The Contributions of Catherine II (Catherine the Great), Empress of Rus

The Contributions of Catherine II (Catherine the striking), Empress of Russia Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (1762-96), didmuch to transform Russia into a modern country. Originally named SophieFredericke Augusta, she was born(p) in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), on May2, 1729, the daughter of the German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. At the age of15 she went to Russia to become the wife of shaft of light, nephew and heir ofEmpress ELIZABETH. Elizabeth died on Dec. 25, 1761, and Catherines husband succeeded as light beam III. The new ruler soon made himself unpopular, especially withcertain army officers. Led by Aleksei ORLOV (whose brother Grigori wasCatherines lover), the officers staged a coup in June 1762. Peter wasdeposed (and subsequently murdered), and Catherine became absolute ruler ofthe gargantuanst European empire, whose language she never learned to speakcorrectly and without accent. At the age of 33, Catherine was not only a plentiful wo man (whosenumerous love affairs dominate the popular accounts of her life), but in additionunusually well read and deeply involved in the heathenish trends of her age.She was a tireless worker and knew how to select capable assistants--forexample, Nikita PANIN in foreign affairs, Aleksandr SUVOROV in the military,and Grigory POTEMKIN in administration. Imbued with the ideas of theEnlightenment, Catherine aimed at completing the job started by Peter I--westernizing Russia--but she had contrastive methods. Unlike Peter, she didnot forcibly conscript society into the service of the state, but ratherencouraged individual initiative in pursuit of self-interest. She succeededto a storey with the upper classes, but did nothing for the overwhelm... ...re of the Black Sea. The fertile landsof the Ukraine were also opened for settlement and soon became the granaryof Europe. Catherine also participated in the partitions of Poland (1772,1792, and 1795), bringing a large part of that countr y under Russian rule. By the time of Catherines death (Nov. 17, 1796), modern Russiansociety was organized and its culture had struck firm roots. Russia wasalso playing a determining role in world affairs.Bibliography Alexander, John T., Catherine the Great Life and Legend(1989) Cronin, Vincent, Catherine, Empress of All the Russians (1978)Grey, Ian, Catherine the Great (1961 repr. 1975) Maroger, Dominique, ed.,Memoirs of Catherine the Great, trans. by M. Budberg (1961) Oldenbourg,Zoe, Catherine the Great, trans. by Anne Carter (1965) Raeff, Marc, ed.,Catherine the Great A Profile (1972).