Catherine the Great

By Judith Cooper

Catherine’s reign was called Russia’s Golden Age, she was the longest ruling female leader of Russia. She was a dutiful daughter, a frustrated wife, a passionate lover, a domineering mother, doting grandmother, a devoted friend, a tireless legislator, a generous patron of artists and philosophers. The Empress Catherine II, the Great was all these things and more. Her reign, the longest in Russian Imperial history lasted from 1762 until her death in 1796.  During these years she built on the work begun by her most famous predecessor Peter the Great, to establish Russia as a major European power and to transform its new capital, St Petersburg into a city to rival Paris and London in the beauty of its architecture, the glittering splendour of its court and the magnificence of its art collections.

Yet Catherine was not even Russian by birth and had no legitimate claim to the Russian throne, but she seized the power and held onto it through wars, rebellions, and plagues, by the force of her personality, by her charm and determination and by unshakeable belief in her own destiny.

Catherine was born Sophie Frederica Auguste, daughter of a German prince, but was related through her Mother Johanna, to the Dukes of Holstein. Johanna kept in contact with her cousin the Empress ELIZABETH I of Russia, who was the daughter of Peter the Great.  Elizabeth had seized the throne of Russia by force from her cousin, three years before Catherine’s arrival

  A marriage was arranged between the Empress Elizabeth and Catherine’s family to Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to throne. After a long and difficult journey Catherine arrived in Russia as the Grand Duchess Catherine Alekesyevna with her mother Joanna.  On her arrival in Russia she suffered from pleurisy which caused sharp pains in the chest. She had to have her blood let by a Doctor four times a day which she claimed saved her life.

She married Peter but it was an unhappy marriage right from the start.   

He was very immature and played with toys in his apartments and took very little notice of his wife. He did have a mistress but it was 8 years before Catherine conceived a son, Paul, heir to the Russian throne.

 Empress Elizabeth, mother of the Grand Duke Paul, was very sympathetic to Catherine, about the difficulties she experienced with her son. Catherine ran up enormous debts, as the ladies of the court had to change their dresses three times a day, but Elizabeth settled her daughter in law’s debts. She also was complicit in permitting Catherine to have an affair with Sergei Saltykov, a Russian Military Officer.

When Empress Elizabeth died in January 1762, Russia was engaged in the Seven Years War against Prussia. Peter, now the emperor, pulled Russia out of the war and foolishly  allied with Fredrick II of Prussia. He made it known that he wanted to be rid of his wife Catherine. Catherine however, had the support of the public and the army, and was proclaimed Empress on 9^th July 1762. Peter III abdicated and was assassinated eight days later. Catherine was crowned in Moscow, beginning a 34 year reign

During her reign she reduced the powers of the clergy, continued to preserve friendly relations with Prussia, France and Austria she established Poland’s borders and installed one of her lovers as King of Poland.

She crushed a Cossack uprising in June 1774 and focused on strengthening the power of the Russian people. Catherine faced more than a dozen uprisings during her reign from the Russian lower classes complaining about the harsh socioeconomic conditions, but the Russian army and the public always supported the Empress Catherine.

Catherine considered herself to be one of Europe’s most enlightened rulers, and many historians agreed. She wrote numerous books, pamphlets and educational materials aimed at improving Russia’s education system. She was also champion of the arts, creating one of the world’s most impressive art collections in St Petersburg’s Winter Palace, now home to the famed Hermitage Museum. We know so much about Catherine as she wrote so many letters to her family and friends which are preserved in the Hermitage Museum.

She had a famously stormy relationship with her eldest son Paul.  She kept him away from affairs of state. Relations between the two became so bad that Paul was convinced his Mother was actively plotting his death; she did fear that Paul would be an incompetent ruler.  She was devoted to her grandchildren particularly Alexander, Pauls eldest son.

Catherine’s many lovers     

She was famously loyal to her lovers after it ended and both during their relationship.

Stanislaw Poniatowski, one of her earliest lovers and the father of one of her children, was given 1000 serfs and made King of Poland. It was said that Grigory Potemkin was a true love.

There were a lot of rumours about Catherine’s lovers right up to her death

Catherine died in 1796 from a stroke which caused her to fall into a coma from which she never recovered. She was buried in a gold coffin at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg.

She was succeeded by her eldest son Paul, who was thought to be the son of her husband Peter, as he resembled the late Emperor, Catherine had three other children with different lovers.

Emperor Paul became Czar but proved to be just as erratic and unpopular as Catherine had feared.  Five years into his reign he was assassinated, and his 23-year-old son assumed power as Alexander I.