r. Catherine the Great (1 janv. 1762 – 1 janv. 1796)

Description:

Catherine the Great expanded serfdom, protected the aristocracy, and further westernized Russia.

Catherine the Great had Romanov connections and basically married Peter III for the crown. Her lover and his three brothers murdered Peter, bringing her to power.

She was apparently charming, hearty, boisterous, physically vigor, had many lovers throughout her life, and was immersed in Enlightenment thinking and worked to promote its works and efforts. She corresponded with the likes of Voltaire and Diderot (he was selling his library to raise funds, she bought the library and let him keep it) and got Peter-the-Great-like admiration from Enlightenment thinkers by seeking domestic reform; she restricted practice of torture, allowed limited religious toleration, and tried to improve education and strengthen local government.

Catherine worked to continue Peter the Great’s legacy of bringing western culture to Russia, westernizing not only culture but the imagination of the Russian nobility.

She crushed a rebellion by Cossack Emelian Pugachev and afterwards, repressed serfs even further to the point of mirroring chattel slavery. Extended serfdom and protected nobility.

Vied for territorial expansion and began the conquest of the Caucasus and took part in the first partition of Poland under a deal with Frederick. Her main territorial goals were to take Polish and Turkish area (involving replacing Muslims in middle east with Greeks). Beat Turks but was limited by European checks of power. The first Partition of Poland gave Frederick Pomerelia/West Prussia, Catherine parts of Byelorussia, and Maria Theresa Galicia. Russia gained land on the north coast of the Black Sea in a treaty with Turks. Toured parts of Russia with Joseph II and induced him to join a war of conquest against Turkey which was cut short by the French Revolution, but she still wanted more in the Polish-Turkish area. Contributed to the killing off the nationalist and reforming movement in Poland. Took part in the two other partitions of Poland.

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