Catherine II (or Catherine the Great) rules Russia (1 gen 1762 anni – 1 gen 1796 anni)

Descrizione:

Catherine the Great of Russia (r. 1762-1796) was one of the most remarkable rulers of her age, and the French philosophes adored her. Catherine came to the throne after her husband Peter III was murdered by army officers who were unhappy about Peter's decision to withdraw Russian troops from the Seven Years' War. Setting out to rule in an enlightened manner, Catherine worked hard to continue Peter the Great's effort to bring the culture of western Europe to Russia, importing Western architects, sculptors, musicians, and intellectuals.As an intellectual ruler, Catherine wrote plays and loved good talk, corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot, and set the tone for the entire Russian nobility.In the way of domestic reform, Catherine restricted the practice of torture, allowed limited religious toleration, and tried to improve education and strengthen local government.Pugachev's rebellion was quickly put down by Catherine's army, but it also put an end to any intentions Catherine might have had about reforming the system.After 1775 Catherine gave the nobles absolute control of their serfs, extending serfdom into new areas and formalizing the nobility's privileged position. Catherine succeeded well in her quest for territorial expansion, subjugating the last descendants of the Mongols and the Crimean Tartars and beginning the conquest of the Caucasus.When Catherine's armies scored unprecedented victories against the Turks between 1768 and 1772, thereby threatening to disrupt the balance of power in eastern Europe, Frederick of Prussia proposed that Turkey be let off easily and that Prussia, Austria, and Russia divide up Polish territory as compensation.In 1791 Catherine the Great established the Pale of Settlement, a territory including parts of modern-day Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belorussia, in which most Jews were required to live.

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