Catherine the Great, born in Germany, married the Romanov crown prince Peter and became Tsarina of Russia in 1762 after deposing him with the help of enlightened political groups. She expanded Russia’s territory, freed serfs, and was a patron of the arts and education. She also put down a rebellion and granted nobles new privileges over serfs. She died in 1796, and her son Paul became Tsar before being assassinated and replaced by his son Alexander.
Ekaterina II of Russia (April 21, 1729 – November 6, 1796), styled Catherine the Great, was Tsarina Romanov of Russia from June 28, 1762 until her death in 1796. Born in Stettin, Pomerania, to German gentry, Catherine the Grande married the Romanov crown prince Peter, grandson of Peter the Great, in 1745. When Peter was crowned Peter III of Russia in 1762, Catherine had been influenced by French Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, Diderot and Voltaire.
Unhappy in her marriage and alienated from the Russian court, she quickly allied herself with enlightened political groups in Russia who opposed her husband’s accession. Catherine the Great and her lover Grigori Orlov deposed Peter a few months after he ascended the throne. Catherine was promptly crowned Tsarina, and soon after Peter was assassinated by his loyalists.
Initially it seemed that Catherine would bring the Enlightenment to
Russia. He quickly drafted a liberal set of laws that freed serfs,
indentured peasants who make up about 49% of the total population of
Russia. Within two years, however, he dissolved the commission that he was
established to implement it. Such sudden progressive reforms may have been premature; by 1760, the Russian population was rooted in a class system that had developed over several centuries. Only 2% of the population could read.
Catherine the Great expanded Russia by more than 200,000 square miles (518,000 sq km) through warfare and annexations. She acquired the Crimea, won two wars against the Ottoman Empire, and secured maritime access to the Black Sea. She also secured about a third of Poland’s land and people by negotiating with Austria and Prussia.
Catherine was an avid writer, librettist, and generous patron of the arts and education. You have assembled an impressive art collection, you have built the first one
Russian school for girls in 1769 and encouraged the publication of books. He also built squares, monuments. and an art academy to Westernize Russia’s image.
In 1774, Catherine put down a Cossack rebellion led by Emilian Pugachev, a
soldier who had set up a parallel government based on the granting of freedom
to the servants. Pugachev’s defeat marked a radical change in Catherine’s domestic policy. You created new district divisions and decentralized control to regional administrations. The tsarina granted the nobles new privileges which gave them absolute power over the serfs.
When Catherine the Great died of a stroke in 1796, her son Paul took the throne. Paul I of Russia reigned for only four years until he was assassinated by soldiers and his first son, Alexander, claimed the throne.
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