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CATHERINE the GREAT

CATHERINE the GREAT Writer Rebecca Bradbury explores the ways in which this revolutionary ruler was instrumental in modernizing Russia There are two things that may surprise you about Catherine the Great. Firstly, her name was not Catherine, and secondly, she was not Russian. The woman who would go on to rule Russia for 34 years was, in fact, born Sophie Friederike Auguste in Prussia on April 21, 1729. And, although the daughter of a German prince, she was by no means considered a top-tier member of European nobility. But her ambitious mother’s campaigning paid off when Sophie was invited to Russia by Empress Elizabeth, Peter the Great’s daughter. Unmarried and childless, the Russian monarch had selected her nephew Peter as heir and was in search of a suitable bride. Elizabeth was immediately impressed with Sophie, and the couple was wed on August 21, 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 she was clearheaded and bright. 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 due to Catherine’s interventions. Believing her husband planned to divorce her, she worked with her lover, military officer Grigory Orlov, and her other allies to overthrow Peter. After just six months on the throne, Peter III was deposed in a coup d’état and assassinated eight days later. It cannot be proven Catherine was behind his death, but with Peter out of the picture, she became the new empress of Russia on September 22, 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 (Stanisław II August Poniatowski) as king of Poland—Catherine was widely known for rewarding her “favorites” with titles and land, as well as parting ways with them amicably and remaining friends. Catherine also expanded Russia’s borders, continuing the process of Above: Catherine the Great, one of Russiaʼs most influential rulers 76 VIKING.COM EXPLORE MORE

CULTURE & SCIENCE Westernization begun by Peter the Great. Two successful wars waged against the Ottoman Empire brought her Crimea and, therefore, access to the Black Sea. In total, she added 200,000 square miles to Russian lands, becoming a major world power. ART AND CULTURE Catherine the Great made huge strides in other areas too. When she first took the throne, Russia was seen as a provincial wilderness by many Europeans. To change this view, the monarch became a patron of literature, the arts, science and education. Early in her reign, she began a 15-year correspondence with the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, among others. The pair discussed everything from disease prevention to Catherine’s love of English gardens. Holding European philosophies and culture close to her heart, Catherine surrounded herself with like-minded people in Russia. She believed that a “new kind of person” could be created by inculcating Russian children with European education and consulted a variety of educational pioneers. Catherine sent Russian artists and scholars abroad to learn from Western examples, while foreign architects, artists and scientists came to St. Petersburg to enrich the city’s appearance and cultural life. She herself wrote comedies, fiction and memoirs—and even had a go at composing an opera. Art was another area of interest for the ruler, and in 1764, she purchased a set of 225 paintings including works by Rembrandt and Frans Hals from a Berlin merchant. With these works, she founded the Hermitage and went on to collect and commission thousands of additional pieces. SERFDOM AND REBELLION Other attempts at reform were not as satisfying for Catherine. Before her accession, she had planned to emancipate the serfs, but quickly realized this would never be tolerated by the conservative landowners on whom she depended for support. So, instead, she ended up giving the nobility more control. Such actions resulted in 160 documented uprisings in the first ten years of Catherine’s reign. The most dangerous was the Pugachev Rebellion. It was led by Yemelyan Pugachev, who gained momentum by pretending to be Catherine’s dead husband, Peter III. But Pugachev and his supporters were defeated in August 1774, and their revolution fell apart. These social failings, however, cannot overshadow the other successes Catherine achieved throughout her reign—nor can her infamous lineup of favorites. One lover of note, though, is Grigory Potemkin. Not only was the Russian military leader the most powerful of her romantic attachments, but he was also said to be the greatest love of her life. A 2019 four-part drama starring British actress Helen Mirren followed the end of Catherine’s reign and the pair’s unique relationship. Thirty-four years after assuming the throne, Catherine the Great passed away on November 6, 1796. Succeeded by her son, Tsar Paul I, she continues to be a source of national pride for modern-day Russians. One of her biggest legacies is to have been a woman who became synonymous with a momentous era in the development of her country. Clockwise, from top left: Detail of the Hermitage Museum’s opulent Jordan Staircase; Catherine Palace in Pushkin, originally commissioned for Peter the Great’s wife; the War Gallery of 1812 at the Hermitage EXPLORE MORE VIKING.COM 77