The reign of Catherine II. Biography of Empress Catherine II the Great - key events, people, intrigues Which empress was Catherine 2

Empress of All Russia (June 28, 1762 - November 6, 1796). Her reign is one of the most remarkable in Russian history; and its dark and light sides had a tremendous influence on subsequent events, especially on the mental and cultural development of the country. The wife of Peter III, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbt (born April 24, 1729), was naturally gifted with a great mind and strong character; on the contrary, her husband was a weak man, poorly brought up. Not sharing his pleasures, Catherine devoted herself to reading and soon moved from novels to historical and philosophical books. A select circle formed around her, in which Catherine’s greatest trust was enjoyed first by Saltykov, and then by Stanislav Poniatovsky, later the King of Poland. Her relationship with Empress Elizabeth was not particularly cordial: when Catherine’s son, Paul, was born, the Empress took the child to her place and rarely allowed the mother to see him. Elizabeth died on December 25, 1761; with the accession of Peter III to the throne, Catherine’s position became even worse. The coup of June 28, 1762 elevated Catherine to the throne (see Peter III). The harsh school of life and enormous natural intelligence helped Catherine both get out of a very difficult situation and lead Russia out of it. The treasury was empty; the monopoly crushed trade and industry; factory peasants and serfs were worried about rumors of freedom, which were renewed every now and then; peasants from the western border fled to Poland. Under such circumstances, Catherine ascended the throne, the rights to which belonged to her son. But she understood that this son would become a plaything on the throne, like Peter II. The regency was a fragile affair. The fate of Menshikov, Biron, Anna Leopoldovna was in everyone’s memory.

Catherine's penetrating gaze stopped equally attentively on the phenomena of life both at home and abroad. Having learned, two months after her accession to the throne, that the famous French Encyclopedia had been condemned by the Parisian parliament for atheism and its continuation was prohibited, Catherine invited Voltaire and Diderot to publish the encyclopedia in Riga. This one proposal won over the best minds, who then gave direction to public opinion throughout Europe, to Catherine’s side. In the fall of 1762, Catherine was crowned and spent the winter in Moscow. In the summer of 1764, Second Lieutenant Mirovich decided to elevate to the throne Ioann Antonovich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, who was kept in the Shlisselburg fortress. The plan failed - Ivan Antonovich, during an attempt to free him, was shot by one of the guard soldiers; Mirovich was executed by court verdict. In 1764, Prince Vyazemsky, sent to pacify the peasants assigned to the factories, was ordered to investigate the question of the benefits of free labor over hired labor. The same question was proposed to the newly established Economic Society (see Free Economic Society and Serfdom). First of all, the issue of the monastery peasants, which had become especially acute even under Elizabeth, had to be resolved. At the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth returned the estates to monasteries and churches, but in 1757 she, along with the dignitaries around her, came to the conviction of the need to transfer the management of church property to secular hands. Peter III ordered that Elizabeth's instructions be fulfilled and the management of church property be transferred to the board of economy. Inventories of monastery property were carried out, under Peter III, extremely roughly. When Catherine II ascended the throne, the bishops filed complaints with her and asked for the return of control of church property to them. Catherine, on the advice of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, satisfied their desire, abolished the board of economy, but did not abandon her intention, but only postponed its execution; She then ordered that the 1757 commission resume its studies. It was ordered to make new inventories of monastic and church property; but the clergy was also dissatisfied with the new inventories; The Rostov Metropolitan Arseny Matseevich especially rebelled against them. In his report to the synod, he expressed himself harshly, arbitrarily interpreting church historical facts, even distorting them and making comparisons offensive to Catherine. The Synod presented the matter to the Empress, in the hope (as Solovyov thinks) that Catherine II this time will show her usual gentleness. The hope was not justified: Arseny's report caused such irritation in Catherine, which had not been noticed in her either before or since. She could not forgive Arseny for comparing her with Julian and Judas and the desire to make her out to be a violator of her word. Arseny was sentenced to exile to the Arkhangelsk diocese, to the Nikolaev Korelsky Monastery, and then, as a result of new accusations, to deprivation of the monastic dignity and lifelong imprisonment in Revel (see Arseny Matseevich). The following incident from the beginning of her reign is typical for Catherine II. The matter of allowing Jews to enter Russia was reported. Catherine said that to begin her reign with a decree on the free entry of Jews would be a bad way to calm minds; It is impossible to recognize entry as harmful. Then Senator Prince Odoevsky suggested looking at what Empress Elizabeth wrote in the margins of the same report. Catherine demanded a report and read: “I do not want selfish profit from the enemies of Christ.” Turning to the prosecutor general, she said: “I wish this case to be postponed.”

The increase in the number of serfs through huge distributions to the favorites and dignitaries of the populated estates, the establishment of serfdom in Little Russia, completely remains a dark stain on the memory of Catherine II. One should not, however, lose sight of the fact that the underdevelopment of Russian society at that time was evident at every step. So, when Catherine II decided to abolish torture and proposed this measure to the Senate, senators expressed concern that if torture was abolished, no one, going to bed, would be sure whether he would get up alive in the morning. Therefore, Catherine, without abolishing torture publicly, sent out a secret order that in cases where torture was used, judges would base their actions on Chapter X of the Order, in which torture is condemned as a cruel and extremely stupid thing. At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, an attempt was renewed to create an institution resembling the Supreme Privy Council or the Cabinet that replaced it, in a new form, under the name of the permanent council of the empress. The author of the project was Count Panin. Feldzeichmeister General Villebois wrote to the Empress: “I don’t know who the drafter of this project is, but it seems to me as if, under the guise of protecting the monarchy, he is subtly leaning more towards aristocratic rule.” Villebois was right; but Catherine II herself understood the oligarchic nature of the project. She signed it, but kept it under wraps and it was never made public. Thus Panin's idea of ​​a council of six permanent members remained just a dream; Catherine II's private council always consisted of rotating members. Knowing how Peter III's defection to Prussia irritated public opinion, Catherine ordered Russian generals to remain neutral and thereby contributed to ending the war (see Seven Years' War). The internal affairs of the state required special attention: what was most striking was the lack of justice. Catherine II expressed herself energetically on this matter: “extortion has increased to such an extent that there is hardly the smallest place in the government in which a court would be held without infecting this ulcer; if anyone is looking for a place, he pays; if anyone is defending himself from slander, he defends himself with money; Whether anyone slanderes anyone, he backs up all his cunning machinations with gifts.” Catherine was especially amazed when she learned that within the current Novgorod province they took money from peasants for swearing allegiance to her. This state of justice forced Catherine II to convene a commission in 1766 to publish the Code. Catherine II handed this commission an Order, which it was to be guided by when drawing up the Code. The mandate was drawn up based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria (see Mandate [ Big] and the Commission of 1766). Polish affairs, the first Turkish war that arose from them, and internal unrest suspended the legislative activity of Catherine II until 1775. Polish affairs caused the divisions and fall of Poland: under the first partition of 1773, Russia received the current provinces of Mogilev, Vitebsk, part of Minsk, i.e. most of Belarus (see Poland). The first Turkish war began in 1768 and ended in peace in Kucuk-Kaynarji, which was ratified in 1775. According to this peace, the Porte recognized the independence of the Crimean and Budzhak Tatars; ceded Azov, Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn to Russia; opened free passage for Russian ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean; granted forgiveness to Christians who took part in the war; allowed Russia's petition in Moldovan cases. During the first Turkish war, a plague raged in Moscow, causing a plague riot; In eastern Russia, an even more dangerous rebellion broke out, known as the Pugachevshchina. In 1770, the plague from the army entered Little Russia; in the spring of 1771 it appeared in Moscow; the commander-in-chief (currently the governor-general) Count Saltykov left the city to the mercy of fate. Retired General Eropkin voluntarily took upon himself the difficult responsibility of maintaining order and easing the plague through preventive measures. The townsfolk did not follow his instructions and not only did not burn the clothes and linen of those who died of the plague, but they hid their very death and buried them in the outskirts. The plague intensified: in the early summer of 1771, 400 people died every day. The people crowded in horror at the Barbarian Gate, in front of the miraculous icon. The infection from crowding of people, of course, intensified. The then Moscow Archbishop Ambrose (q.v.), an enlightened man, ordered the icon to be removed. A rumor immediately spread that the bishop, together with the doctors, had conspired to kill the people. The ignorant and fanatical crowd, mad with fear, killed the worthy archpastor. Rumors spread that the rebels were preparing to set fire to Moscow and exterminate doctors and nobles. Eropkin, with several companies, managed, however, to restore calm. In the last days of September, Count Grigory Orlov, then the closest person to Catherine, arrived in Moscow: but at this time the plague was already weakening and stopped in October. This plague killed 130,000 people in Moscow alone.

The Pugachev rebellion was started by the Yaik Cossacks, dissatisfied with the changes in their Cossack life. In 1773, the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev (q.v.) took the name of Peter III and raised the banner of rebellion. Catherine II entrusted the pacification of the rebellion to Bibikov, who immediately understood the essence of the matter; It’s not Pugachev that’s important, he said, it’s the general displeasure that’s important. The Yaik Cossacks and the rebellious peasants were joined by the Bashkirs, Kalmyks, and Kyrgyz. Bibikov, giving orders from Kazan, moved detachments from all sides to more dangerous places; Prince Golitsyn liberated Orenburg, Mikhelson - Ufa, Mansurov - Yaitsky town. At the beginning of 1774, the rebellion began to subside, but Bibikov died of exhaustion, and the rebellion flared up again: Pugachev captured Kazan and moved to the right bank of the Volga. Bibikov's place was taken by Count P. Panin, but did not replace him. Mikhelson defeated Pugachev near Arzamas and blocked his path to Moscow. Pugachev rushed to the south, took Penza, Petrovsk, Saratov and hanged nobles everywhere. From Saratov he moved to Tsaritsyn, but was repulsed and at Cherny Yar was again defeated by Mikhelson. When Suvorov arrived to the army, the impostor barely held on and was soon betrayed by his accomplices. In January 1775, Pugachev was executed in Moscow (see Pugachevshchina). Since 1775, the legislative activity of Catherine II resumed, which, however, had not stopped before. Thus, in 1768, the commercial and noble banks were abolished and the so-called assignat or change bank was established (see Assignations). In 1775, the existence of the Zaporozhye Sich, which was already heading towards collapse, ceased to exist. In the same 1775, the transformation of provincial government began. An institution was published for the management of provinces, which was introduced for twenty whole years: in 1775 it began with the Tver province and ended in 1796 with the establishment of the Vilna province (see Governorate). Thus, the reform of provincial government, begun by Peter the Great, was brought out of the chaotic state by Catherine II and completed by her. In 1776, Catherine ordered the word in petitions slave replace with the word loyal. Towards the end of the first Turkish war, Potemkin, who strove for great things, became especially important. Together with his collaborator, Bezborodko, he compiled a project known as the Greek one. The grandeur of this project - by destroying the Ottoman Porte, restoring the Greek Empire, to the throne of which Konstantin Pavlovich would be installed - pleased E. An opponent of Potemkin’s influence and plans, Count N. Panin, tutor of Tsarevich Paul and president of the College of Foreign Affairs, in order to distract Catherine II from the Greek project , presented her with a project of armed neutrality in 1780. Armed neutrality (q.v.) was intended to provide protection to the trade of neutral states during the war and was directed against England, which was unfavorable for Potemkin’s plans. Pursuing his broad and useless plan for Russia, Potemkin prepared an extremely useful and necessary thing for Russia - the annexation of Crimea. In Crimea, since the recognition of its independence, two parties were worried - Russian and Turkish. Their struggle gave rise to the occupation of Crimea and the Kuban region. The Manifesto of 1783 announced the annexation of Crimea and the Kuban region to Russia. The last Khan Shagin-Girey was sent to Voronezh; Crimea was renamed the Tauride province; Crimean raids stopped. It is believed that as a result of the raids of the Crimeans, Great and Little Russia and part of Poland, from the 15th century. until 1788, it lost from 3 to 4 million of its population: captives were turned into slaves, captives filled harems or became, like slaves, in the ranks of female servants. In Constantinople, the Mamelukes had Russian nurses and nannies. In the XVI, XVII and even in the XVIII centuries. Venice and France used shackled Russian slaves purchased in the markets of the Levant as galley laborers. The pious Louis XIV tried only to ensure that these slaves did not remain schismatics. The annexation of Crimea put an end to the shameful trade in Russian slaves (see V. Lamansky in the Historical Bulletin for 1880: “The Power of the Turks in Europe”). Following this, Irakli II, the king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. The year 1785 was marked by two important pieces of legislation: Charter granted to the nobility(see nobility) and City regulations(see City). The charter on public schools on August 15, 1786 was implemented only on a small scale. Projects to found universities in Pskov, Chernigov, Penza and Yekaterinoslav were postponed. In 1783, the Russian Academy was founded to study the native language. The founding of the institutions marked the beginning of women's education. Orphanages were established, smallpox vaccination was introduced, and the Pallas expedition was equipped to study the remote outskirts.

Potemkin's enemies interpreted, not understanding the importance of acquiring Crimea, that Crimea and Novorossiya were not worth the money spent on their establishment. Then Catherine II decided to explore the newly acquired region herself. Accompanied by the Austrian, English and French ambassadors, with a huge retinue, in 1787 she set off on a journey. The Archbishop of Mogilev, Georgy Konissky, met her in Mstislavl with a speech that was famous by her contemporaries as an example of eloquence. The whole character of the speech is determined by its beginning: “Let us leave it to the astronomers to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun: our sun moves around us.” In Kanev, Stanislav Poniatovsky, King of Poland, met Catherine II; near Keidan - Emperor Joseph II. He and Catherine laid the first stone of the city of Yekaterinoslav, visited Kherson and inspected the Black Sea fleet that Potemkin had just created. During the journey, Joseph noticed the theatricality in the situation, saw how people were hastily herded into villages that were supposedly under construction; but in Kherson he saw the real deal - and gave justice to Potemkin.

The Second Turkish War under Catherine II was fought in alliance with Joseph II, from 1787 to 1791. In 1791, on December 29, peace was concluded in Iasi. For all the victories, Russia received only Ochakov and the steppe between the Bug and the Dnieper (see Turkish wars and the Peace of Jassy). At the same time, there was, with varying success, a war with Sweden, declared by Gustav III in 1789 (see Sweden). It ended on August 3, 1790 with the Peace of Verel (see), based on the status quo. During the 2nd Turkish War, a coup took place in Poland: on May 3, 1791, a new constitution was promulgated, which led to the second partition of Poland, in 1793, and then to the third, in 1795 (see Poland). Under the second section, Russia received the rest of the Minsk province, Volyn and Podolia, and under the 3rd - the Grodno Voivodeship and Courland. In 1796, in the last year of the reign of Catherine II, Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku; His successes were stopped by the death of Catherine.

The last years of the reign of Catherine II were darkened, from 1790, by a reactionary direction. Then the French Revolution broke out, and the pan-European, Jesuit-oligarchic reaction entered into an alliance with our reaction at home. Her agent and instrument was Catherine’s last favorite, Prince Platon Zubov, together with his brother, Count Valerian. European reaction wanted to drag Russia into the struggle with revolutionary France - a struggle alien to the direct interests of Russia. Catherine II spoke kind words to the representatives of the reaction and did not give a single soldier. Then the undermining of the throne of Catherine II intensified, and accusations were renewed that she was illegally occupying the throne that belonged to Pavel Petrovich. There is reason to believe that in 1790 an attempt was being made to elevate Pavel Petrovich to the throne. This attempt was probably connected with the expulsion of Prince Frederick of Württemberg from St. Petersburg. The reaction at home then accused Catherine of allegedly being excessively free-thinking. The basis for the accusation was, among other things, permission to translate Voltaire and participation in the translation of Belisarius, Marmontel's story, which was found anti-religious, because it did not indicate the difference between Christian and pagan virtue. Catherine II grew old, there was almost no trace of her former courage and energy - and so, under such circumstances, in 1790 Radishchev’s book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” appeared, with a project for the liberation of the peasants, as if written out from the published articles of her Order. The unfortunate Radishchev was punished by exile to Siberia. Perhaps this cruelty was the result of the fear that the exclusion of articles on the emancipation of peasants from the Order would be considered hypocrisy on the part of Catherine. In 1792, Novikov, who had served so much in Russian education, was imprisoned in Shlisselburg. The secret motive for this measure was Novikov’s relationship with Pavel Petrovich. In 1793, Knyazhnin suffered cruelly for his tragedy "Vadim". In 1795, even Derzhavin was suspected of being in a revolutionary direction, for his transcription of Psalm 81, entitled “To Rulers and Judges.” Thus ended the educational reign of Catherine the Second, which raised the national spirit, this great man(Catherine le grand). Despite the reaction of recent years, the name of educational activity will remain with him in history. From this reign in Russia they began to realize the importance of humane ideas, they began to talk about the right of man to think for the benefit of his own kind. had a great influence on the general course of affairs." Under Catherine, Zubov’s influence was harmful, but only because he was an instrument of a harmful party.].

Literature. The works of Kolotov, Sumarokov, Lefort are panegyrics. Of the new ones, Brickner's work is more satisfactory. Bilbasov's very important work is not finished; Only one volume was published in Russian, two in German. S. M. Solovyov, in the XXIX volume of his history of Russia, focused on peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi. The foreign works of Rulière and Custer cannot be ignored only because of undeserved attention to them. Of the countless memoirs, Khrapovitsky's memoirs are especially important (the best edition is by N.P. Barsukova). See Waliszewski's newest work: "Le Roman d"une impératrice". Works on individual issues are indicated in the corresponding articles. The publications of the Imperial Historical Society are extremely important.

E. Belov.

Gifted with literary talent, receptive and sensitive to the phenomena of life around her, Catherine II took an active part in the literature of her time. The literary movement she excited was dedicated to the development of educational ideas of the 18th century. Thoughts on education, briefly outlined in one of the chapters of “Instruction,” were subsequently developed in detail by Catherine in allegorical tales: “About Tsarevich Chlor” (1781) and “About Tsarevich Fevey” (1782), and mainly in “Instructions to Prince N. Saltykov" given upon his appointment as tutor to the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich (1784). Catherine mainly borrowed the pedagogical ideas expressed in these works from Montaigne and Locke: from the first she took a general view of the goals of education, and she used the second when developing particulars. Guided by Montaigne, Catherine II put the moral element in first place in education - the rooting in the soul of humanity, justice, respect for laws, and condescension towards people. At the same time, she demanded that the mental and physical aspects of education be properly developed. Personally raising her grandchildren until the age of seven, she compiled an entire educational library for them. Catherine also wrote “Notes on Russian History” for the Grand Dukes. In purely fictional works, which include magazine articles and dramatic works, Catherine II is much more original than in works of a pedagogical and legislative nature. Pointing out actual contradictions to the ideals that existed in society, her comedies and satirical articles were supposed to significantly contribute to the development of public consciousness, making the importance and expediency of the reforms she was undertaking more clear.

The beginning of Catherine II's public literary activity dates back to 1769, when she became an active collaborator and inspirer of the satirical magazine "Everything and Everything" (see). The patronizing tone adopted by "Everything and Everything" in relation to other magazines, and the instability of its direction, soon armed almost all the magazines of that time against it; her main opponent was the brave and direct “Drone” of N. I. Novikov. The latter's harsh attacks on judges, governors and prosecutors greatly displeased "Everything"; It is impossible to say positively who conducted the polemics against “Drone” in this magazine, but it is reliably known that one of the articles directed against Novikov belonged to the empress herself. In the period from 1769 to 1783, when Catherine again acted as a journalist, she wrote five comedies, and between them her best plays: “About Time” and “Mrs. Vorchalkina’s Name Day.” The purely literary merits of Catherine's comedies are not high: they have little action, the intrigue is too simple, the denouement is monotonous. They are written in the spirit and model of French modern comedies, in which servants are more developed and intelligent than their masters. But at the same time, in Catherine’s comedies, purely Russian social vices are ridiculed and Russian types appear. Hypocrisy, superstition, bad education, the pursuit of fashion, blind imitation of the French - these are the themes that Catherine developed in her comedies. These themes had already been outlined earlier in our satirical magazines of 1769 and, by the way, “Everything and Everything”; but what was presented in magazines in the form of separate pictures, characteristics, sketches, in the comedies of Catherine II received a more complete and vivid image. The types of the stingy and heartless prude Khanzhakhina, the superstitious gossip Vestnikova in the comedy "About Time", the petimeter Firlyufyushkov and the projector Nekopeikov in the comedy "Mrs. Vorchalkina's Name Day" are among the most successful in Russian comic literature of the last century. Variations of these types are repeated in other comedies of Catherine.

By 1783, Catherine’s active participation in the “Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word,” published at the Academy of Sciences, edited by Princess E. R. Dashkova, dates back. Here Catherine II placed a number of satirical articles entitled “Fables and Fables.” The initial purpose of these articles was, apparently, a satirical depiction of the weaknesses and funny aspects of the society contemporary to the empress, and the originals for such portraits were often taken by the empress from among those close to her. Soon, however, “Were and Fables” began to serve as a reflection of the magazine life of “Interlocutor”. Catherine II was the unofficial editor of this magazine; as can be seen from her correspondence with Dashkova, she read many of the articles sent for publication in the magazine while still in manuscript; some of these articles touched her to the quick: she entered into polemics with their authors, often making fun of them. For the reading public, Catherine’s participation in the magazine was no secret; Articles of letters were often sent to the address of the author of Fables and Fables, in which rather transparent hints were made. The Empress tried as much as possible to maintain composure and not give away her incognito identity; only once, enraged by Fonvizin’s “impudent and reprehensible” questions, she so clearly expressed her irritation in “Facts and Fables” that Fonvizin considered it necessary to rush with a letter of repentance. In addition to “Facts and Fables,” the empress placed in “Interlocutor” several small polemical and satirical articles, mostly ridiculing the pompous writings of random employees of “Interlocutor” - Lyuboslov and Count S.P. Rumyantsev. One of these articles (“The Society of the Unknowing, a daily note”), in which Princess Dashkova saw a parody of the meetings of the then newly founded, in her opinion, Russian Academy, served as the reason for the termination of Catherine’s participation in the magazine. In subsequent years (1785-1790), Catherine wrote 13 plays, not counting dramatic proverbs in French, intended for the Hermitage theater.

The Masons have long attracted the attention of Catherine II. If you believe her words, she took the trouble to familiarize herself in detail with the vast Masonic literature, but did not find anything in Freemasonry other than “stupidity.” Stay in St. Petersburg. (in 1780) Cagliostro, whom she described as a scoundrel worthy of the gallows, armed her even more against the Freemasons. Receiving alarming news about the increasingly increasing influence of Moscow Masonic circles, seeing among her entourage many followers and defenders of the Masonic teaching, the Empress decided to fight this “folly” with literary weapons, and within two years (1785-86) she wrote one the other, three comedies ("The Deceiver", "The Seduced" and "The Siberian Shaman"), in which Freemasonry was ridiculed. Only in the comedy "The Seduced" are there, however, life traits reminiscent of the Moscow Freemasons. "The Deceiver" is directed against Cagliostro. In “The Shaman of Siberia,” Catherine II, obviously unfamiliar with the essence of Masonic teaching, did not think to bring it on the same level with shamanic tricks. There is no doubt that Catherine’s satire did not have much effect: Freemasonry continued to develop, and in order to deal a decisive blow to it, the empress no longer resorted to meek methods of correction, as she called her satire, but to drastic and decisive administrative measures.

In all likelihood, Catherine’s acquaintance with Shakespeare, in French or German translations, also dates back to this time. She remade The Witches of Windsor for the Russian stage, but this rework turned out to be extremely weak and bears very little resemblance to the original Shakespeare. In imitation of his historical chronicles, she composed two plays from the life of the ancient Russian princes - Rurik and Oleg. The main significance of these “Historical Representations,” which are extremely weak in literary terms, lies in the political and moral ideas that Catherine puts into the mouths of the characters. Of course, these are not the ideas of Rurik or Oleg, but the thoughts of Catherine II herself. In comic operas, Catherine II did not pursue any serious goal: these were situational plays in which the main role was played by the musical and choreographic side. The empress took the plot for these operas, for the most part, from folk tales and epics, known to her from manuscript collections. Only “The Woe-Bogatyr Kosometovich,” despite its fairy-tale character, contains an element of modernity: this opera showed the Swedish king Gustav III, who at that time opened hostile actions against Russia, in a comic light, and was removed from the repertoire immediately after the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Catherine's French plays, the so-called “proverbs,” are small one-act plays, the plots of which were, for the most part, episodes from modern life. They do not have any special significance, repeating themes and types already introduced in other comedies of Catherine II. Catherine herself did not attach importance to her literary activity. “I look at my writings,” she wrote to Grimm, “as trifles. I love to do experiments in all kinds, but it seems to me that everything I wrote is rather mediocre, which is why, apart from entertainment, I did not attach any importance to it.”

Works of Catherine II published by A. Smirdin (St. Petersburg, 1849-50). Exclusively literary works of Catherine II were published twice in 1893, edited by V. F. Solntsev and A. I. Vvedensky. Selected articles and monographs: P. Pekarsky, “Materials for the history of the journal and literary activities of Catherine II” (St. Petersburg, 1863); Dobrolyubov, st. about the “Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word” (X, 825); "Works of Derzhavin", ed. J. Grota (St. Petersburg, 1873, vol. VIII, pp. 310-339); M. Longinov, “Dramatic works of Catherine II” (M., 1857); G. Gennadi, “More about the dramatic writings of Catherine II” (in “Biblical Zap.”, 1858, No. 16); P. K. Shchebalsky, “Catherine II as a Writer” (Zarya, 1869-70); his, “Dramatic and morally descriptive works of Empress Catherine II” (in “Russian Bulletin”, 1871, vol. XVIII, nos. 5 and 6); N. S. Tikhonravov, “Literary trifles of 1786.” (in the scientific and literary collection, published by "Russkie Vedomosti" - "Help to the Starving", M., 1892); E. S. Shumigorsky, “Essays from Russian history. I. Empress-publicist” (St. Petersburg, 1887); P. Bessonova, “On the influence of folk art on the dramas of Empress Catherine and on the integral Russian songs inserted here” (in the magazine “Zarya”, 1870); V. S. Lebedev, “Shakespeare in the adaptations of Catherine II” (in the Russian Bulletin) (1878, No. 3); N. Lavrovsky, “On the pedagogical significance of the works of Catherine the Great” (Kharkov, 1856); A. Brickner, “Comic Opera Catherine II "Woe-hero" ("J. M. N. Pr.", 1870, No. 12); A. Galakhov, "There were also Fables, the work of Catherine II" ("Notes of the Fatherland" 1856, No. 10).

V. Solntsev.

The Golden Age, the Age of Catherine, the Great Reign, the heyday of absolutism in Russia - this is how historians have designated and continue to designate the time of the reign of Russia by Empress Catherine II (1729-1796)

“Her reign was successful. As a conscientious German, Catherine worked diligently for the country that gave her such a good and profitable position. She naturally saw the happiness of Russia in the greatest possible expansion of the boundaries of the Russian state. By nature she was smart and cunning, well versed in the intrigues of European diplomacy. Cunning and flexibility were the basis of what in Europe, depending on the circumstances, was called the policy of Northern Semiramis or the crimes of Moscow Messalina.” (M. Aldanov “Devil's Bridge”)

Years of reign of Russia by Catherine the Great 1762-1796

Catherine the Second's real name was Sophia Augusta Frederika of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was the daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, the commandant of the city of Stettin, which was located in Pomerania, a region subject to the Kingdom of Prussia (today the Polish city of Szczecin), who represented “a side line of one of the eight branches of the house of Anhalst.”

“In 1742, the Prussian king Frederick II, wanting to annoy the Saxon court, which hoped to marry his princess Maria Anna to the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Karl-Ulrich of Holstein, who suddenly became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, began hastily looking for another bride for the Grand Duke.

The Prussian king had three German princesses in mind for this purpose: two from Hesse-Darmstadt and one from Zerbst. The latter was the most suitable in age, but Friedrich knew nothing about the fifteen-year-old bride herself. They only said that her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, led a very frivolous lifestyle and that it is unlikely that little Fike was really the daughter of the Zerbst prince Christian Augustus, who served as governor in Stetin.”

How long, short, but in the end the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna chose little Fike as a wife for her nephew Karl-Ulrich, who became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich in Russia, the future Emperor Peter III.

Biography of Catherine II. Briefly

  • 1729, April 21 (Old style) - Catherine the Second was born
  • 1742, December 27 - on the advice of Frederick II, the mother of Princess Ficken (Fike) sent a letter to Elizabeth with New Year congratulations
  • 1743, January - kind reply letter
  • 1743, December 21 - Johanna Elisabeth and Ficken received a letter from Brumner, the teacher of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, with an invitation to come to Russia

“Your Grace,” Brummer wrote meaningfully, “are too enlightened not to understand the true meaning of the impatience with which Her Imperial Majesty wishes to see you here as soon as possible, as well as your princess daughter, about whom rumor has told us so many good things.”

  • 1743, December 21 - on the same day a letter from Frederick II was received in Zerbst. The Prussian king... persistently advised to go and keep the trip strictly secret (so that the Saxons would not find out ahead of time)
  • 1744, February 3 - German princesses arrived in St. Petersburg
  • 1744, February 9 - the future Catherine the Great and her mother arrived in Moscow, where the court was located at that moment
  • 1744, February 18 - Johanna Elisabeth sent a letter to her husband with the news that their daughter was the bride of the future Russian Tsar
  • 1745, June 28 - Sofia Augusta Frederica converted to Orthodoxy and new name Catherine
  • 1745, August 21 - marriage of Catherine
  • 1754, September 20 - Catherine gave birth to a son, heir to the throne Paul
  • 1757, December 9 - Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died 3 months later
  • 1761, December 25 - Elizaveta Petrovna died. Peter the Third became Tsar

“Peter the Third was the son of the daughter of Peter I and the grandson of the sister of Charles XII. Elizabeth, having ascended the Russian throne and wanting to secure it behind her father’s line, sent Major Korf with instructions to take her nephew from Kiel and deliver him to St. Petersburg at all costs. Here the Holstein Duke Karl-Peter-Ulrich was transformed into Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich and forced to study the Russian language and the Orthodox catechism. But nature was not as favorable to him as fate... He was born and grew up as a frail child, poorly endowed with abilities. Having become an orphan at an early age, Peter in Holstein received a worthless upbringing under the guidance of an ignorant courtier.

Humiliated and embarrassed in everything, he acquired bad tastes and habits, became irritable, cantankerous, stubborn and false, acquired a sad inclination to lie..., and in Russia he also learned to get drunk. In Holstein he was taught so poorly that he came to Russia as a 14-year-old complete ignoramus and even amazed Empress Elizabeth with his ignorance. The rapid change of circumstances and educational programs completely confused his already fragile head. Forced to learn this and that without connection and order, Peter ended up learning nothing, and the dissimilarity of the Holstein and Russian situations, the meaninglessness of the Kiel and St. Petersburg impressions completely weaned him from understanding his surroundings. ...He was fascinated by the military glory and strategic genius of Frederick II...” (V. O. Klyuchevsky “Course of Russian History”)

  • 1762, April 13 - Peter made peace with Frederick. All lands captured by Russia from Prussia during the course were returned to the Germans
  • 1762, May 29 - union treaty between Prussia and Russia. Russian troops were transferred to the disposal of Frederick, which caused sharp discontent among the guards

(The flag of the guard) “became the empress. The emperor lived badly with his wife, threatened to divorce her and even imprison her in a monastery, and in her place put a person close to him, the niece of Chancellor Count Vorontsov. Catherine stayed aloof for a long time, patiently enduring her situation and not entering into direct relations with the dissatisfied.” (Klyuchevsky)

  • 1762, June 9 - at the ceremonial dinner on the occasion of the confirmation of this peace treaty, the emperor proposed a toast to the imperial family. Catherine drank her glass while sitting. When Peter asked why she did not stand up, she replied that she did not consider it necessary, since the imperial family consists entirely of the emperor, herself and their son, the heir to the throne. “And my uncles, the Holstein princes?” - Peter objected and ordered Adjutant General Gudovich, who was standing behind his chair, to approach Catherine and say a swear word to her. But, fearing that Gudovich might soften this uncivil word during the transfer, Peter himself shouted it across the table for all to hear.

    The Empress burst into tears. That same evening it was ordered to arrest her, which, however, was not carried out at the request of one of Peter’s uncles, the unwitting culprits of this scene. From that time on, Catherine began to listen more attentively to the proposals of her friends, which were made to her, starting from the very death of Elizabeth. The enterprise was sympathized with by many people from high society in St. Petersburg, most of whom were personally offended by Peter

  • 1762, June 28 - . Catherine is proclaimed empress
  • 1762, June 29 - Peter the Third abdicated the throne
  • 1762, July 6 - killed in prison
  • 1762, September 2 - Coronation of Catherine the Second in Moscow
  • 1787, January 2-July 1 -
  • 1796, November 6 - death of Catherine the Great

Domestic policy of Catherine II

- Changes in central government: in 1763, the structure and powers of the Senate were streamlined
- Liquidation of the autonomy of Ukraine: liquidation of the hetmanate (1764), liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich (1775), serfdom of the peasantry (1783)
- Further subordination of the church to the state: secularization of church and monastic lands, 900 thousand church serfs became state serfs (1764)
- Improving legislation: a decree on tolerance for schismatics (1764), the right of landowners to send peasants to hard labor (1765), the introduction of a noble monopoly on distilling (1765), a ban on peasants filing complaints against landowners (1768), the creation of separate courts for nobles, townspeople and peasants (1775), etc.
- Improving the administrative system of Russia: dividing Russia into 50 provinces instead of 20, dividing provinces into districts, dividing power in provinces by function (administrative, judicial, financial) (1775);
- Strengthening the position of the nobility (1785):

  • confirmation of all class rights and privileges of the nobility: exemption from compulsory service, from poll tax, corporal punishment; the right to unlimited disposal of estate and land together with the peasants;
  • the creation of noble estate institutions: district and provincial noble assemblies, which met once every three years and elected district and provincial leaders of the nobility;
  • assigning the title of “noble” to the nobility.

“Catherine the Second well understood that she could stay on the throne only by pleasing the nobility and officers in every possible way - in order to prevent or at least reduce the danger of a new palace conspiracy. This is what Catherine did. Her entire internal policy boiled down to ensuring that the life of the officers at her court and in the guards units was as profitable and pleasant as possible.”

- Economic innovations: establishment of a financial commission to unify money; establishment of a commission on commerce (1763); manifesto on the general demarcation to fix land plots; establishment of the Free Economic Society to assist noble entrepreneurship (1765); financial reform: introduction of paper money - assignats (1769), creation of two assignat banks (1768), issue of the first Russian external loan (1769); establishment of the postal department (1781); permission for private individuals to open a printing house (1783)

Foreign policy of Catherine II

  • 1764 - Treaty with Prussia
  • 1768-1774 — Russian-Turkish War
  • 1778 - Restoration of the alliance with Prussia
  • 1780 - union of Russia and Denmark. and Sweden for the purpose of protecting navigation during the American Revolutionary War
  • 1780 - Defensive Alliance of Russia and Austria
  • 1783, April 8 -
  • 1783, August 4 - establishment of a Russian protectorate over Georgia
  • 1787-1791 —
  • 1786, December 31 - trade agreement with France
  • 1788 June - August - war with Sweden
  • 1792 - severance of relations with France
  • 1793, March 14 - Treaty of Friendship with England
  • 1772, 1193, 1795 - participation together with Prussia and Austria in the partitions of Poland
  • 1796 - war in Persia in response to the Persian invasion of Georgia

Personal life of Catherine II. Briefly

“Catherine, by nature, was neither evil nor cruel... and overly power-hungry: all her life she was invariably under the influence of successive favorites, to whom she gladly ceded her power, interfering in their disposal of the country only when they very clearly showed their inexperience, inability or stupidity: she was smarter and more experienced in business than all her lovers, with the exception of Prince Potemkin.
There was nothing excessive in Catherine’s nature, except for a strange mixture of the coarsest sensuality that grew stronger over the years with purely German, practical sentimentality. At sixty-five years old, she, as a girl, fell in love with twenty-year-old officers and sincerely believed that they were also in love with her. In her seventh decade, she cried bitter tears when it seemed to her that Platon Zubov was more restrained with her than usual.”(Mark Aldanov)

Catherine II.F.Rokotov

Facts about the life and reign of one of the most powerful, glorious and controversial monarchs of the Russian Empire, Empress Catherine II

1. During the reign of Catherine the Great from 1762 to 1796, the empire’s possessions expanded significantly. Of the 50 provinces, 11 were acquired during her reign. The amount of government revenue increased from 16 to 68 million rubles. 144 new cities were built (more than 4 cities per year throughout the reign). The army almost doubled, the number of ships in the Russian fleet increased from 20 to 67 battleships, not counting other ships. The army and navy won 78 brilliant victories that strengthened Russia's international authority.

    Palace Embankment

    Access to the Black and Azov Seas was won, Crimea, Ukraine (except for the Lvov region), Belarus, Eastern Poland, and Kabarda were annexed. The annexation of Georgia to Russia began.

    Moreover, during her reign, only one execution was carried out - the leader of the peasant uprising, Emelyan Pugachev.

    F.Rokotov

    2. The Empress’s daily routine was far from the ordinary people’s idea of ​​royal life. Her day was scheduled by the hour, and its routine remained unchanged throughout her reign. Only the time of sleep changed: if in her mature years Catherine got up at 5, then closer to old age - at 6, and towards the end of her life at 7 o'clock in the morning. After breakfast, the Empress received high-ranking officials and secretaries of state. The days and hours of reception for each official were constant. The working day ended at four o'clock, and it was time to rest. Hours of work and rest, breakfast, lunch and dinner were also constant. At 10 or 11 pm Catherine finished the day and went to bed.

    3. Every day 90 rubles were spent on food for the Empress (for comparison: a soldier’s salary during the reign of Catherine was only 7 rubles a year). The favorite dish was boiled beef with pickles, and currant juice was consumed as a drink. For dessert, preference was given to apples and cherries.

    4. After lunch, the empress began to do needlework, and Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy read aloud to her at this time. Ekaterina “masterfully sewed on canvas” and knitted. Having finished reading, she went to the Hermitage, where she sharpened bone, wood, amber, engraved, and played billiards.

    View of the Winter Palace

    5. Catherine was indifferent to fashion. She didn’t notice her, and sometimes she quite deliberately ignored her. On weekdays, the Empress wore a simple dress and did not wear jewelry.

    D.Levitsky

    6. By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she wrote plays, and even sent some of them to Voltaire for “review.”

    7. Catherine came up with a special suit for the six-month-old Tsarevich Alexander, the pattern of which was asked from her for her own children by the Prussian prince and the Swedish king. And for her beloved subjects, the empress came up with the cut of a Russian dress, which they were forced to wear at her court.

    8. People who knew Catherine closely note her attractive appearance not only in her youth, but also in her mature years, her exceptionally friendly appearance, and ease of manner. Baroness Elizabeth Dimmesdale, who was first introduced to her along with her husband in Tsarskoye Selo at the end of August 1781, described Catherine as: “a very attractive woman with lovely expressive eyes and an intelligent look.”

    View of the Fontanka

    9. Catherine was aware that men liked her and she herself was not indifferent to their beauty and masculinity. “I received from nature great sensitivity and appearance, if not beautiful, then at least attractive. I liked the first time and did not use any art or embellishment for this.”

    I. Faizullin. Catherine’s visit to Kazan

    10. The Empress was quick-tempered, but knew how to control herself, and never made decisions in a fit of anger. She was very polite even with the servants, no one heard a rude word from her, she did not order, but asked to do her will. Her rule, according to Count Segur, was “to praise out loud and scold quietly.”

    Oath of the Izmailovsky Regiment to Catherine II

    11. Rules hung on the walls of the ballrooms under Catherine II: it was forbidden to stand in front of the empress, even if she approached the guest and spoke to him while standing. It was forbidden to be in a gloomy mood, to insult each other." And on the shield at the entrance to the Hermitage there was an inscription: "The mistress of these places does not tolerate coercion."

    scepter

    12. Thomas Dimmesdale, an English doctor was called from London to introduce smallpox vaccinations in Russia. Knowing about society's resistance to innovation, Empress Catherine II decided to set a personal example and became one of Dimmesdale's first patients. In 1768, an Englishman inoculated her and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich with smallpox. The recovery of the empress and her son became a significant event in the life of the Russian court.

    Johann the Elder Lampi

    13. The Empress was a heavy smoker. The cunning Catherine, not wanting her snow-white gloves to become saturated with a yellow nicotine coating, ordered the tip of each cigar to be wrapped in a ribbon of expensive silk.

    Coronation of Catherine II

    14. The Empress read and wrote in German, French and Russian, but made many mistakes. Catherine was aware of this and once admitted to one of her secretaries that “she could only learn Russian from books without a teacher,” since “Aunt Elizaveta Petrovna told my chamberlain: it’s enough to teach her, she’s already smart.” As a result, she made four mistakes in a three-letter word: instead of “yet,” she wrote “ischo.”

    15. Long before her death, Catherine composed an epitaph for her future tombstone: “Here lies Catherine the Second. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At the age of fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth and the people She did not miss anything to achieve success in this regard. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness prompted her to read many books. Having ascended to the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She easily forgave and did not hate anyone. She was forgiving, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a kind heart. She liked social entertainment and the arts."

    Gallery of portraits of Empress Catherine II the Great

    Artist Antoine Peng. Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine II

    Father, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, came from the Zerbst-Dorneburg line of the House of Anhalt and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, where the future empress was born, ran for duke of Courland, but unsuccessfully , ended his service as a Prussian field marshal.

    Artist Antoine Peng. Johanna Elisabeth of Anhalt of Zerbst, mother of Catherine II

    Mother - Johanna Elisabeth, from the Gottorp estate, was a cousin of the future Peter III. Johanna Elisabeth's ancestry goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.

    Grotto Georg-Christophe (Groоth, Groot).1748


    Shettin Castle

    Georg Groth

    Grotto. PORTRAIT OF GRAND DUKE PETER FEDOROVICH AND GRAND DUCHESS EKATERINA ALEXEEVNA. 1760s.

    Pietro Antonio Rotari.1760,1761


    V.Eriksen.Equestrian portrait of Catherine the Great

    Eriksen, Vigilius.1762

    I. P. Argunov Portrait of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.1762

    Eriksen.Catherine II at the mirror.1762

    Ivan Argunov.1762

    V.Eriksen.1782

    Eriksen.1779

    Eriksen.Catherine II at the mirror.1779

    Eriksen.1780


    Lampi Johann-Batis.1794

    R. Brompton. 1782

    D.Levitsky.1782

    P.D.Levitsky.Portrait of Catherine II .1783

Alexey Antropov

Portrait of Empress Catherine II in a traveling suit. SHIBANOV Mikhail. 1780

V. Borovikovsky. Catherine IIon a walk in Tsarskoye Selo Park.1794


Borovikovsky Vladimir Lukich.Portrait of Catherine II

Favorites of Catherine II

Grigory Potemkin

Perhaps the most important among the favorites, who did not lose his influence even after Catherine began to pay attention to others. He earned the attention of the Empress during the palace coup. She singled him out among other employees of the Horse Guards regiment, he immediately became a chamber cadet at court with an appropriate salary and a gift in the form of 400 peasant souls.Grigory Potemkin is one of the few lovers of Catherine II, who pleased not only her personally, but also did a lot of useful things for the country. He built not only “Potemkin villages”. It was thanks to Potemkin that the active development of Novorossia and Crimea began. Although his actions were partly the reason for the start of the Russian-Turkish war, it ended with another victory for Russian weapons. In 1776, Potemkin ceased to be a favorite, but remained a man whose advice Catherine II listened to until his death. Including choosing new favorites.


Grigory Potemkin and Elizaveta Tiomkina, daughter of the Most Serene Prince and Russian Empress


J. de Velli. Portrait of Counts G. G. and A. G. Orlov

Grigory Orlov

Grigory Orlov grew up in Moscow, but exemplary service and distinction in the Seven Years' War contributed to his transfer to the capital - St. Petersburg. There he gained fame as a reveler and “Don Juan.” Tall, stately, beautiful - the young wife of the future emperor Ekaterina Alekseevna simply could not help but pay attention to him.His appointment as treasurer of the Office of the Main Artillery and Fortification allowed Catherine to use public money to organize a palace coup.Although he was not a major statesman, sometimes he fulfilled the delicate requests of the empress herself. Thus, according to one version, together with his brother Orlov, he took the life of Catherine II’s lawful husband, the deposed Emperor Peter III.

Stanislav August Poniatowski

Known for his elegant manners, the Polish aristocrat of an ancient family, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, first met Catherine in 1756. He lived in London for many years and ended up in St. Petersburg as part of the English diplomatic mission. Poniatowski was not an official favorite, but he was still considered the empress’s lover, which gave him weight in society. With the ardent support of Catherine II, Poniatowski became the king of Poland. It is possible that Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna, recognized by Peter III, is actually the daughter of Catherine and a handsome Polish man. Peter III lamented: “God knows how my wife gets pregnant; I don’t know for sure whether this child is mine and whether I should recognize him as mine.”

Peter Zavadovsky

This time Catherine was attracted by Zavadovsky, a representative of a famous Cossack family. He was brought to court by Count Pyotr Rumyantsev, a favorite of another empress, Elizabeth Petrovna. A charming man with a pleasant character, Catherine II was once again struck to the heart. In addition, she found him “quieter and more humble” than Potemkin.In 1775 he was appointed cabinet secretary. Zavadovsky received the rank of major general, 4 thousand peasant souls. He even settled in the palace. Such an approach to the empress alarmed Potemkin and, as a result of palace intrigues, Zavadovsky was removed and went to his estate. Despite this, he remained faithful to her and loved her passionately for a long time, marrying only 10 years later. In 1780, he was recalled by the empress back to St. Petersburg, where he held high administrative positions, including becoming the first minister of public education.

Platon Zubov

Platon Zubov began his path to Catherine with service in the Semenovsky regiment. He enjoyed the patronage of Count Nikolai Saltykov, the tutor of the Empress’s grandchildren. Zubov began to command the horse guards, who went to Tsarskoe Selo to stand guard. On June 21, 1789, with the help of state lady Anna Naryshkina, he received an audience with Catherine II and since then spent almost every evening with her. Just a few days later he was promoted to colonel and settled in the palace. He was received coldly at court, but Catherine II was crazy about him. After Potemkin’s death, Zubov played an increasingly important role, and Catherine never had time to be disappointed in him - she died in 1796. Thus, he became the last favorite of the empress. Later, he would take an active part in a conspiracy against Emperor Paul I, as a result of which he was killed, and Zubov’s friend Alexander I became the head of state. Guglielmi, Gregorio. Apotheosis of the reign of Catherine II .1767


Catherine II is the great Russian empress, whose reign became the most significant period in Russian history. The era of Catherine the Great is marked by the “golden age” of the Russian Empire, whose cultural and political life the queen raised to the European level.

Portrait of Catherine II. Artist Vladimir Borovikovsky / Tretyakov Gallery

The biography of Catherine II is full of light and dark stripes, numerous plans and achievements, as well as a stormy personal life, about which films are made and books are written to this day.

Childhood and youth

Catherine II was born on May 2 (April 21, old style) 1729 in Prussia in the family of the governor of Stettin, Prince of Zerbst and the Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp. Despite the rich pedigree, the princess's family did not have a significant fortune, but this did not stop her parents from providing home education for their daughter. At the same time, the future Russian empress learned English, Italian and French at a high level, mastered dancing and singing, and also gained knowledge about the basics of history, geography and theology.

As a child, the young princess was a playful and curious child with a pronounced “boyish” character. She did not show bright mental abilities and did not demonstrate her talents, but she helped her mother in raising her younger sister Augusta, which suited both parents. In her youth, her mother called Catherine II Fike, which means little Federica.


Catherine II in her youth. Artist Louis Caravaque / Gatchina Palace

At the age of 15, it became known that the Princess of Zerbst had been chosen as a bride for the heir Peter Fedorovich, who later became the Russian Emperor. The princess and her mother were secretly invited to Russia, where they went under the name of the Countesses of Rhinebeck.

The girl immediately began to study Russian history, language and Orthodoxy in order to learn more fully about her new homeland. Soon she converted to Orthodoxy and was named Ekaterina Alekseevna, and the next day she became engaged to Pyotr Fedorovich, who was her second cousin.

Palace coup and ascension to the throne

After the wedding with Peter III, nothing changed in the life of the future Russian empress - she continued to devote herself to self-education, studying philosophy, jurisprudence and the works of world famous authors, since her husband showed no interest in her and openly had fun with other ladies in front of her eyes. After 9 years of marriage, when the relationship between Peter and Catherine finally went wrong, the queen gave birth to an heir to the throne, who was immediately taken away from her and was not allowed to see him.


Paul I, son of Catherine II. Artist Alexander Roslin / easyArt

Then a plan to overthrow her husband from the throne matured in the head of Catherine the Great. She subtly, clearly and prudently organized a palace coup, in which she was helped by the English Ambassador Williams and the Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Count Alexei Bestuzhev.

It soon became clear that both confidants of the future Russian empress had betrayed her. But Catherine did not abandon this plan and found new allies in its implementation. They were the Orlov brothers, adjutant Fyodor Khitrov and sergeant. Foreigners also took part in organizing the palace coup, providing sponsorship to bribe the right people.


Portrait of Catherine II on horseback. Artist Virgilius Eriksen / Peterhof

In 1762, the Empress was ready to take an irrevocable step - she went to St. Petersburg, where the guards units, who by that time were already dissatisfied with the military policy of Emperor Peter III, swore allegiance to her. After this, he abdicated the throne, was taken into custody and soon died under unknown circumstances. 2 months later, on September 22, 1762, Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was crowned in Moscow and became the Russian Empress Catherine II.

Reign and achievements of Catherine II

From the very first day of her ascension to the throne, the queen clearly outlined her royal tasks and began to implement them. She quickly formulated and carried out reforms in the Russian Empire, which affected all spheres of life of the population. Catherine the Great pursued a policy that took into account the interests of all classes, which won the support of her subjects.


Portrait of Catherine II. Unknown artist / Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts

To pull the Russian Empire out of the financial quagmire, the tsarina carried out secularization and took away the lands of churches, turning them into secular property. This made it possible to pay off the army and replenish the treasury of the empire by 1 million peasant souls. At the same time, she managed to quickly establish trade in Russia, doubling the number of industrial enterprises in the country. Thanks to this, the amount of state revenue increased 4 times, the empire was able to maintain a large army and begin the development of the Urals.

As for Catherine’s domestic policy, today it is called “enlightened absolutism”, because the empress tried to achieve the “common good” for society and the state. The absolutism of Catherine II was marked by the adoption of new legislation, which was adopted on the basis of the “Order of Empress Catherine,” containing 526 articles.


Empress Catherine II. Artist Dmitry Levitsky / Tretyakov Gallery

They spoke about the principles that were to guide the deputies-lawmakers, primarily about the ideas of Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Leron d'Alembert and other educators. The Code of Laws was developed by the Statutory Commission specially convened in 1766.

Due to the fact that the queen’s political activities were still of a “pro-noble” nature, from 1773 to 1775 she was faced with a peasant uprising led by. The peasant war engulfed almost the entire empire, but the state army suppressed the rebellion and arrested Pugachev, who was subsequently beheaded. This was the only decree on the death penalty that the empress issued during her reign.

In 1775, Catherine the Great carried out a territorial division of the empire and expanded Russia into 11 provinces. During her reign, Russia acquired Azov, Crimea, Kuban, as well as parts of Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and the western part of Volyn. Catherine's provincial reform, according to researchers, had a number of significant shortcomings.


Catherine II's departure for falconry. Artist Valentin Serov / State Russian Museum

When forming provinces, the national composition of the population was not taken into account; moreover, its implementation required an increase in budget expenditures. At the same time, elected courts were introduced in the country, which dealt with criminal and civil cases.

In 1785, the Empress organized local government in cities. By decree, Catherine II established a clear set of noble privileges - she freed nobles from paying taxes, compulsory military service, and gave them the right to own lands and peasants. Thanks to the empress, a secondary education system was introduced in Russia, for which special closed schools, institutes for girls, and educational homes were built. In addition, Catherine founded the Russian Academy, which became one of the leading European scientific bases.

During her reign, Catherine paid special attention to the development of agriculture. It was considered a fundamental industry for Russia, which influenced the economic development of the state. The increase in arable land led to an increase in grain exports.


Portrait of Catherine II in Russian attire. Artist Stefano Torelli / State Historical Museum

Under her, for the first time in Russia, bread began to be sold, which the population bought with paper money, also introduced into use by the empress. Also among the valor of the monarch is the introduction of vaccination in Russia, which made it possible to prevent deadly epidemics in the country, thereby maintaining the number of citizens.

During her reign, Catherine the Second survived 6 wars, in which she received the desired trophies in the form of lands. Her foreign policy is considered by many to this day to be immoral and hypocritical. But the woman managed to go down in Russian history as a powerful monarch who became an example of patriotism for future generations of the country, despite the absence of even a drop of Russian blood in her.

Personal life

The personal life of Catherine II is vibrant and arouses interest to this day. Already in her youth, the empress became committed to “free love,” which turned out to be a consequence of her unsuccessful marriage to Peter III.


National Museum of Sweden

The romance novels of Catherine the Great are marked by a series of scandals, and the list of her favorites contains 23 names, as evidenced by the research of authoritative “Catherine scholars.” The institution of favoritism had a negative impact on the government structure of that time. He contributed to corruption, poor personnel decisions and the decline of morals.

The most famous lovers of the monarch were Alexander Lanskoy, Grigory Potemkin and Platon Zubov, who at the age of 20 became the favorite of 60-year-old Catherine the Great. Researchers do not rule out that the empress’s love affairs were her kind of weapon, with the help of which she carried out her activities on the royal throne.


Tretyakov Gallery

It is known that Catherine the Great had three children - a son from her legal husband Peter III - Pavel Petrovich, Alexei Bobrinsky, born from Orlov, and a daughter Anna Petrovna, who died of illness at the age of one.

The empress devoted the twilight years of her life to caring for her grandchildren and heirs, as she had strained relations with her son Paul. She wanted to transfer power and the crown to her eldest grandson, whom she personally prepared for the royal throne. But her plans were not destined to happen, since her legal heir learned about his mother’s plan and carefully prepared for the fight for the throne. In the future, the empress’s beloved grandson nevertheless ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Alexander I.


Hermitage

Catherine the Great tried to remain unpretentious in everyday life; she was indifferent to fashionable clothes, but was fond of needlework, wood and bone carving. Every day she devoted her afternoon time to her favorite pastime. The Empress herself embroidered, knitted, and once personally made a pattern for a suit for her grandson Alexander. The queen had a literary gift, which she realized in writing plays for the court theater.

Despite the fact that in her youth the Empress converted to Orthodoxy, she was interested in the ideas of Buddhism. Catherine established the position of head of the Lamaist Church of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia. The ruler was officially recognized as the embodiment of the enlightened being of the Eastern religion - White Tara.

Death

The death of Catherine II occurred according to the new style on November 17, 1796. The Empress died from a severe stroke; she tossed about in agony for 12 hours and, without regaining consciousness, passed away in agony. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The tombstone bears an epitaph written by herself.


Yuri Zlotya

After ascending the throne, Paul I destroyed most of his mother's legacy. In addition, the external debt of the state was discovered, which became a burden on subsequent rulers and was repaid only at the end of the 19th century.

Memory

More than 15 monuments were erected in honor of the empress in St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Krasnodar and other cities of the Russian Empire. Later, many of the pedestals were lost. Since Catherine contributed to the spread of paper money, her portrait later adorned the 100-ruble banknote during the reign.

The memory of the great empress was repeatedly immortalized in the literary works of Russian and foreign writers - and other stars of Russian and foreign cinema.

In 2015, the fascinating TV series “” started airing in Russia. For his script, facts were taken from the diaries of the queen herself, who turned out to be a “male ruler” by nature, and not a feminine mother and wife. She appeared in the image of an empress.

Movies

  • 1934 – “The Loose Empress”
  • 1953 – “Admiral Ushakov”
  • 1986 – “Mikhailo Lomonosov”
  • 1990 – “The Tsar’s Hunt”
  • 1992 – “Dreams about Russia”
  • 2002 – “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”
  • 2015 – “Great”
  • 2018 – “Bloody Lady”

Catherine II was born on April 21, 1729, before accepting Orthodoxy she had the name Sophia-August-Frederike. As fate would have it, in 1745 Sophia converted to Orthodoxy and was baptized under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Married the future Emperor of Russia. The relationship between Peter and Catherine somehow did not work out right away. A wall of barriers arose between them due to the banal misunderstanding of each other.

Despite the fact that the spouses did not have a particularly big difference in age, Pyotr Fedorovich was a real child, and Ekaterina Alekseevna wanted a more adult relationship with her husband.

Catherine was quite well educated. Since childhood, I studied various sciences, such as history, geography, theology and foreign languages. Her level of development was very high, she danced and sang beautifully.

Arriving in, she was immediately imbued with the Russian spirit. Realizing that the emperor’s wife must have certain qualities, she sat down with textbooks on Russian history and the Russian language.

From the first days of my stay in Russia, I was imbued with the Russian spirit and great love for the new Motherland. Ekaterina Alekseevna quickly mastered new sciences; in addition to language and history, she studied economics and jurisprudence.

Her desire to “become one of her own” in a completely new, unfamiliar society made this very society accept her and love her dearly.

As a result of complications in her relationship with her husband and constant palace affairs, Ekaterina Alekseevna had to seriously worry about her fate. The situation was stalemate.

Peter III did not have any authority or support in Russian society, and those six months of his reign caused nothing but irritation and indignation in Russian society.

Due to the worsening relationship between the spouses, she seriously risked going to a monastery. The situation forced her to act decisively.

Having secured the support of the guards, Ekaterina Alekseevna and her supporters carried out a coup d'etat. Peter III abdicated the throne, and Catherine II became the new Russian empress. The coronation took place on September 22 (October 3), 1762 in Moscow.

Its policy can be described as successful and thoughtful. Over the years of her reign, Ekaterina Alekseevna achieved excellent results. Thanks to successful domestic and foreign policies, Catherine II managed to achieve a significant increase in the territory and the number of people inhabiting it.

During her reign, trade developed rapidly in Russia. The number of industrial enterprises on the territory of the Empire doubled. The enterprises fully met the needs of the army and navy. During her reign, active development of the Urals began; most new enterprises were opened here.

Let’s briefly go through Ekaterina Alekseevna’s legislative acts on economic issues. In 1763, internal customs duties were abolished.

In 1767, people acquired the legal right to engage in any city trade. In the period from 1766 to 1772, duties on the export of wheat abroad were abolished, this led to an increase in the development of agriculture and the development of new lands. In 1775, the Empress abolished taxes on small-scale fishing.

The nobles received the right to exile their peasants to Siberia. Also, now the peasants could not complain about their master. The reduction in personal freedoms of peasants was one of the reasons for the uprising that took place from 1773 to 1775.

In 1775, Catherine IIbegan public administration reform. According to the new law, the territorial and administrative division of Russia took the following form: the Empire was divided into provinces, which in turn were divided into districts, and instead of 23 provinces, 50 were created.

The provinces were formed from the point of view of taxation convenience, and not geographical or national characteristics. The province was governed by a governor appointed by the monarch. Some large provinces were subject to the governor-general, who had greater authority.

The governor headed the provincial government. The functions of the board were: announcement and explanation of laws to the population. As well as bringing lawbreakers to trial. Power in the lower ranks of the county was the responsibility of the local nobility, an assembly where people were chosen who would occupy important local positions.

Catherine II's foreign policy was aggressive. The Empress believed that Russia should behave as it did in the time of Peter I, conquer new territories, and legitimize its rights to access the seas. Russia took part in the division of Poland, as well as in the Russian-Turkish wars. Successes in them made the Russian Empire one of the most influential states in Europe.

Ekaterina Alekseevna died in 1796, November 6 (17). Years of reign of Catherine II 1762 - 1796

Needless to say, Catherine II is one of the most recognizable characters in Russian history. Her personality is certainly interesting. Ask any average person who he considers the most successful Russian ruler? I am sure that in response you will hear the name of Catherine II. She was in fact a worthwhile ruler, under her the Russian theater, Russian literature, and also science actively developed.

Culturally and historically, the Russian Empire really gained a lot. Unfortunately, the empress's personal life is full of various rumors and gossip. Some of them are probably true, but some are not. It is a pity that Catherine II, being a great historical figure, to put it mildly, is not a model of morality.

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