CATHERINE THE

GREAT
Catherine II, Empress of Russia

Was born on May 2, 1729, in Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland)

Born Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst
Daughter of Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, German prince and Princess
Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
She learned three languages: German, French and Russian
Married to Peter III of Russia managed by Count Lestocq, Peter's aunt, Russian
Empress Elizabeth and Frederick II of Prussia
Was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796
The longest reigning female leader of the Russian Empire
The period of her rule is called the Catherinian Era and is often considered the
Golden Age of the Russian Empire.

BECOMING RUSSIAN ROYALTY

In 1744, a teenage Catherine traveled with her mother to Russia

She moved forward with her relationship to Grand Duke Peter. The pair became
engaged.
Catherine converted to the Russian Orthodox faith, despite her deeply Lutheran
father's objections.
Along with her new religion, she also received a new nameYekaterina, or
Catherine.
On August 21, 1745, Catherine II married into the Russian royal family, becoming
a grand duchess
She and Peter proved to be anything but a happy couple, however. Peter was
immature and juvenile, preferring to play with toy soldiers and mistresses than to
be with his wife.
Catherine II finally produced an heir. Her son, Paul, was born on September 20,
1754.
TAKING THE THRONE

After Empress Elizabeth's death in December 25, 1761, Catherine's husband

assumed the throne, becoming Peter III, while she received the title of Empress
Consort.
Catherine II had conspired with her lover, Gregory Orlov, a Russian lieutenant,
along with several others in order to unseat Peter
Peter was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by Catherine. She had Peter
arrested and forced him to sign an act of abdication.

RULING RUSSIA

I. Instruction of Catherine the Great

- Catherine believed in absolute rule, she did make some efforts toward social
and political reforms. She put together on document, known as the "Nakaz.
- Nakaz, or Instruction, of Catherine the Great was a document prepared by
her as a guide for the All-Russian Legislative Commission of 1767 to consider
internal reforms and to devise a new code of laws. The Instruction maintained
that all men should be considered equal before the law; and that law should
forbid only acts directly harmful to an individual or the community, leaving the
people free to do anything not forbidden. It also disapproved of death penalty
and torture. Catherine worked on the Instruction for two years and it consisted
of 22 chapters and 655 articles.

II. Foreign Affairs

- During her reign, Catherine extended the borders of the Russian Empire
southward and westward
- Catherine's foreign minister, Nikita Panin (in office 176381), exercised
considerable influence from the beginning of her reign. A shrewd statesman,
Panin dedicated much effort and millions of rubles to setting up a "Northern
Accord" between Russia, Prussia, Poland, and Sweden.

a. PARTITION OF POLAND
- She made substantial gains in Poland, where she had earlier installed her
former lover; Polish count Stanislaw Poniatowski, on the country's throne
- In 1768, she formally became protector of the PolishLithuanian
Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-Russian uprising in Poland, the
Confederation of Bar (176872).
 - In a 1772 treaty, Catherine gave parts of Poland to Prussia and Austria, while
taking the eastern region herself.
- After the uprising broke down due to internal politics in the PolishLithuanian
Commonwealth, she established in the Rzeczpospolita, a system of
government fully controlled by the Russian Empire through a Permanent
Council, under the supervision of her ambassadors and envoys.

b. RUSSO TURKISH WAR

- Russia's actions in Poland triggered a military conflict with Turkey.
- Enjoying numerous victories in 1769 and 1770, Catherine showed the world
that Russia was a mighty power.
- She reached a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire in 1774, which brought
new lands into the empire and gave Russia a foothold in the Black Sea.
- One of the war's heroes, Gregory Potemkin, became a trusted advisor and
lover of Catherine's.
- Potemkin also encouraged Catherine to take over the Crimea peninsula in
1783, shoring up Russia's position in the Black Sea. A few years later,
Catherine once again clashed with the Ottoman Empire.

III. Economics and Finance

- Her most pressing practical problem, however, was to replenish the state
treasury, which was empty when Elizabeth died; this she did in 1762 by
secularizing the property of the clergy, who owned one-third of the land and
serfs in Russia.
- She continued to preserve friendly relations with Prussia, Russias old enemy,
as well as with the countrys traditional allies, France and Austria.
- Catherine strongly encouraged the migration of the Volga Germansfarmers
from Germany who settled mostly in the Volga River Valley region. They
introduced numerous innovations regarding wheat production and flour
milling, tobacco culture, sheep raising, and small-scale manufacturing
- In 1768, the Assignation Bank was given the task of issuing the first
government paper money. It opened in St. Petersburg and Moscow in 1769.
- These notes, known as Assignation rubles, were the first government paper
money in Russia.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. Made Russia the dominant power in south-eastern Europe

- In 1783, Catherine annexed the Crimean Peninsula outright and in 1787, the
Ottomans restarted hostilities in the second major Russo-Turkish War (1787
92). Russia won a series of victories and ultimately the Ottomans were
compelled to sign the Treaty of Jassy, which recognized Russian Empires
annexation of the Crimea and granted it the Yedisan region, the territory
between Dniester and Bug rivers.
- The Russian Empire thus now had control over the entire western Ukrainian
Black Sea coast. Through her successful campaigns against the Ottoman
Empire, Catherine the Great made Russia the dominant power in south-
eastern Europe.

2. Expanded the Russian Empire through conquest and diplomacy

- Apart from victories against the Ottoman Empire, Russia under Catherine II
defeated the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth leading to the partitioning of
Poland and division of its territory between Russia, Prussia and Austria with
Russia gaining the largest share.
- It also started to colonize Alaska, establishing Russian America and waged a
war against Persia in 1796 making a significant advance into their territory but
Catherine died the same year and her successor Paul I ordered the Russian
troops to retreat.
- By the end of Catherine IIs reign, the Russian Empire had grown larger and
stronger than ever before. It had expanded rapidly by conquest and
diplomacy with around 200,000 square miles (518,000 square kilometers)
being added to its territory. Catherine II thus established Russia as one of the
great powers of Europe.

3. Implemented a series of educational reforms to improve education in Russia

- By 1782, she set up a commission to study the educational systems of many
different countries.
- On 5 August 1786, the Russian Statute of National Education was put into
effect. This established a two-tier network of high schools and primary
schools which were free of charge, co-educational and open to all of the free
classes (not serfs). It also regulated, in detail, the subjects to be taught at
every age and the method of teaching.
 - In addition to this, teachers were provided with the Guide to Teachers which
dealt with teaching methods, the subjects taught, etc.

4. Established the first institutes for the formal education of females in Russia

The Smolny Institute in St Petersburg

- The number of state and private schools were increased. The University of
Moscow reached unprecedented heights and became an internationally
recognized learning center under her sponsorship. She founded the great
Vospitatelnoi Dom, or House of Education, at Moscow and also at St.
Petersburg.
- In 1764, Catherine II passed a decree to establish the famous Smolny
Institute in St Petersburg, the first educational establishment for women in
Russia and the first state-financed higher education institution for women in
Europe. Smolny Institute was for girls of the nobility. The following year, she
also established the Novodevichy Institute in Moscow for the daughters of
commoners.

5. Introduced a number of administrative reforms for effective governance

- In 1775, she decreed a Statute for the Administration of the Provinces of the
Russian Empire, which divided Russia into provinces and districts according
to population statistics with each province consisting of roughly equal
population.
- By the end of her reign, 50 provinces and nearly 500 districts had been
created; the government officials had nearly doubled; and spending on local
governance had increased by as much six times.
6. Period of expansion of trade and communications
- In 1785, Catherine issued the Charter to the Nobility, which freed Russian
nobles from compulsory military or state service. They were also to elect a
Marshal of the Nobility, who spoke on their behalf to the monarch.
- The same year, she also issued the Charter of the Towns, which distributed
all people into six groups as a way to limit the power of nobles and create a
middle estate.
- Catherine also issued the Code of Commercial Navigation and Salt Trade
Code of 1781; and the Police Ordinance of 1782.
- Large government spending led to shortage of silver and huge masses of
copper coins in the Russian domestic market; making large transactions
difficult. Thus, in 1769, Catherine II founded the Assignation Bank in St.
Petersburg to issue notes of 100, 75, 50, and 25 rubles upon payment of
similar sums in copper money. These notes, known as Assignation rubles,
were the first government paper money in Russia.

7. Establishment of the Free Economic Society

- In 1765, the Free Economic Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and
Husbandry was established in St Petersburg by a group of wealthy
landowners led by Count Grigory Orlov.
- Catherine II was instrumental in the establishment of the Free Economic
Society and the mastermind behind its early activity. She endowed it with
funds for a library and a building on Palace Square. Through it, she aimed to
modernize the countrys agricultural system by incorporating latest techniques
and achievements of Western agriculture.

8. The Russian Enlightenment

- She corresponded with several leading philosophers of her time including
Voltaire; and she herself wrote comedies, fiction and memoirs. She
sponsored many cultural projects; and played a key role in fostering the arts,
sciences and education in Russia.
- The Hermitage Museum, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world,
began as a personal collection of Catherine II. It currently holds over three
million items including the largest collection of paintings in the world. She also
played a part in the formation of the renowned Bolshoi Theatre and the
neighboring Maly Theatre. Catherine the Great presided over the period
known as the Russian Enlightenment, which saw the flowering of the arts and
sciences; and had a significant and profound impact on Russian culture.
DEATH

In mid-November of 1796, however, she was found unconscious on the floor

of her bathroom. It was thought at the time that she suffered a stroke.
Catherine, Russia's great empress, lingered on until the following night, but
never regained consciousness. She died on November 17, 1796 at the age of
67.
At the Winter Palace, her coffin lay in state next to that of her late husband,
Peter III.
She did not love her son Paul, the legitimate heir, whose throne she
occupied. On the other hand, she adored her grandsons, particularly the
eldest, Alexander, whom she wished to succeed her.

REFERENCES

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Stephanie. Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions since

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Mikaberidze, Alexander. Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical

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