusta Frederica was educated at home solely because her father could not afford to hire expensive tutors. The girl even had to darn her own stockings, so there was no need to talk about the princess being spoiled.

At the same time, Fike, as Sophia Augusta Frederica was called at home, was distinguished by her curiosity, thirst for study, as well as for street games. Fike was a real daredevil and took part in boyish amusements, which did not make her mother too happy.

The Tsar's Bride and the Would-be Conspirator

The news that the Russian Empress was considering Fike as the bride of the heir to the Russian throne struck the girl’s parents. For them it was a real gift of fate. Fike herself, who had a sharp mind since her youth, understood that this was her chance to escape from her poor parental home into another, brilliant and vibrant life.

Catherine after her arrival in Russia, portrait by Louis Caravaque.

The Golden Age, the Age of Catherine, the Great Reign, the heyday of absolutism in Russia - this is how historians have designated and continue to designate the time of the reign of Russia by Empress Catherine II (1729-1796)

“Her reign was successful. As a conscientious German, Catherine worked diligently for the country that gave her such a good and profitable position. She naturally saw the happiness of Russia in the greatest possible expansion of the boundaries of the Russian state. By nature she was smart and cunning, well versed in the intrigues of European diplomacy. Cunning and flexibility were the basis of what in Europe, depending on the circumstances, was called the policy of Northern Semiramis or the crimes of Moscow Messalina.” (M. Aldanov “Devil's Bridge”)

Years of reign of Russia by Catherine the Great 1762-1796

Catherine the Second's real name was Sophia Augusta Frederika of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was the daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, the commandant of the city of Stettin, which was located in Pomerania, a region subject to the Kingdom of Prussia (today the Polish city of Szczecin), who represented “a side line of one of the eight branches of the house of Anhalst.”

“In 1742, the Prussian king Frederick II, wanting to annoy the Saxon court, which hoped to marry his princess Maria Anna to the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Karl-Ulrich of Holstein, who suddenly became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, began hastily looking for another bride for the Grand Duke.

The Prussian king had three German princesses in mind for this purpose: two from Hesse-Darmstadt and one from Zerbst. The latter was the most suitable in age, but Friedrich knew nothing about the fifteen-year-old bride herself. They only said that her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, led a very frivolous lifestyle and that it is unlikely that little Fike was really the daughter of the Zerbst prince Christian Augustus, who served as governor in Stetin.”

How long, short, but in the end the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna chose little Fike as a wife for her nephew Karl-Ulrich, who became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich in Russia, the future Emperor Peter III.

Biography of Catherine II. Briefly

1729, April 21 (Old style) - Catherine the Second was born
1742, December 27 - on the advice of Frederick II, the mother of Princess Ficken (Fike) sent a letter to Elizabeth with New Year congratulations
1743, January - kind reply letter
1743, December 21 - Johanna Elisabeth and Ficken received a letter from Brumner, the teacher of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, with an invitation to come to Russia

“Your Grace,” Brummer wrote meaningfully, “are too enlightened not to understand the true meaning of the impatience with which Her Imperial Majesty wishes to see you here as soon as possible, as well as your princess daughter, about whom rumor has told us so many good things.”

1743, December 21 - on the same day a letter from Frederick II was received in Zerbst. The Prussian king... persistently advised to go and keep the trip strictly secret (so that the Saxons would not find out ahead of time)
1744, February 3 - German princesses arrived in St. Petersburg
1744, February 9 - the future Catherine the Great and her mother arrived in Moscow, where the court was located at that moment
1744, February 18 - Johanna Elisabeth sent a letter to her husband with the news that their daughter was the bride of the future Russian Tsar
1745, June 28 - Sofia Augusta Frederica converted to Orthodoxy and new name Catherine
1745, August 21 - marriage of Catherine
1754, September 20 - Catherine gave birth to a son, heir to the throne Paul
1757, December 9 - Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died 3 months later
1761, December 25 - Elizaveta Petrovna died. Peter the Third became Tsar

“Peter the Third was the son of the daughter of Peter I and the grandson of the sister of Charles XII. Elizabeth, having ascended the Russian throne and wanting to secure it behind her father’s line, sent Major Korf with instructions to take her nephew from Kiel and deliver him to St. Petersburg at all costs. Here the Holstein Duke Karl-Peter-Ulrich was transformed into Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich and forced to study the Russian language and the Orthodox catechism. But nature was not as favorable to him as fate... He was born and grew up as a frail child, poorly endowed with abilities. Having become an orphan at an early age, Peter in Holstein received a worthless upbringing under the guidance of an ignorant courtier.

Humiliated and embarrassed in everything, he acquired bad tastes and habits, became irritable, cantankerous, stubborn and false, acquired a sad inclination to lie..., and in Russia he also learned to get drunk. In Holstein he was taught so poorly that he came to Russia as a 14-year-old complete ignoramus and even amazed Empress Elizabeth with his ignorance. The rapid change of circumstances and educational programs completely confused his already fragile head. Forced to learn this and that without connection and order, Peter ended up learning nothing, and the dissimilarity of the Holstein and Russian situations, the meaninglessness of the Kiel and St. Petersburg impressions completely weaned him from understanding his surroundings. ...He was fascinated by the military glory and strategic genius of Frederick II...” (V. O. Klyuchevsky “Course of Russian History”)

1761, April 13 - Peter made peace with Frederick. All lands seized by Russia from Prussia during the course were returned to the Germans
1761, May 29 - union treaty between Prussia and Russia. Russian troops were transferred to the disposal of Frederick, which caused sharp discontent among the guards

(The flag of the guard) “became the empress. The emperor lived badly with his wife, threatened to divorce her and even imprison her in a monastery, and in her place put a person close to him, the niece of Chancellor Count Vorontsov. Catherine stayed aloof for a long time, patiently enduring her situation and not entering into direct relations with the dissatisfied.” (Klyuchevsky)

1761, June 9 - at the ceremonial dinner on the occasion of the confirmation of this peace treaty, the emperor proposed a toast to the imperial family. Catherine drank her glass while sitting. When Peter asked why she did not stand up, she replied that she did not consider it necessary, since the imperial family consists entirely of the emperor, herself and their son, the heir to the throne. “And my uncles, the Holstein princes?” - Peter objected and ordered Adjutant General Gudovich, who was standing behind his chair, to approach Catherine and say a swear word to her. But, fearing that Gudovich might soften this uncivil word during the transfer, Peter himself shouted it across the table for all to hear.
The Empress burst into tears. That same evening it was ordered to arrest her, which, however, was not carried out at the request of one of Peter’s uncles, the unwitting culprits of this scene. From that time on, Catherine began to listen more attentively to the proposals of her friends, which were made to her, starting from the very death of Elizabeth. The enterprise was sympathized with by many people from high society in St. Petersburg, most of whom were personally offended by Peter
1761, June 28 - . Catherine is proclaimed empress
1761, June 29 - Peter the Third abdicated the throne
1761, July 6 - killed in prison
1761, September 2 - Coronation of Catherine the Second in Moscow
1787, January 2-July 1 -
1796, November 6 - death of Catherine the Great

Domestic policy of Catherine II

- Changes in central government: in 1763, the structure and powers of the Senate were streamlined
- Liquidation of the autonomy of Ukraine: liquidation of the hetmanate (1764), liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich (1775), serfdom of the peasantry (1783)
- Further subordination of the church to the state: secularization of church and monastic lands, 900 thousand church serfs became state serfs (1764)
- Improving legislation: a decree on tolerance for schismatics (1764), the right of landowners to send peasants to hard labor (1765), the introduction of a noble monopoly on distilling (1765), a ban on peasants filing complaints against landowners (1768), the creation of separate courts for nobles, townspeople and peasants (1775), etc.
- Improving the administrative system of Russia: dividing Russia into 50 provinces instead of 20, dividing provinces into districts, dividing power in provinces by function (administrative, judicial, financial) (1775);
- Strengthening the position of the nobility (1785):

confirmation of all class rights and privileges of the nobility: exemption from compulsory service, from poll tax, corporal punishment; the right to unlimited disposal of estate and land together with the peasants;
the creation of noble estate institutions: district and provincial noble assemblies, which met once every three years and elected district and provincial leaders of the nobility;
assigning the title of “noble” to the nobility.

“Catherine the Second well understood that she could stay on the throne only by pleasing the nobility and officers in every possible way - in order to prevent or at least reduce the danger of a new palace conspiracy. This is what Catherine did. Her entire internal policy boiled down to ensuring that the life of the officers at her court and in the guards units was as profitable and pleasant as possible.”

- Economic innovations: establishment of a financial commission to unify money; establishment of a commission on commerce (1763); manifesto on the general demarcation to fix land plots; establishment of the Free Economic Society to assist noble entrepreneurship (1765); financial reform: introduction of paper money - assignats (1769), creation of two assignat banks (1768), issue of the first Russian external loan (1769); establishment of the postal department (1781); permission for private individuals to open a printing house (1783)

Foreign policy of Catherine II

1764 - Treaty with Prussia
1768-1774 — Russian-Turkish War
1778 - Restoration of the alliance with Prussia
1780 - union of Russia and Denmark. and Sweden for the purpose of protecting navigation during the American Revolutionary War
1780 - Defensive Alliance of Russia and Austria
1783, March 28 -
1783, August 4 - establishment of a Russian protectorate over Georgia
1787-1791 —
1786, December 31 - trade agreement with France
1788 June - August - war with Sweden
1792 - severance of relations with France
1793, March 14 - Treaty of Friendship with England
1772, 1193, 1795 - participation together with Prussia and Austria in the partitions of Poland
1796 - war in Persia in response to the Persian invasion of Georgia

Personal life of Catherine II. Briefly

“Catherine, by nature, was neither evil nor cruel... and overly power-hungry: all her life she was invariably under the influence of successive favorites, to whom she gladly ceded her power, interfering in their disposal of the country only when they very clearly showed their inexperience, inability or stupidity: she was smarter and more experienced in business than all her lovers, with the exception of Prince Potemkin.
There was nothing excessive in Catherine’s nature, except for a strange mixture of the coarsest sensuality that grew stronger over the years with purely German, practical sentimentality. At sixty-five years old, she, as a girl, fell in love with twenty-year-old officers and sincerely believed that they were also in love with her. In her seventh decade, she cried bitter tears when it seemed to her that Platon Zubov was more restrained with her than usual.”(Mark Aldanov)

Private bussiness

Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1729-1796) was born in the German city of Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland) in the family of the city governor Christian August and Johanna Elisabeth. She received a home education - languages, fine arts, history, geography, theology.

Frederica's fate was decided in 1743, when Elizaveta Petrovna, choosing a bride for her heir Peter Fedorovich (the future Russian Emperor Peter III), remembered that her mother had bequeathed to her to become the wife of the Holstein prince, Johanna Elisabeth's brother. In 1744, the Zerbst princess was invited to Russia to marry her second cousin Peter Fedorovich.

Immediately after arriving in Russia, she began to study the Russian language, history, Orthodoxy, and Russian traditions, trying to become more fully acquainted with Russia, which she perceived as a new homeland. In particular, she studied Orthodoxy under the guidance of the famous preacher Simon of Todor.

On July 9, 1744, Sophia Frederica Augusta converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy, receiving the name Ekaterina Alekseevna (the same name and patronymic as Catherine I), and the very next day she was engaged to the future emperor.

On October 1, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, Pavel. After this, the relationship between her and Peter, which had been tense before, completely deteriorated - Peter called his wife “spare madam” and took mistresses, however, without interfering with Catherine’s love affairs. The couple separated even more after the husband's accession to the throne under the name of Peter III in 1762 - he began to live openly with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace.

As emperor, Peter III did not gain popularity - he concluded an agreement with Prussia that was unfavorable for Russia, announced the sequestration of the property of the Russian Church, the abolition of monastic land ownership, and shared with those around him plans for the reform of church rituals. The sovereign's reputation in the guard suffered especially badly. Supporters of the coup, which was “ripening” even before his ascension to the throne, also accused Peter III of ignorance, dementia, dislike for Russia, and complete inability to rule. Against his background, the 33-year-old intelligent, well-read, pious and benevolent wife looked advantageous. She eventually led the coup on July 9, 1762, taking the oath of the guards units in the absence of her husband. Peter III, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, abdicated the throne the next day, was taken into custody and died under unclear circumstances (presumably poisoned). Ekaterina Alekseevna ascended the throne as reigning empress with the name Catherine II. To justify her own (and not the seven-year-old heir Paul’s) rights to the throne, Catherine referred to “the desire of all Our loyal subjects, obvious and unfeigned.” According to Vasily Klyuchevsky, “Catherine made a double takeover: she took power from her husband and did not transfer it to her son, the natural heir of his father.”

The first important step of the new ruler was the reform of the Senate, which was divided into six departments. At the same time, the general powers of the Senate were reduced - in particular, it lost legislative initiative and became just a body for monitoring the activities of the state apparatus and the highest court. Thus, the center of legislative activity moved directly to Catherine and her cabinet with secretaries of state, which can be considered the beginning of the transition to the policy of absolutism. The Legislative Commission, which was convened, whose task was to systematize the laws, existed for a year and a half, after which it was dissolved under the far-fetched pretext of the need for deputies to go to war with the Ottoman Empire.

Catherine considered the crown of her legislative activity to be the “Charter on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble nobility” and the “Charter of Grant to Cities,” published in 1785. Both charters finally secured pre-existing rights and privileges for the upper classes and introduced a number of new ones. Thus, the nobility was freed from the quartering of military units and commands, from corporal punishment (as were, according to the second document, merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds and eminent citizens), received the right of ownership of the bowels of the earth and the right to have their own class institutions. According to historian Nikolai Pavlenko, “in the history of Russia the nobility has never been blessed with such diverse privileges as under Catherine II.”

A parallel process naturally became the ongoing enslavement of peasants, who were called “slaves” not only by later historians and foreign contemporaries, but also by happy owners, as well as the empress herself. Decrees that worsened their situation were adopted throughout the reign of Catherine; Thus, since 1763, the maintenance of military commands sent to suppress peasant uprisings was entrusted to the peasants themselves; two years later, the owners were given the right to send a peasant for disobedience not only to exile, but also to hard labor for an arbitrary term. To prevent the system from causing unwanted disruptions, after another two years the peasants were forbidden to complain about their master.

Such “pressure” could not pass without leaving a trace - a series of uprisings of varying scales followed. The plague epidemic caused the Plague Riot in Moscow in 1771. The uprising, which became one of the largest in the 18th century, was nevertheless suppressed by troops under the command of Grigory Orlov extremely quickly - in just three days. Events unfolded completely differently two years later in the Urals.

Here, the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev, who declared himself Peter III (he was not the first, but the most successful of those who posed as the miraculously escaped emperor), managed to gather under his banner representatives of a variety of social and ethnic groups, each of which had its own reasons for dissatisfaction. The core of the army was the Cossacks, dissatisfied with the loss of privileges, who were quickly supported by workers (mostly assigned peasants, who, due to their obligation to work at the factory, did not have time for their own farming), peasants and ethnic minorities (Bashkirs, Kazakhs and others). A full-scale civil war lasted until 1775, becoming the largest confrontation of its kind from 1612 until the revolution. One of the consequences of the hardly suppressed uprising was some relaxation in relation to the Cossacks and (it became easier for them to obtain nobility), the peoples of the region (Tatar and Bashkir princes and Murzas were equal) in rights and liberties to the Russian nobility) and workers (limitation of the working day, increase payment). In addition, the uprising became one of the pretexts for the liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich. The situation of the peasants did not change at all.

A more important consequence of the uprising, however, was the disaggregation of the provinces - 23 provinces were transformed into 53 governorships, each of which was divided into 10-12 districts. Since there were clearly not enough district centers, Catherine II renamed many large rural settlements to cities; In total, 216 cities appeared in Russia (including the construction of new ones). The provincial division introduced by Catherine remained until 1917.

The main directions of foreign policy during Catherine's reign were Polish and Turkish. Under her, three divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place - (1772, 1773 and 1795) between Russia, Austria and Prussia; The result was significant territorial acquisitions by Russia. In 1794, an attempt was made to resist the "tripartite annexation", but the uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko was crushed by the troops of Alexander Suvorov, and soon after the third partition, as a result of the three-power conference on the fall of the Polish state, it lost its sovereignty.

The result of the first “Catherine” Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 (declared by the Ottoman Empire) was the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, according to which the Crimean Khanate received formal independence (de facto becoming a vassal of Russia), and Russia received a solid indemnity and the northern coast of the Black Sea .

In 1787, Türkiye tried to regain what was lost. The consequence was the brilliant victories of Rumyantsev, Orlov-Chesmensky, Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov and - ultimately - the Yassy Peace Treaty of 1791, which assigned Crimea and Ochakov to Russia and pushed the border between the two empires to the Dniester. In general, as a result of two wars, the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, and the Kuban region went to Russia; The empire's authority on the world stage grew enormously. Another important result of the war was the Treaty of Georgievsk, which established a Russian protectorate over Georgia. According to many historians, these conquests are the main achievement of the reign of Catherine II.

The reign of Catherine II is often called the time of “enlightened absolutism.” The Empress was indeed well acquainted with the ideas of the European Enlightenment and its bearers - her personal acquaintance with Diderot became textbook. A significant impetus was given to education: the Public Library, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens and the Novodevichy Institute for the education of bourgeois maidens, and pedagogical schools were founded in both capitals. A network of city schools based on a class-lesson system was created. The Academy of Sciences under Catherine became one of the leading European scientific institutions.

Catherine herself was engaged in literary activities - among her works are translations, fables, fairy tales, comedies, essays, librettos for five operas; participated in the weekly satirical magazine “All sorts of things,” published since 1769, and considered herself a patron of the arts. True, researchers note that the empress’s favor extended to a much greater extent to foreign authors, although it was during her reign that the glory of Denis Fonvizin and Gavrila Derzhavin flourished. Her attitude towards other remarkable literary contemporaries was completely different.

The most affected of them were Alexander Radishchev and Nikolai Novikov. Although in “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” there are no calls for the elimination of serfdom, much less the overthrow of the existing system, the author was sentenced to death by quartering (after pardon, replaced by a 10-year exile to Tobolsk) - because his book is “filled with harmful speculation that destroys public peace, detracts from the respect due to authority...” Novikov’s magazine “Truten”, which allowed itself to write about the arbitrariness of landowners towards peasants, endemic corruption and other ills of society, was closed. Taught by bitter experience, the publisher in the new magazine “Zhivopiets” tried to avoid sensitive social topics, but he too suffered the same fate. Finally, although the study of books published by Novikov, specially “ordered” by Catherine, did not reveal anything “harmful” in them, in 1785, by personal decree of the Empress, the publisher was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress, from where only Paul I released him.

The empress, who ruled Russia controversially for 34 years, died on November 17, 1796 from a cerebral hemorrhage in the Winter Palace. She was buried in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

What is she famous for?

“Tsar Baba” (in her own words), under which the Russian Empire acquired the status of a great power, the first in terms of population in Europe. During her era, the country made extremely important territorial acquisitions (expansion of a similar scale would occur only during the reign of Alexander II), the amount of state revenues quadrupled, and the army was doubled. The name of the “golden age” was firmly attached to Catherine’s reign (although this is true mainly in relation to the nobility).

What you need to know

One of the most striking - and invariably arousing the widest interest - signs of Catherine's time was favoritism. Repeated attempts were made to count the number of “persons especially close to the Empress.” The most famous of them were Sergei Saltykov (according to some assumptions, the father of Paul I), who became the king of Poland, Stanislav Poniatovsky, after his connection with Catherine (and, apparently, partly as a result of it). According to some sources, Catherine was secretly married to the latter. The Empress had two sons: Paul I and (from Grigory Orlov) Alexei Bobrinsky; daughter Anna died in infancy.

Catherine’s personal life is surrounded by many “scandals, intrigues and investigations.” There is no doubt that her favorites received undeserved rewards that had a solid material and/or career equivalent: for example, Field Marshal Rumyantsev was removed from command of the army to please Potemkin, who envied him, despite his undeniable military merits. The morals that reigned at court, generally “looking at faces” and not at merit, set a bad example locally: corruption became one of the integral features of the reign of Catherine II.

Direct speech

About the state:“In Russia everything is secret, but there are no secrets.”

About serfs:“There are no slaves in Russia. The serf peasants in Russia are independent in spirit, although they feel coerced in their bodies.”

On the welfare of the people:“Our taxes are so light that there is not a man in Russia who does not have a chicken whenever he wants one, and for some time now they have preferred turkeys to chickens.”

About the welfare of the people -II (1770 - the year of the hunger riots):“In Russia everything is going on as usual: there are provinces where they hardly know that we have been at war for two years. There is no shortage of anything anywhere: they sing thanksgiving prayers, dance and have fun.”

About the sad fate of the ruler (addressing Denis Diderot):“You write on paper that will endure anything, but I, poor empress, write on human skin, so sensitive and painful.”

About the passion for literature and lawmaking:“I cannot see a clean pen without immediately wanting to dip it into ink.”

About myself (prepared autoepitaph):“Here lies Catherine the Second. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At the age of fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth and the people. She left no stone unturned to achieve success in this regard. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness prompted her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She easily forgave and did not hate anyone. She was forgiving, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true Republican in her convictions and had a kind heart. She had friends. The work was easy for her. She liked social entertainment and the arts."

Belgian Prince Charles Joseph de Ligne about Catherine's reign:“Ekaterina collected the unfinished fragments and unfinished parts that remained in Peter’s workshop. Having supplemented them, she built a building and now, through hidden springs, sets in motion the gigantic composition, that is, Russia. She gave her device, strength and strength. This structure, strength and strength will flourish hour by hour more and more if Catherine’s successors follow in her footsteps.”

Alexander Pushkin about the reign of Catherine:“The reign of Catherine II had a new and strong influence on the political and moral state of Russia. Enthroned by the conspiracy of several rebels, she enriched them at the expense of the people and humiliated our restless nobility. If to reign means to know the weakness of the human soul and to use it, then in this regard Catherine deserves the surprise of posterity. Her splendor dazzled, her friendliness attracted, her generosity attracted. The very voluptuousness of this cunning woman asserted her dominion. Producing a weak murmur among the people, accustomed to respecting the vices of their rulers, it aroused vile competition in the highest states, for no intelligence, no merit, no talent was needed to achieve second place in the state.”

Friedrich Engels about Catherine's era:“The court of Catherine II turned into the capital of the then enlightened people, especially the French; She managed to mislead public opinion so much that Voltaire and many others praised the “northern Semiramis” and proclaimed Russia the most progressive country in the world, the fatherland of liberal principles, the champion of religious tolerance.”

Vasily Klyuchevsky about the nobleman of Catherine’s era:“... He was a very strange phenomenon: the manners, habits, concepts, feelings he had acquired, the very language in which he thought - everything was foreign, everything was imported, and at home he had no living organic connections with those around him, no serious business ... in the West, abroad, they saw him as a Tatar in disguise, and in Russia they looked at him as if he were a Frenchman accidentally born in Russia.”

8 facts about CatherineII

The system of public administration under Catherine II was reformed for the first time since the time of Peter I
It was under Catherine II that serfdom was introduced in Little Russia and Novorossia
The first few meetings of the Statutory Commission were devoted only to how to name the Empress in gratitude for her initiative in convening the department; then the title “Catherine the Great” appeared
Catherine was awarded the Russian Orders of St. Catherine, St. Andrew the First-Called, St. George and St. Vladimir, the Swedish Order of the Seraphim, and the Prussian Orders of the Black and White Eagle
Using materials prepared on Catherine’s instructions, Voltaire wrote a history of Peter I, which was skeptically accepted by his contemporaries
Catherine sniffed tobacco - but, in order not to poison her subjects with the smell, she took a pinch with her left hand
The total number of Catherine's favorites, according to authoritative estimates, is 23 people
Among the actresses who played the empress in the movies are Pola Negri, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Marina Vladi,

Materials about CatherineII