Catherine II

Catherine II[a]
(born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 in Szczecin – 17 November 1796[b]), most

commonly known as Catherine the Great,[c] was Empress of All Russia from 1762 until 1796—the
country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état that overthrew her
husband and second cousin, Peter III. Under her reign, Russia grew larger, its culture was revitalised,
and it was recognized as one of the great powers worldwide.
In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites,
most notably Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such
as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev, and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor
Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and
diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Bar
confederation and Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774 due to the support of the
United Kingdom, and Russia colonised the territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of
the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's
former lover, King Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire
gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.
Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas (governorates), and many new cities and
towns were founded on her orders. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernize
Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the economy continued to
depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and of private landowners intensified the
exploitation of serf labour. This was one of the chief reasons behind rebellions, including the large-
scale Pugachev Rebellion of Cossacks, nomads, peoples of Volga and peasants.
The period of Catherine the Great's rule, the Catherinian Era,[1] is considered a Golden Age of Russia.
[2]
The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by
Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. Construction of many
mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the empress, changed the face of the
country. She enthusiastically supported the ideals of the Enlightenment and is often included in the
ranks of the enlightened despots.[3] As a patron of the arts, she presided over the age of the Russian
Enlightenment, including the establishment of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, the first state-
financed higher education institution for women in Europe.
Reign (1762–96)[edit]
Coronation (1762)[edit]
Catherine II on a balcony of the Winter Palace on 9 July [O.S. 28 June] 1762, the day of the coup
Catherine was crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September 1762.[31] Her

coronation marks the creation of one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty, the Imperial Crown
of Russia, designed by Swiss-French court diamond jeweller Jérémie Pauzié. Inspired by the Byzantine
Empire design, the crown was constructed of two half spheres, one gold and one silver, representing
the eastern and western Roman empires, divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop. The
crown contains 75 pearls and 4,936 Indian diamonds forming laurel and oak leaves, the symbols of
power and strength, and is surmounted by a 398.62-carat ruby spinel that previously belonged to the
Empress Elizabeth, and a diamond cross. The crown was produced in a record two months and
weighed 2.3 kg.[32] From 1762, the Great Imperial Crown was the coronation crown of all Romanov
emperors until the monarchy's abolition in 1918. It is one of the main treasures of the Romanov dynasty
and is now on display in the Moscow Kremlin Armoury Museum.[33]
Foreign affairs[edit]
Main article: Russian history, 1682–1796
Alexander Bezborodko, the chief architect of Catherine's foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin
During her reign, Catherine extended by some 520,000 square kilometres (200,000 sq mi) the borders
of the Russian Empire, absorbing New Russia, Crimea, Northern Caucasus, Right-bank Ukraine,
Belarus, Lithuania, and Courland at the expense, mainly, of two powers—the Ottoman Empire and
the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[34]
Russo-Persian War[edit]
In the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783) Russia agreed to protect Georgia against any new invasion and
further political aspirations of their Persian suzerains. Catherine waged a new war against Persia in
1796 after they, under the new king Agha Mohammad Khan, had again invaded Georgia and
established rule in 1795 and had expelled the newly established Russian garrisons in the Caucasus.
The ultimate goal for the Russian government, however, was to topple the anti-Russian shah (king), and
to replace him with a half-brother, Morteza Qoli Khan, who had defected to Russia and was therefore
pro-Russian.[40][41]
It was widely expected that a 13,000-strong Russian corps would be led by the seasoned general, Ivan
Gudovich, but the empress followed the advice of her lover, Prince Zubov, and entrusted the command
to his youthful brother, Count Valerian Zubov. The Russian troops set out from Kizlyar in April 1796 and
stormed the key fortress of Derbent on 10 May. The event was glorified by the court poet Derzhavin in
his famous ode; he later commented bitterly on Zubov's inglorious return from the expedition in another
remarkable poem.[42]
By mid-June 1796, Zubov's troops overran without any resistance most of the territory of modern-
day Azerbaijan, including three principal cities—Baku, Shemakha, and Ganja. By November, they were
stationed at the confluence of the Araks and Kura Rivers, poised to attack mainland Iran. In this month,
the empress of Russia died and her successor Paul, who detested that the Zubovs had other plans for
the army, ordered the troops to retreat to Russia. This reversal aroused the frustration and enmity of the
powerful Zubovs and other officers who took part in the campaign: many of them would be among the
conspirators who arranged Paul's murder five years later.[
Partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth[edit]

Main article: Partitions of Poland
The partitions of Poland, carried out by Russia, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy in 1772, 1793
and 1795
In 1764, Catherine placed Stanisław August Poniatowski, her former lover, on the Polish throne.
Although the idea of partitioning Poland came from the King Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine took a
leading role in carrying it out in the 1790s. In 1768, she formally became the protector of political rights
of dissidents and peasants of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-
Russian uprising in Poland, the Confederation of Bar (1768–72), supported by France. After the rebels,
their French and European volunteers and their allied Ottoman Empire had been defeated , she
established in the Rzeczpospolita, a system of government fully controlled by the Russian Empire
through a Permanent Council, under the supervision of her ambassadors and envoys.[45]
Being afraid of the May Constitution of Poland (1791) that might lead to a resurgence in the power of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the growing democratic movements inside the Commonwealth
might become a threat to the European monarchies, Catherine decided to refrain from her planned
intervention into France and to intervene in Poland instead. She provided support to a Polish anti-reform
group known as the Targowica Confederation. After defeating Polish loyalist forces in the Polish–
Russian War of 1792 and in the Kościuszko Uprising (1794), Russia completed the partitioning of
Poland, dividing all of the remaining Commonwealth territory with Prussia and Austria (1795).[46]

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Catherine II[a]

(born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 in Szczecin – 17 November 1796[b]), most

Catherine was crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September 1762.[31] Her

Partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth[edit]

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