Explore More Autumn 2019

18 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK |

18 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK | AUTUMN 2019

CULTURE Catherine the Great Intelligent, ruthless and revolutionary, Rebecca Bradbury explains how Catherine the Great was instrumental in pushing Russia into the modern world PHOTOS: © ALAMY Opposite: On the throne for over 30 years, Catherine the Great was one of Russia’s most influential rulers There are two things that may surprise you about Catherine the Great. Firstly, her name wasn’t Catherine and, secondly, she wasn’t Russian. The woman who would go on to rule Russia for 34 years was, in fact, born Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst in Prussia on 21 April 1729. And although a daughter of an obscure German prince, she was by no means considered as a top-tier member of the European nobility. But her ambitious mother’s campaigning paid off when Sophie was invited to Russia by Empress Elizabeth, a daughter of Peter the Great. Unmarried and childless, the Russian monarch had selected her nephew Peter as heir and was now in search of a suitable bride. Sophie made an immediate impression on Elizabeth, if not on her intended husband, and the couple were wed on 21 August 1745 with the bride (a new convert to Orthodox Christianity) now bearing the name Ekaterina, or Catherine. THE PATH TO POWER The marriage between Catherine and Peter was unhappy from the start. He was reportedly neurotic, petty and small-minded, whereas Holding European culture close to her heart, Catherine surrounded herself with like-minded people she was clearheaded, bright and driven. Both had affairs, with Catherine taking up at least three lovers during her husband’s lifetime. Yet, despite their fraught relationship, they did have one son, Paul, nine years into their marriage. Following the death of Empress Elizabeth, Catherine’s husband became Tsar Peter III in January 1762. An unpopular ruler, his reign did not last long, and this was mainly down to Catherine’s interventions. Believing her husband planned to divorce her, she worked with her lover, Grigory Orlov, a military officer, and her other allies to overthrow him. After just six months on the throne, Peter III was deposed in a coup d’état and murdered eight days later. It can’t be proved Catherine was behind his death but, with Peter out of the picture, she officially became the new empress of Russia on 22 September 1762. FOREIGN AFFAIRS Truly dedicated to her adopted country, Empress Catherine II (as she was now known) intended to make Russia a prosperous and powerful state. During the early years of her reign, she reduced the power of the clergy, and continued to preserve friendly relations with Prussia, France and Austria. In 1764, she specified Poland’s borders and installed a former lover (Stanislaw II Augustus) as King of Poland – Catherine was renowned AUTUMN 2019 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 19