Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg was born on 2 May 1729, in Pomerania, Prussia. She was the eldest child of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and his wife, Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Sophie had an uneventful childhood and, although she was a princess, her family had very little money. Sophie's rise to power was supported by her mother's wealthy relatives.
The choice of Sophie as the wife of her second cousin, the future tsar Peter III, had the goal to strengthen the friendship between Russia and Prussia and to weaken Austria's influence. Sophie first met Peter at the age of ten...and she found him detestable! She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such an young age. Empress Elizabeth loved Sophie who, on arrival in Russia in 1744, spared no effort to ingratiate herself not only with the Empress, but with her husband and the Russian people.
On 28 June 1744, the Russian Orthodox Church received Sophie as a member and she took the name of Catherine Alexeievna. On the following day, Peter and Catherine were formally engaged; the marriage finally happened on 21 August 1745 in Saint Petersburg. The newlyweds moved to the palace of Oranienbaum. Some rumours about the couple's intimate affairs surfaced: Peter took a mistress and Catherine carried liaisons with several men.
After the death of Empress Elizabeth on 5 January 1762, Peter succeeded to the throne as Emperor Peter III; Catherine was now Empress consort of Russia. The tsar's eccentricities and policies alienated the same groups that Catherine had cultivated while living at Oranienbaum and his insistence on supporting Prussia during the Seven Years' War eroded much of his support among nobility.
In July 1762, barely six months after becoming Emperor, Peter went to holiday at Oranienbaum, leaving his wife in Saint Petersburg. On the night of 8 July, Catherine was given news that one of her co-conspirators had been arrested by Peter and that all they had been planning had to take place at once. She left the palace and went for the Ismailovsky regiment, where she delivered a speech asking the soldiers to protect her from her husband. Then, she left with the regiment to go to the Semenovsky barracks, where the clergy was awaiting to ordain her the sole occupant of the Russian throne. Catherine had her husband arrested and forced him to sign a document of abdication.
On 17 July 1762, Peter III of Russia died at the hands of Alexei Orlov. Catherine, though not descended from any previous Russian emperor, succeeded to her husband as Empress regnant. Catherine II of Russia was crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September 1762.
During her reign, Catherine extended the borders of Russia southward and westward at the expense of two powers: the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. While Peter the Great had succeeded only in gaining a toehold in the south on the edge of the Black Sea, Catherine completed the conquest of the south. She made Russia the dominant power in South-Eastern Europe after her first Russo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire.
The economic development of Russia was well below the standards in Western Europe. Historian François Cruzet says Catherine's Russia had neither a free peasantry, nor a significant middle class, nor legal norms hospitable to private enterprise. Still, there was a start of industry, mainly textiles around Moscow and ironworks in the Ural Mountains, with a labour force mainly of serfs, bound to their works. She strongly encouraged the migration of farmers from Germany who had settled in the valley of the Volga river; they helped modernise the sector that totally dominated the Russian economy by introducing numerous innovations.
Catherine had a reputation as a patron of the arts, literature, and education. The Hermitage Museum began as Catherine's personal collection. She wrote a manual for the education of young children and founded the famous Smolny Institute, a school which admitted young girls of the nobility. During her reign, Russians imported and studied the classical and European influences that inspired the Russian Enlightenment. Gavrila Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin and Ippolit Bogdanovich laid the groundwork for the great Russian writers of the 19th century, especially for Alexander Pushkin.
Catherine held western European philosophies and culture close to her heart. She though a new kind of person could be created by inculcating Russian children with European education: she believed education could change the hearts and minds of the Russian people and turn them away from backwardness. This meant developing individuals both intellectually and morally, providing them with knowledge and skills. The Establishment of the Moscow Foundling Home was the first attempt at achieving that goal; however, this orphanage was unsuccessful mainly due to the extremely high mortality rates, which prevented many of the children from living long enough to develop into the enlightened subjects the state desired.
The choice of Sophie as the wife of her second cousin, the future tsar Peter III, had the goal to strengthen the friendship between Russia and Prussia and to weaken Austria's influence. Sophie first met Peter at the age of ten...and she found him detestable! She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such an young age. Empress Elizabeth loved Sophie who, on arrival in Russia in 1744, spared no effort to ingratiate herself not only with the Empress, but with her husband and the Russian people.
On 28 June 1744, the Russian Orthodox Church received Sophie as a member and she took the name of Catherine Alexeievna. On the following day, Peter and Catherine were formally engaged; the marriage finally happened on 21 August 1745 in Saint Petersburg. The newlyweds moved to the palace of Oranienbaum. Some rumours about the couple's intimate affairs surfaced: Peter took a mistress and Catherine carried liaisons with several men.
After the death of Empress Elizabeth on 5 January 1762, Peter succeeded to the throne as Emperor Peter III; Catherine was now Empress consort of Russia. The tsar's eccentricities and policies alienated the same groups that Catherine had cultivated while living at Oranienbaum and his insistence on supporting Prussia during the Seven Years' War eroded much of his support among nobility.
In July 1762, barely six months after becoming Emperor, Peter went to holiday at Oranienbaum, leaving his wife in Saint Petersburg. On the night of 8 July, Catherine was given news that one of her co-conspirators had been arrested by Peter and that all they had been planning had to take place at once. She left the palace and went for the Ismailovsky regiment, where she delivered a speech asking the soldiers to protect her from her husband. Then, she left with the regiment to go to the Semenovsky barracks, where the clergy was awaiting to ordain her the sole occupant of the Russian throne. Catherine had her husband arrested and forced him to sign a document of abdication.
On 17 July 1762, Peter III of Russia died at the hands of Alexei Orlov. Catherine, though not descended from any previous Russian emperor, succeeded to her husband as Empress regnant. Catherine II of Russia was crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September 1762.
During her reign, Catherine extended the borders of Russia southward and westward at the expense of two powers: the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. While Peter the Great had succeeded only in gaining a toehold in the south on the edge of the Black Sea, Catherine completed the conquest of the south. She made Russia the dominant power in South-Eastern Europe after her first Russo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire.
The economic development of Russia was well below the standards in Western Europe. Historian François Cruzet says Catherine's Russia had neither a free peasantry, nor a significant middle class, nor legal norms hospitable to private enterprise. Still, there was a start of industry, mainly textiles around Moscow and ironworks in the Ural Mountains, with a labour force mainly of serfs, bound to their works. She strongly encouraged the migration of farmers from Germany who had settled in the valley of the Volga river; they helped modernise the sector that totally dominated the Russian economy by introducing numerous innovations.
Catherine had a reputation as a patron of the arts, literature, and education. The Hermitage Museum began as Catherine's personal collection. She wrote a manual for the education of young children and founded the famous Smolny Institute, a school which admitted young girls of the nobility. During her reign, Russians imported and studied the classical and European influences that inspired the Russian Enlightenment. Gavrila Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin and Ippolit Bogdanovich laid the groundwork for the great Russian writers of the 19th century, especially for Alexander Pushkin.
Catherine held western European philosophies and culture close to her heart. She though a new kind of person could be created by inculcating Russian children with European education: she believed education could change the hearts and minds of the Russian people and turn them away from backwardness. This meant developing individuals both intellectually and morally, providing them with knowledge and skills. The Establishment of the Moscow Foundling Home was the first attempt at achieving that goal; however, this orphanage was unsuccessful mainly due to the extremely high mortality rates, which prevented many of the children from living long enough to develop into the enlightened subjects the state desired.
On 5 August 1786, the Russian Statute of National Education was promulgated. This established a two-tier network of high schools and primary schools in guberniya capitals that were free of charges, open to all of the free classes (but not serfs). Religious education was also strictly reviewed. By 1786, Catherine had excluded all religion and clerical studied programmes from lay education. By separating the public interests from those of the church, Catherine began a secularisation of the day-to-day workings of Russia.
Catherine also initiated some changes to serfdom. If a noble didn't live up to his side of the deal, then the serfs could file complaints against him by following the proper channels of law. In this act, she gave the serfs a legitimate bureaucratic status they lacked before. Although she did not want to communicate directly with them, Catherine created some measures to improve their conditions as a class and to reduce the size of the institution of serfdom. For example, she took action to limit the number of new serfs and eliminated many ways for people to become serfs.
On 16 November 1796, Catherine rose early in the morning and had her usual coffee. She settled down to work on papers at her study and told her maid she had not slept so well in a long time. Sometime after 9 o'clock that morning, Catherine went to her dressing room and collapsed from a stroke. Worried by her absence, her attendant opened the door and peered in. Catherine was sprawled on the floor, her face was purplish, her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow and laboured. Despite all attempts to revive the Empress, she fell into a coma, from which she never recovered.
Catherine the Great died on 17 November 1796, at the age of 67.
Catherine also initiated some changes to serfdom. If a noble didn't live up to his side of the deal, then the serfs could file complaints against him by following the proper channels of law. In this act, she gave the serfs a legitimate bureaucratic status they lacked before. Although she did not want to communicate directly with them, Catherine created some measures to improve their conditions as a class and to reduce the size of the institution of serfdom. For example, she took action to limit the number of new serfs and eliminated many ways for people to become serfs.
On 16 November 1796, Catherine rose early in the morning and had her usual coffee. She settled down to work on papers at her study and told her maid she had not slept so well in a long time. Sometime after 9 o'clock that morning, Catherine went to her dressing room and collapsed from a stroke. Worried by her absence, her attendant opened the door and peered in. Catherine was sprawled on the floor, her face was purplish, her pulse was weak and her breathing was shallow and laboured. Despite all attempts to revive the Empress, she fell into a coma, from which she never recovered.
Catherine the Great died on 17 November 1796, at the age of 67.
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| Catherine II of Russia Vigilius Eriksen (1766/7) |
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