Also known as: Catherine II, Empress of Russia, Catherine II the Great, Sophia Augusta Fredericka of Anhaltzerbst, Catherine the Great, Catherine II, Catherine, Sophia Augusta Frederike of Anhaltzerbst, Catherine II, the Great, Empress Catherine II, the Great, Ekaterina Alekseevna

Born: 1729
Died: 1796
Occupation: empress

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Autocratic, astute, and dynamic empress who--guided by the teachings of the Enlightenment--ruled Russia during a period of unprecedented political growth.

BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
In 1773, Catherine the Great arranged for the marriage of the Grand Duke Paul, her son and heir, to the German princess, Wilhemina of Hesse-Darmstadt. This happy marriage ended three years later with the princess's death in childbirth. Catherine then imported another German princess for her son, Sophia Dorothea of Württemburg. Fearing that the newlyweds would become a center of opposition if her political rivals chose to rally around them, Catherine arranged that their activities be closely monitored; the young couple were retired to a palace outside the capital of St. Petersburg where they spent most of their time until the end of Catherine's reign. The Grand Duke and Duchess resented the Empress for removing them from participation in governmental affairs, and Catherine, having lived through similar circumstances, understood their frustration. She too had come from Germany to marry into the royal family of Russia, only to become a victim of intrigues which isolated her from life in the Russian court.

From an early age, Catherine's political astuteness had been evident. By studying her family tree, the young Princess Sophia (as she was known as a child) observed her connections with other royal families and came to an important conclusion: "This idea of a crown began running in my head then like a tune, and has been running a lot in it ever since." Her father was Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst; her mother was Johanna Elizabeth, whose family ruled the Duchy of Holstein. Although Sophia's parents did not control vast land and wealth, her mother's family was well-connected with some of the great royal families of Europe. Though small in size, the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp was strategically placed between Denmark and Germany, on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, and thus could exert influence in the region as competing powers wrestled for control of the Baltic and Northern Europe. But Sophia's parents had no particular plans for her. She would write later that her father "saw her very seldom," and her mother "did not bother much about me." Her childhood was spent in the Prussian city of Stettin, where her father kept busy with official duties as governor. Sophia was raised speaking both French and German.

In 1744, Sophia and her mother Johanna received an invitation to visit the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia; as she said goodbye to her father and tutor, the young girl was unaware that she would never see them again. The purpose of the invitation was to arrange for the marriage between Sophia and Grand Duke Peter Fyodorovich, heir to the Russian throne who has been cited in one source as a "hare-brained zany." Upon the announcement of the engagement, Sophia converted from the Lutheran faith of her homeland to the Orthodox faith of Russia, and thenceforth was known by her Russian name, Catherine. She would later recall in her memoirs: "To tell the truth I believe that the Crown of Russia attracted me more than his person."

During these early years, Catherine learned how to survive Russian politics by practicing neutrality:


I decided to humour the Grand Duke's confidence in order that he should at least consider me as a loyal friend to whom he could say anything without risk. . . . As a matter of fact, I tried to be as charming as possible to everyone and studied every opportunity to win the affection of those whom I suspected of being in the slightest degree ill-disposed towards me. . . . It pleased me when I realized that I was daily winning the affection of the public.

Speedily adapting to Russian ways and eager to learn the language, she would jump out of bed in the middle of the night and "while everyone was still asleep" would learn "by heart all the lessons."

Her mother's intrigues with Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, did not help Catherine win approval in the eyes of Empress Elizabeth, however. When it was discovered that Frederick had asked Johanna to intercede secretly on behalf of Prussian interests at the Russian court, she was promptly banished from Russia in 1745. Mother and daughter never saw each other again. Catherine's private life became the domain of diplomats and courtiers; any letters to her family had to be sent through the College of Foreign Affairs. As a Grand Duchess, Catherine was a potential rival for the Empress Elizabeth, and it was deemed necessary to isolate her further. She later noted that "all those who were suspected in the slightest" of any affection or attachment were "either exiled or dismissed, and their number was not small."

Although the young bride would have been ready to accept her new husband "had he been capable of affection or willing to show any," Peter openly bragged to her of his sexual exploits with other women. It is no surprise then that Catherine also found love outside marriage; by most accounts she had 12 lovers in her lifetime. Contemporaries viewed her actions as a sign of moral laxness, but Catherine defended her behavior: "God is my judge that I did not take them out of looseness, to which I have no inclination." Catherine and Peter came to tolerate each other's extramarital relations. Peter kept his bedroom at a distance from hers, which facilitated her relations with her first lover, Sergius Saltykov, a Russian noble.

It was during this time that Catherine gave birth in 1754 to her son Paul. A rather important point of controversy arose over the identity of Paul's biological father--Peter Fyodorich or Sergius Saltykov--endangering her son's claim to the throne. After Catherine's death, Paul tried unsuccessfully to burn all copies of his mother's memoirs, which hinted that his father might have been Saltykov. Catherine's next lover was Stanislaw Poniatowski, a Polish nobleman. Together they had one child, Anne, who died in her second year. Catherine would later use her considerable Russian influence in Polish politics to get Poniatowski elected king of Poland.

Catherine was an avid reader: "I read anything that came my way." The writings of Plutarch, Tacitus, Machiavelli, and Montesquieu caught her attention, while she actively corresponded with Voltaire. As part of an 18th-century intellectual movement called the Enlightenment which taught reliance on reason over passion, Frenchmen Montesquieu and Voltaire insisted that logic prevail over old-fashioned traditions. All people were entitled to certain basic civil rights. It was the duty of governments to devise rational means to secure and increase the welfare of its citizens.

Peter meanwhile was becoming unpopular. An intense admirer of Frederick the Great, Peter's predilection for Prussian ways was especially irksome as Russia was then at war with Prussia. The Imperial Guard particularly resented Peter's introduction of Prussian uniforms and drills. Talk circulated about plans to pass over Peter in favor of his son Paul, with Catherine as regent. But when Elizabeth died in late 1761, Peter succeeded as Emperor Peter III.

Peter immediately ended the European phase of the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in America) by declaring peace with Prussia even though Russian armies were in a position to pursue further victories. The new Emperor also took to publicly disowning his wife. At this time, Catherine's lover was Gregory G. Orlov, who--along with his four brothers--was an influential leader among the élite guard regiments. It was with Orlov that Catherine gave birth in 1762 to another son who became known as Aleksey Bobrinksy. When the Orlov brothers orchestrated a plan to remove the unpopular Emperor, Catherine marched at the head of the army that arrested her husband. Peter was confined with his violin, his dog, his slave, and his mistress.


A Coup Elevates Catherine to the Throne

Since the seizure of St. Petersburg was sufficient to wrest control from the supposedly all-powerful Emperor, Catherine was then crowned as Catherine II, Empress of Russia. Then, just a few days after his arrest, at a drunken dinner attended by Orlov, Peter III was carried out dead; although no evidence has been found to substantiate the claim, suspicions suggested that Catherine planned the murder. The ease of the bloodless coup of June 1762 illustrates not only Catherine's political acumen, but also the instability or weakness of autocratic rulers in Russian history.

To secure her position and to appeal to the conservative elements in Russian society who opposed rapid change, Catherine maintained a strong interest in Orthodox rites to emphasize her advocacy of traditional Russian ways. Although in name Catherine was empress and absolute ruler of Russia, she was not an all-powerful ruler. In a decree of 1764, which appointed Prince Alexander A. Vyazemsky as procurator-general (a position roughly equivalent to prime minister), Catherine advised him that "in the senate you will find two parties. . . . You must not respect either one or the other side, but must treat each courteously and impartially, . . . and progress with firm steps by the shortest route to the truth." Vyazemsky so faithfully managed Catherine's wishes that he remained in office until his death almost 30 years later.

The atmosphere at Catherine's court was relaxed but industrious. The Empress rose at five or six in the morning and, after coffee, kept four secretaries busy during a 15-hour work day; she preferred to work in informal, modest dress except on ceremonial occasions. Later in her reign, her figure grew much fuller, and she preferred a comfortable light gown over the tightly corseted dresses of the court.


The Instruction Is Published

Catherine received early fame with the publication of the Instruction (Nakaz), which describes her ideal government for Russia. Her manifesto shares many 18th-century ideas. From Montesquieu, she borrowed the importance of the moral behavior of government officials; from the Italian jurist Beccaria, notions about criminal justice; sections from her Instruction even reflect the views on taxes and trade of the English economist Adam Smith.

It is interesting to note the resemblance between the Instruction and other political documents from this period. The fundamental documents of the United States are as much a product of the Enlightenment as Catherine's celebrated tract. The Bill of Rights insists that: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . . Cruel and unusual punishments [shall not be] inflicted." One can see sentiments in the Instruction:


Permission to believe according to one's own faith softens even the hardest hearts . . . , stifling those disputes detrimental to the tranquility of the state. . . . The use of torture is repugnant to a healthy and natural mind. . . . We [rulers] were created for our people. . . . For God forbid that after this legislation is finished any nation on earth should be more just and, consequently, more flourishing.

Shortly after the appearance of the Instruction in 1767, Catherine called forth representatives of all classes (except the serfs) to form a legislative commission to codify and simplify Russian laws and to apprise her of the needs of the country. In one clause of the Instruction, Catherine stated that land can be best cultivated by those who are free and own their land. Many of her contemporaries interpreted such a declaration as a sign of Catherine's commitment to the abolition of serfdom, a system by which many peasant farmers had to fulfill onerous obligations of forced labor for their landlords. But the provincial gentry upon whom she still depended insisted on serfdom, and Catherine claimed it was necessary to give in to their demands: "One is barely allowed to admit [serfs] are men like ourselves."

Despite her disclaimers, Catherine was instrumental in strengthening serfdom. During her reign girls were sold for 10 rubles, and she gifted various noblemen with over 800,000 peasants; one of her later decrees also legalized serfdom in the Ukraine. Moreover, though Catherine was an Enlightened ruler, she did not necessarily believe democracy was the best form of government. She prefaced her celebrated Instruction with the observation that:


an extensive Empire demands absolute Power in the Person who rules it: it is necessary that [quick] Dispatch in the Decision of Affairs sent from distant places compensate for the Delay occasioned by their remoteness. . . . It is better to obey the Laws under the direction of one Master, than to be subject to the Wills of many.

Catherine hinted at her fear that one group of nobility, without sincere intentions, could come to dominate all others in government. Autocratic government, she maintained, was the best for Russia: "What is the Object of absolute Government? Certainly not to deprive the People of their natural Liberty, but to direct their Conduct in such manner that the greatest good may be derived."

The Legislative Commission was adjourned, however, because of the impending war with Turkey. The Sultan of the Turkish Empire became apprehensive about the predominance of Russian influence in neighboring Poland. Catherine had succeeded in making the Polish king, Stanislaw Poniatowski, a pliant agent of Russian wishes. In 1768, war erupted when Polish nobles rebelled and formed the Confederation of the Bar, which opposed Russian influence over the king. The fighting spilled over into Turkey, which promptly declared war on Russia in hopes of reestablishing its sphere of influence in Poland. But Turkey was defeated both on land and sea, and in the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji of 1774, Russia gained permanent access to the Black Sea. Austria and Prussia were also alarmed by the growing Russian control of Eastern European affairs. To ensure equal influence in the region, it was decided to partition off parts of Poland (First Partition) to all three powers--Austria, Prussia and Russia. (Poland lost about one-third of her territory and one-half of her inhabitants.)

The end of hostilities came none too soon for Russia. Troops had to be amassed against Emilian Pugachev, leader of a massive rebellion against Russian authority in the eastern perimeters of the Empire. By pretending to be Catherine's dead husband Peter III, Pugachev was laying claim to the Russian throne. His appeal was directed toward serfs, factory peasants, Cossacks, and other minority groups which felt mistreated and cheated by their Russian masters.

As Catherine realized the danger, her temper erupted at her generals who could not subdue the first wave of Pugachev's revolt. It became imperative for her to win the support of significant segments of her Empire's eastern flank before Pugachev's appeal could penetrate further. The livelihood of the towns and the local gentry depended on the success of loyal government forces. To win support, Catherine focused on their concerns, reassuring the nobility and townspeople that their safety and welfare were the ultimate goals of her government. As troops continued to move east, the rebellion was subdued by late 1774.

To prevent further outbreaks, Catherine published her "Statute (uchrezhdenie) of 1775 on Provincial Government." She wrote in the preamble that her intention was to put an end to "neglect of duty, arbitrariness and chicanery" in provincial government. The provinces of Russia were largely governed through agents appointed directly by the central government in St. Petersburg; to aid these officials in the reform of Russian provincial government, the new statute called for the assistance of local gentry and townspeople in governing themselves through newly created elective offices.

Catherine published another major reform in 1785; the "Charters (gramota) to the Nobility and Towns" reaffirmed the freedom of the nobility to leave state service and guaranteed their right to own land. Prior to Catherine and Peter's reigns, the special privileges of the Russian gentry had been contingent upon a career in state service, either as civil servants or as soldiers. The "Charters to the Nobility" also emphasized property as a defining characteristic. Only nobles who owned a minimum of land and only those town merchants who possessed a minimum of assets could enjoy the special privileges of their class, such as exemption from taxes and the right to vote in local elections. Along with the emancipation of serfs in 1861 and the constitution of 1905, Catherine's "Charter of 1785" was a landmark in Russian civil rights and political development.

Earlier in 1774, Catherine had appointed Prince Gregory A. Potemkin adjutant general, an official title for the Empress's lovers. But this affair was to be different from others: after the end of their romantic relations, Potemkin continued to play a prominent role in Russian politics and foreign policy until his death in 1791.

Theories about the importance of a large population were popular in the 18th century, and Catherine believed that the greater the population, the greater the strength of the Russian Empire. At the beginning of her reign, some 20 million people lived in Russia; by the end of her reign, she had extended the borders of the Russian Empire to include some 36 million. She began active plans to colonize vast southern regions of Russia. Farmers from other countries were invited to settle in these unpopulated lands. Bulgarians, Germans, Greeks, Jews, and Rumanians made up a large number of these immigrants. Colonists in the southern regions along the Black Sea were given the right to free movement, a right denied to serf farmers to the north. But many serfs achieved their freedom by escaping to the southern regions where their labor was in high demand.

Potemkin played a prominent role in the economic development of the southern half of the Russian Empire. During his tenure in these regions, Catherine and Emperor Joseph II of Austria visited Potemkin, where he led them on a grand tour of all the improvements he had completed. Prior to the visit, Potemkin had ordered that counterfeit villages be erected with favorable facades to make them appear prosperous to his two distinguished guests. From this effort was coined the phrase "Potemkin villages" to mean any impressive facade that hides something undesirable. Many of Potemkin's efforts did result in genuine development, however. The cities of Kherson and Sebastopol, founded by Potemkin, exist to this day. He also founded the city of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipropetrovsk) in honor of the Empress.

Turkey, however, had plans to reconquer the Black Sea region from southern Russia. When late in 1787 Turkey declared war, Russia once again severely defeated its neighbor to the south. By 1792, the Peace of Jassy was signed, reaffirming Russia's presence along the Black Sea. It also brought an end to the kingdom of Poland. Although Poniatowski had pleaded with Catherine to allow a new constitution that could revitalize Poland and prevent an imminent rebellion of Poles against their foreign masters, she dismissed his proposal. After defeating the Polish rebels, Russia partitioned the rest of Poland among its neighbors, Prussia and Austria. Catherine justified her annexations by claiming it was Russia's historical destiny to reclaim lands that were once Russian. Clearly, the modern-day peoples of the region, the Poles, the Belorussians, the Ukrainians, would disagree that their lands ever "belonged" to Russia.


Domestic Accomplishments

The growth of the Russian Empire, both through internal development and external expansion, brought a need for a more extensive school system which could widen the pool of educated personnel to fill new government offices. Russians primarily received their education through private tutors. Catherine set up a commission in 1782 under the direction of her current favorite Peter A. Zavadovskii. By the end of her reign, this commission increased the number of grade schools in Russia from 50 to about 550 with at least one high school in each province. In St. Petersburg today one can visit the buildings of the Smolny Institute, which was founded by Catherine as a high school for young women from gentry families.

Two other architectural monuments commissioned under Catherine's reign are still noticeable landmarks in modern St. Petersburg. The Hermitage or west wing of the Winter Palace was finished under her direction. In tribute to the reforming spirit of Peter the Great, Catherine invited the French sculptor Etienne Falconnet to cast a large statue of the Emperor on horseback, which was later immortalized in the poem "Bronze Horseman" by the Russian poet Alexander S. Pushkin.

Catherine directly participated in the literary and intellectual life of Russian society. She sponsored and edited the journal Vsyakaya vsyachina (All Kinds of Things) in 1769, which inspired Nikolai I. Novikov (1744-1818) to create the first original Russian satire. Her patronage of the arts inspired two great literary figures of 18th-century Russia. As a government bureaucrat, Denis I. Fonvizin (1745-92) criticized Russia's current tendency for French mannerisms. Gavril R. Derzhavin's (1743-1816) series of poems, "Felitsa," serve as an ode to Catherine and the rule of reason.

Despite her liberal sentiments, Catherine did not warmly receive the news of the American Revolution of 1776 or the French Revolution in the 1790s. These struggles were an abomination to her sense of justice and order. The French revolutionaries had strayed from "legitimate authority" and from "every good moral doctrine"; the execution of their king Louis XVI by guillotine particularly outraged Catherine as the epitome of violence which "exceeded all bounds." As for the America's War for Independence, Catherine remarked that "rather than sign the separation of thirteen States [of America]. . . . I would have shot myself."

After the French Revolution, she became increasingly concerned that the destructive fury would spread to Russia. She began to take stern measures against any one who would question her authority. Now finding Novikov's politics to be too liberal and a threat to the autocratic nature of her government, she had him jailed. In 1790, when Alexander N. Radishchev published his Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow in which he discussed the horrors of serfdom and blamed the Empress for its continued existence, he too was jailed. Catherine felt that his criticism was harsh and seditious. Among those imprisoned was the Polish general Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who had fought on the side of the colonists in the American Revolution before returning to free his native Poland from foreign rulers.

Regardless of Catherine's lessening tolerance, the last years of her reign marked a growing variety of opposing opinions. When she lifted the ban on owning a private printing press, the publication of books flourished. During the last ten years of her reign, over 3,000 books were published, surpassing any previous decade in Russian history. Stimulated by Catherine's laws and writings, Russian society matured intellectually as the forum for public debate expanded. Newly founded Masonic lodges offered to civic-minded individuals the first meeting ground for public discussions that were not under government sponsorship.

Even after the French Revolution turned Catherine further away from democratic reform, she still respected the principles of liberty and read to her grandson, much to the irritation of her son Paul, the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Catherine decided to see personally to the education of young Alexander (the future Alexander I), hoping that he would serve the Russian State with principles she held dear.

Indeed, near the end of her reign, plans were afoot to skip over Paul in favor of Alexander, but Catherine suffered a stroke before she could publish an edict depriving Paul of the throne. After spending one day unconscious, she died on November 6, 1796. Paul had his mother buried next to Peter in St. Petersburg.


-- Contributed by David Katz, A.M., Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts


PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born Sophia Augusta Fredericka, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, a small principality in Germany, on April 21, 1729; died on November 6, 1796, in St. Petersburg; daughter of Christian August, prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and Johanna Elizabeth (from the family of Holstein-Gottorp, which ruled the Duchy of Holstein in Germany); first cousin to King Gustavus III of Sweden; married: second cousin Peter Fyodorvich (Peter III), 1744; children: Paul, Anne, Aleksey Bobrinksy. Predecessor: Peter III. Successor: her son, Paul I.

CHRONOLOGY
1729 Born in Germany
1744 Married Peter, heir to Russian throne
1754 Gave birth to future Emperor Paul I
1761 Elizabeth of Russia died; Peter became emperor
1762 Catherine usurped the throne from Peter
1764 Stanislaw Poniatowski became king of Poland
1767 Catherine convened the Legislative Commission based on her Instructions
1768 War with Turkey
1772 Russia occupied eastern flank of Poland during the First Partition of Poland
1774 Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji ended war with Turkey; Potemkin became chief advisor; Pugachev rebellion in Russia's southeast
1775 Pugachev executed; Catherine issued Statute on Provincial Administration
1785 Issued Charters to the Nobility and Towns
1787 War again with Turkey
1792 Peace of Jassy meant victory for Russia
1793 Poland again partitioned by Russia
1795 Last partition of Poland


FURTHER READINGS

Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great, Life and Legend. Oxford University Press, 1989.


De Madariaga, Isabel. Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great. Yale University Press, 1981.


Dukes, Paul. The Making of Russian Absolutism. 1613-1801. London: Longman, 1990.


Kliuchevskii, Vasilli O. Kurs russkoi istorii. Vol. 5. Moscow, 1958.


Kornilov, Alexander. Modern Russian History. Translated by A. Kaun. Knopf, 1948.


Mendelsohn, Ezra, and Marshall S. Shatz, eds. Imperial Russia, 1700-1917. Northern Illinois University Press, 1988.


Raeff, Marc, ed. Catherine the Great: A Profile. Hill & Wang, 1972.


------. Understanding Imperial Russia. Translated by A. Goldhammer. Columbia University Press, 1984.


Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 1984.


Troyat, Henri. Catherine the Great. Translated by J. Pinkham. Dutton, 1980.