CATHERINE THE GREAT OF RUSSIA: BIOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, ACHIEVEMENTS, DEATH - ARTE - 2025

Catherine the Great of Russia (1729 - 1796) was a politician and statesman of German origin who rose to the position of Russian empress. She is considered a classic example of an enlightened despot; She ascended to the throne after a coup in 1762.

For this head of state the Enlightenment exerted an important influence. This led him to become interested in topics that were of the highest importance to this current, such as politics, art and culture. It was also one of her priorities as a ruler to copy Western European-style education, philosophy, medicine and other sciences within her borders.

Portrait of Catherine II of Russia, by Ivan Argunov, via Wikimedia Commons

Catherine's foray into the high echelons of Russian power began after her link with Peter III in 1745. Her husband was the grandson of Peter the Great and had been designated as heir to the throne of the Russian Empire, then ruled by Elizabeth I.

Catherine's reign lasted 34 years, between 1762 and 1796. During that time she also collaborated with the modernization of the Russian legal system, using the help of great Western philosophers such as Mercier de la Riviere.

He also had as his guest and royal advisor for a time Denis Diderot, another great French philosopher of the Enlightenment, and he corresponded for many years with Voltaire.

Catherine II expanded the Russian borders to Crimea, Lithuania, and Belarus. In the same way, the divisions of Poland between Russia, Prussia and Austria are famous. The empress was also famous for having placed in high positions those men with whom she was romantically involved.

Although she was born as a minor German princess, Catherine the Great of Russia managed to elevate the nation culturally and extended the borders of her territory. In this way, she collected the military legacy that was imposed by Peter the Great.

Important data

In 1761 Pedro III ascended to the position of Tsar and Catherine became his Tsarina consort. The new Russian monarch had a great fascination for Frederick the Great of Prussia, an admiration that eventually led to his disgrace with the subjects of his own territory.

All the discontent with respect to the apparent German dominance over the czar's behavior gathered around Catherine, who, despite being of German origin, was much more respectful of Russian customs.

In July 1762 after a coup, the Tsar's wife came to control the reins of the Empire, from that moment she was designated as Catherine II of Russia. Among her great military successes was the war against the Ottoman Empire that was fought from 1768.

The monarch also faced the Pugachev rebellion in 1774, which seemed to foreshadow what awaited the Russian aristocracy a few centuries later with the Russian Revolution.

Class problem

The empress required the favor of the nobles to stay in command of the territory, for this she strengthened the privileges of the dominant caste and with that separated them even more from the other social strata.

At the same time, the serfs became practically slaves and saw their freedoms greatly reduced.

In Russia the bourgeois class had not been strengthened by technological advances as it had in the rest of Europe. This was the main difference that kept the nation backward from its western neighbors.

Although the privileges were concentrated in the nobility, the aristocrats depended on peasants and serfs to sustain industries, as well as for the most basic activities such as cattle ranching, agriculture and mining.

Eventually, that was one of the reasons that definitely alienated the nobility of the town. The French Revolution was one of the major concerns that Catherine had at the end of her life, because she knew the weaknesses of her country.

He especially feared that his son and heir, Pablo, did not have the necessary qualities to reign and his grandson Alexander was still too young to wear the imperial crown on his forehead.

Early years

Sofia Federica Augusta von Anhalt-Zerbst, better known as Catherine the Great, was born on April 21, 1729 in Stettin, Prussia. She was the daughter of Christian Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, a minor member of German royalty, and her mother was Joan Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp.

Little Sofia's father was a Prussian general and governor of the city where the family was based: Stettin. On the maternal side, she was related to Gustav III and Carlos XIII of Sweden.

The young woman was educated by French tutors and governesses, considered at the time the highest and most refined of European culture.

Little else is known about the early years of the future Catherine the Great, but it was at this time that her love for Western-style knowledge developed and for the Enlightenment philosophers whom she always held in high esteem and of. which was a voracious reader.

Family

Cristián Augusto de Holstein-Gottorp was the father of Juana Isabel, that is, grandfather of Sofía Federica Augusta von Anhalt -Zerbst.

After the death of Carlos Federico de Holstein-Gottorp's parents, he was left in charge of his uncle, that is, Cristián Augusto. A similar event happened a generation later, since Carlos Federico died and his son Pedro was orphaned.

The boy's mother had also died, she was called Ana Petrovna Romanova and was the daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I of Russia.

Consequently, the young Pedro de Holstein-Gottorp passed into the care of his relative Adolfo Federico Holstein, then Adolfo de Sweden, who was the son of Cristián Augusto de Holstein-Gottorp and Sofía Federica's uncle.

Years later the young Pedro was designated heir by the Russian monarch, Elizabeth I, who was his maternal aunt.

The political cards were activated and the young heir was procured a future wife who shared his German roots, which would weaken the Austrian influence in Russia and the one selected for this role was the young Sofia Federica.

Marriage

Since her arrival in Russia, Sofia Federica wanted to please the locals, so she learned both their language and their customs. In that sense, she decided to abandon the Lutheran religion that she practiced until then and converted to the Orthodox faith.

From June 24, 1744, Princess Sofia Federica abandoned her old ways and, after adopting her new religion, she received the name Catherine Alekséyevna. The following day their betrothal was celebrated with the heir apparent to the Russian Empire.

The liaison of the young royal couple took place on August 21, 1745. At the time of the union, Catherine was 16 years old, while Peter was 18. Since then, the future emperor had shown inappropriate attitudes for someone his age.

Pedro was unable to consummate the marriage for 8 years, which led to the couple never being able to consolidate but instead filled Catalina with resentment.

The unhappy marriage sought refuge in different lovers. In Catherine's case, her first favorite was a handsome young Russian nobleman named Sergei Saltykov.

For his part, Pedro also took a mistress. The young woman was named Elizabeta Romanovna Vorontsova and was about 11 years younger than him.

Courtly life

Saltykov was not the only lover that Catherine had during her life, among the most prominent names of those who were with her are Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov, Alexander Vasilchikov, Gregorio Potemkin and Estanislao Augusto Poniatowski.

Catherine was also an avid reader of French texts in philosophy, science and literature. These ideas guided by the current of the Enlightenment led her to question some customs and laws in force in the Russia of her time.

She forged a friendship with Princess Ekaterina Vorontsova Dashkova, who was the sister of her husband's lover. It was she who introduced many of the opponents of the future Tsar to Catherine.

Sons

The wife of the heir to the Russian crown became pregnant and in September 1754 Paul was born. In 1757 he had a second daughter named Anna Petrovna, whose father was one of his lovers.

Likewise, Paul's paternity was called into question even at the suggestion of Catherine herself. Time proved it wrong since Paul, growing up, inherited many characteristics from her father, Pedro III.

Almost immediately after the birth of the first-born, he was taken from his mother by Empress Elizabeth I. The Russian ruler of the time wanted to give the young Paul appropriate instruction so that he could take charge of Russia, since his father did not he seemed to have the skills to rule.

For her part, Catalina had already delivered an heir to the crown with which her duty was fulfilled at court.

While Peter continued to disappoint everyone as a prospective ruler, his son Paul seemed to be a smart boy. In any case, all the traumas and emotional shortcomings of his childhood were a heavy burden in the future.

The same year that Catherine came to the throne, her last son was born: Alekséi Bóbrinsky.

Ascent

Elizabeth I died on January 5, 1762, since then the new royal family has moved to Saint Petersburg. One of the first actions of Peter III as sovereign of Russia was to withdraw from the Seven Years' War.

The Russian emperor signed a peace treaty with Frederick the Great, who was the leader of Prussia at the time. Pedro III also gave him all the conquests that Russia had achieved in the conflict with the Germans.

The Russian nobility did not understand the behavior of their ruler, who knelt before Prussia and Peter III came to have a reputation of weak and servile before the Germans.

Pedro III's next goal was to get rid of Catalina so that he could be freely with his lover. In July 1762, he went on vacation with his friends and guards, while his wife remained in Saint Petersburg.

Coup

Peter's trip was the perfect opportunity for Catherine to take the Russian throne. The imperial guard rebelled under the leadership of Grigory Orlov on July 13 and 14. From that moment Catalina became the new monarch.

Three days later Pedro III died after abdicating the throne in his wife. It has been speculated since that time whether the cause of his death was murder or that which was officially proclaimed, that is, a hemorrhagic colic that produced a stroke.

Either way, many think that Catalina did not order Pedro assassinated. The transition was carried out without fights and without blood since everyone supported Catherine as the new leader of the Russian Empire.

Empress

Catherine II of Russia was crowned on September 22, 1762 in Moscow. In the midst of a pompous and luxurious ceremony, the Russian Empire celebrated the rise of its new ruler.

From that event arose some of the most important family heirlooms that the members of the Romanov dynasty made use of until the end of its existence, such as the Russian imperial crown.

Although Catherine was not a member of the Romanovs by consanguinity, she was a descendant of the Rurik dynasty, one of the oldest royal houses in Russia and founders of the Tsarist system.

Unlike Peter III, Catherine II gave herself totally to her nation and put the interests of Russia first. She had a sincere desire to transform the Empire into a prosperous and advanced power that was at the level of the best European countries.

Finding himself in such a fragile position, he decided to maintain a peaceful relationship with Prussia and Frederick the Great. In 1764 he sent Stanislaus Poniatowski to Poland as king, who had been one of his lovers and who had great respect for Catherine.

Poland was divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria on three occasions: the first was in 1772, the second in 1793 (without Austria) and the third in 1795. This is how these countries eliminated the possibility of Poland emerging as a regional power.

government

One of the main problems that Catherine II encountered was the nation's economy, which was underdeveloped. The national coffers were empty, the peasants were not free, there was neither a strong middle class nor a legal framework that would encourage private enterprise.

Although there were industries, these were based on the work of the serfs who were practically subjected to a system of slavery.

In 1768 it was decreed that the Assignment Bank should create the first Russian paper money. The system implemented by Catherine II was in force until 1849.

On the other hand, Catherine found a great intellectual disappointment when she realized that it was impossible for her to put into practice the postulates raised by the philosophers of the French Enlightenment in her land.

Laws

In 1767 he called a commission made up of the different Russian social classes, except the serfs, to make proposals that would serve in the creation of a constitution.

The Instruction of Catherine the Great was a document that was provided to the representative members. It contained the guidelines that she wanted the commission to consider.

There he defended the equality of all men, he also called for the modernization of laws and legal procedures. However, there were inconsistencies such as his exaltation of absolutism as the center of government and the lack of rights of the serfs.

The results were never put into practice because they would have been counterproductive for the effective government of Russia, which had a very backward society compared to the West.

Although some French like Mercier de la Riviere were invited by the commission and others also frequented the court of Catherine II, like Denis Diderot, they thought that an arbitrary government could not be good. Although they were in a position to praise a legal despot.

Russo-Turkish war

The perfect excuse for Catherine II to continue with the Russian legal and political system without taking into account the reforms proposed by her own commission was the conflict that broke out in 1768 between the Russian and Ottoman empires.

For different reasons, mainly geographical, the Ottomans had taken on the role of natural enemies of Russia.

The new monarch wanted to return the national gaze to a single objective and to achieve this she chose an issue that was of relevance to the entire population: the greatness of Russia.

According to historical records, a group of Russian Cossacks followed Polish rebels to Balta, which was part of the Crimean Khanate. A terrible massacre was allegedly carried out in the city that cried out for the help of its protector, Sultan Mustafa III.

Although the Russians denied the accusations that were made against him, the Ottomans decided to declare war on him in defense of the Crimean Khanate.

What Mustafa III did not have was that Russia was going to dominate in the military plane. Krakow was captured by the army of Catherine II. Furthermore, in 1770 the Russian fleet reached southern Greece and this caused the Ottoman forces to stray and neglect Ukraine.

At the Battle of Chesma the Russians destroyed the Turkish fleet, while at the Battle of Kagul they occupied Turkish fortresses in Ottoman Ukraine.

Peace

The sultan decided to send his nephew to negotiate a peace agreement with Catherine the Great. The resulting document became known as the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774.

The Turks since then recognized the independence of the Crimean Khanate, which became a satellite state of Russia. In addition, they paid Catherine 4.5 million rubles and allowed the Russians to create two ports on the Black Sea.

Pugachev rebellion

This insurrection began in 1773, when the country was still agitated by the fighting against the Ottomans. Everything got worse with the outbreak of the plague, which reached the city of Moscow and began indiscriminately killing Russian lives.

Although he was not the only one, Yemelian Pugachov was one of the impostors who posed as Pedro III to try to depose Catherine II. The protagonist of the uprising had served during the Turkish-Russian war and escaped from military service.

Pugachev spread the rumor that he was in fact the Russian monarch and that he had managed to escape the men of the usurping empress. Thanks to that story, more than 30,000 men joined the ranks of a makeshift army led by the impostor.

With the force that he had managed to assemble, Pugachov managed to take several cities. Among the most important squares it occupied were Samara and Kazan, with which it was made in 1774.

After the peace agreement with the Turks, the men of Catherine II were able to dedicate themselves to quelling the rebellion and then they captured Pugachov. After being arrested, he was sent to Moscow, where he was tried and later sentenced to beheading in 1775.

Consequences

The rebellion of Pugachev aroused great fears in Catherine II and made her think that, unlike states like France, Russia should not increase freedoms to the lower social classes, but on the contrary, it was necessary to provide them with more restrictions.

Although Catherine had considered creating a liberal and enlightened constitution during her first years in office, she soon knew that this would not be practical for her term.

In fact, the section on serfs and their freedoms was the most edited of Catherine the Great's Instruction to the commission that discussed the new legal order they wanted for Russia.

It should be noted that the wealth of the nobles in Russia was not measured in money, but in the number of "souls" they owned, that is, their servants. It was precisely these aristocrats who supported Catherine II on the throne and without their support it was nothing.

It would have been a bad strategic move for Catherine the Great to take away their most precious “wealth” from the nobles and thereby risk the stability of their Empire.

On the contrary, the serfs ended up being more oppressed and the number of free peasants was greatly reduced.

Minister Potemkin

Since the Pugachev rebellion, there was a man who rose to the highest echelons of power after winning the trust of Catherine II: Gregory Potemkin. His lucky star for military strategy made him very close to the empress and later he became her lover.

It was popularly spread that it was actually Potemkin who controlled the Russian Empire, due to his close relationship with Catherine the Great and the influence he exerted on her.

Although their intimate relationship lasted little more than two years, Potemkin continued to be highly respected and esteemed by Catherine II, who allowed him to retain his positions and positions within the government.

Patron of the arts

One of the highlights of the government of Catherine the Great was the environment that created the artistic activities in Russia. At that time, the common thing for the Russian plastic and intellectual world was to imitate what came from the West.

Construction of what was originally the Russian Empress's private collection began in around 1770 and later became known as the Hermitage (or "Hermit") Museum.

In addition to the works of the Enlightenment, the monarch also promoted the construction of English gardens and was interested in Chinese art collections.

He attracted great minds of the time, such as Denis Diderot, to his lands, but never put into practice the conclusions they had reached.

Education

For the Russian empress the educational issue was of utmost importance. She was immersed in the postulates of the enlightened philosophers, which at first made her believe that government could improve if it managed to raise the intellectual level of citizens.

He consulted with British educators such as Daniel Dumaresq, whom he appointed as part of the Education Commission that addressed the educational reforms that were necessary for the country. Like many other reformist projects of Catalina, the suggestions of this commission were not implemented.

However, Catherine II did care to create new educational institutions aimed at both females and males. During her reign the first Russian orphanage was created in the city of Moscow, but it failed.

The first Russian girls' school was also born in the time of Catherine the Great. In the academy both young noblemen and of bourgeois origin were admitted and it was called "Smolny Institute".

Another of the steps that Catherine tried to carry out in favor of Russian academic instruction in 1786 was the Statute of National Education. In said decree, she ordered the creation of public schools in the main cities, which had to admit young people of any social class, except servants.

The results of this experiment were not encouraging at all, since the bulk of the population preferred to send their children to private institutions and the numbers of young people benefiting from the scheme were very low.

Religion

Although at first Catherine II moved the Russians with her conversion to the Orthodox Church, this was no more than a simple tribute to her subjects. In fact, she did not favor that faith at all, on the contrary, she expropriated the lands of the Church, which she practically nationalized.

He closed more than half of the monasteries and administered the finances of the Church at the convenience of the state. She also decided to remove religion from the formal academic education of young people, which resulted in the first step of Russian secularization.

Poland

Poland began to develop a revolutionary movement in which they tried to achieve a liberal constitution framed in the philosophical current of the Enlightenment, which had been so praised by Catherine II herself.

These wishes gave rise to a popular uprising that ended with the second partition of Poland, after which Russia took 250,000 km ² of Ukrainian - Polish territory and Prussia took about 58,000 km ².

The outcome of the conflict left many discontents, it became the Kosciuszko uprising in 1794 and after its failure the Commonwealth of Two Nations disappeared.

Last years

One of the events that marked the behavior of Catherine II during the twilight of her life was the French Revolution. Although she had been a great admirer of the Enlightenment, she did not conceive that the rights of the aristocracy were the subject of discussion.

That is why since the execution of King Louis XVI she was much more suspicious of the harmful effects of the Enlightenment on the people. Catherine feared for the future of the Russian royal house, so she tried to get her granddaughter Alejandra to marry the King of Sweden, Gustavo Adolfo, who was a relative of hers.

Although the king traveled in September 1796 to meet the girl and announce the engagement, the marriage did not take place because of the young woman's apparent refusal to convert to the dominant faith in Sweden, which was Lutheranism.

Death

Catherine the Great died on November 17, 1796, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The day before her death she had woken up in good spirits and claimed to have had a wonderful night's sleep.

After starting her daily work, she was found on the ground with a very low pulse. The doctor diagnosed him with a stroke, since then he has been in a coma and died hours later.

Another of the concerns that haunted Catherine's mind in her final days was the succession to the Russian crown. She did not consider that her son Pablo was a worthy heir since she observed in her the same weaknesses that Peter III had shown.

Catherine II had prepared everything for Paul's son, Alexander, to be named successor, but due to the hasty death of the sovereign, this act was not carried out and Paul was the next emperor of Russia.

References

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3. CERVERA, C. (2020). Truths and lies of the scandalous sex life of Catherine II, the tsarina who made Russia great. abc. Available at: abc.es.
4. Harrison, J., Sullivan, R. and Sherman, D. (1991). Study of western civilizations. Vol. 2. Mexico: McGraw-Hill, pp. 29 -32.
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