All Rights Reserved. Historically, when the serfs faced problems they could not solve on their own (such as abusive masters), they often appealed to the autocrat, and continued doing so during Catherine's reign, but she signed legislation prohibiting it. She provided support to a Polish anti-reform group known as the Targowica Confederation. [28] From 1762, the Great Imperial Crown was the coronation crown of all Romanov emperors until the monarchy's abolition in 1917. As many of the democratic principles frightened her more moderate and experienced advisors, she refrained from immediately putting them into practice. Although she could see the benefits of Britain's friendship, she was wary of Britain's increased power following its complete victory in the Seven Years' War, which threatened the European balance of power. As she learned Russian, she became increasingly interested in the literature of her adopted country. Before her death she recognized Peter II, the grandson of Peter I and Eudoxia, as her successor. Personal life narratives. [46], Nicholas I, her grandson, evaluated the foreign policy of Catherine the Great as a dishonest one. The serfs probably followed someone who was pretending to be the true empress because of their feelings of disconnection to Catherine and her policies empowering the nobles, but this was not the first time they followed a pretender under Catherine's reign. With the support of Great Britain, Russia colonised the territories of New Russia along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. [57] Catherine gave them this new right, but in exchange they could no longer appeal directly to her. As Robert K. Massie writes in Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman, [F]rom the beginning of her husbands reign, her position was one of isolation and humiliation. At first, she attempted to revise clerical studies, proposing a reform of religious schools. Catherines success as a ruler was also a driving factor behind the rumours. Her marriage to Peter III of Russia lasted from 1745 until his suspicious death in 1762, and she had at least three lovers during this time (Catherine herself hinted that her husband . Peter . Featuring Elle Fanning as the empress and Nicholas Hoult as her mercurial husband, Peter III, The Great differs from the 2019 HBO miniseries Catherine the Great, which starred Helen Mirren as its title character. A landowner could punish his serfs at his discretion, and under Catherine the Great gained the ability to sentence his serfs to hard labour in Siberia, a punishment normally reserved for convicted criminals. She expanded Russia's borders to the Black Sea and into central Europe during her reign. In addition to the advisory commission, Catherine established a Commission of National Schools under Pyotr Zavadovsky. However, Catherine died from a stroke on 17 November 1796 before she could make the change. The bloodless shift in power was so easily accomplished that Frederick the Great of Prussia later observed, [Peter] allowed himself to be dethroned like a child being sent to bed.. "Despot" is not derogatory in this context. She also promoted westernization and modernization for her country, though it was within the context of maintaining . When Sophie's situation looked desperate, her mother wanted her confessed by a Lutheran pastor. The global trade of Russian natural resources and Russian grain provoked famines, starvation and fear of famines in Russia. They indeed helped modernise the sector that totally dominated the Russian economy. Catherine channels her anger over her mother's death into handling the border conflict with the Ottomans. The formidable Catherine had little time for her heir. She sent the Russian army into Poland to avoid possible disputes. Catherine II (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 - 17 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. For all her achievements, Catherine is often remembered for the multitude of salacious and slanderous rumours attached to her name, none more famous than the one surrounding her death. Historical accounts portray Joanna as a cold, abusive woman who loved gossip and court intrigues. [73], She made a special effort to bring leading intellectuals and scientists to Russia, and she wrote her own comedies, works of fiction, and memoirs. He later became the de facto absolute ruler of New Russia, governing its colonisation. He died at the age of 52 in 1791. One evening, while attempting to have sexual intercourse with the stallion, the harness holding the horse broke, sending the beast crashing down on top of her. Book. [4] The more than 300 sovereign entities of the Holy Roman Empire, many of them quite small and powerless, made for a highly competitive political system as the various princely families fought for advantage over each other, often via political marriages. A poor student who felt a stronger allegiance to his home country of Prussia than Russia, the heir spent much of his time indulging in various vicesand unsuccessfully working to paint himself as an effective military commander. Potemkin also convinced Catherine to expand the universities in Russia to increase the number of scientists. The newlyweds settled in the palace of Oranienbaum, which remained the residence of the "young court" for many years. As Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Peter planned war against Denmark, Russia's traditional ally against Sweden. I think the title card reads an occasionally true story, McNamara tells the Sydney Morning Heralds Michael Idato. [36][37], 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 leading economists of her day, such as Arthur Young and Jacques Necker, became foreign members of the Free Economic Society, established on her suggestion in Saint Petersburg in 1765. Catherine became a great patron of Russian opera. [103] Nevertheless, Catherine's Russia provided an asylum and a base for regrouping to the Jesuits following the suppression of the Jesuits in most of Europe in 1773. M. B. W. Trent, "Catherine the Great Invites Euler to Return to St. Her rise to power was supported by her mother Joanna's wealthy relatives, who were both nobles and royal relations. This war was another catastrophe for the Ottomans, ending with the Treaty of Jassy (1792), which legitimised the Russian claim to the Crimea and granted the Yedisan region to Russia. The peasants were discontented because of many other factors as well, including crop failure, and epidemics, especially a major epidemic in 1771. However, the Legislative Commission of 1767 offered several seats to people professing the Islamic faith. If we are to believe another popular myth that surrounds her death, it wasnt the horse that killed her but a collapsing toilet seat. [9] It was during this period that she first read Voltaire and the other philosophes of the French Enlightenment. Catherine decided it promoted the dangerous poison of the French Revolution. [91] This work emphasised the fostering of the creation of a 'new kind of people' raised in isolation from the damaging influence of a backward Russian environment. When it became apparent that his plan could not succeed, Panin fell out of favour and Catherine had him replaced with Ivan Osterman (in office 17811797). Russian local authorities helped his party, and the Russian government decided to use him as a trade envoy. In 1769, a last major CrimeanNogai slave raid, which ravaged the Russian held territories in Ukraine, saw the capture of up to 20,000 slaves. "The circumstances and cause of death, and the intentions and degree of responsibility of those involved can never be known," wrote Robert K. Massie in his seminal biography, Catherine the Great . A new Hulu series titled The Great takes its cue from the little-known beginnings of Catherines reign. All of this was true before Catherine's reign, and this is the system she inherited. Catherine the Great Facts | Mental Floss [56] The understanding of law in Imperial Russia by all sections of society was often weak, confused, or nonexistent, particularly in the provinces where most serfs lived. (Lord Byron's Don Juan, around the age of twenty-two, becomes her lover after the siege of Ismail (1790), in a fiction written only about twenty-five years after Catherine's death in 1796. 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. Isabel De Madariaga, "Catherine the Great." King Augustus III of Poland died in 1763, so Poland needed to elect a new ruler. Catherine saw Orlov as very useful, and he became instrumental in the 28 June 1762 coup d'tat against her husband, but she preferred to remain the dowager empress of Russia rather than marrying anyone. Poniatowski, through his mother's side, came from the Czartoryski family, prominent members of the pro-Russian faction in Poland; Poniatowski and Catherine were eighth cousins, twice removed, by their mutual ancestor King Christian I of Denmark, by virtue of Poniatowski's maternal descent from the Scottish House of Stuart. [88] Through him, she collected information from Russia and other countries about educational institutions. ]]> Catherine supported Poniatowski as a candidate to become the next king. But Russia's Baltic Fleet checked the Royal Swedish navy in the tied Battle of Hogland (July 1788), and the Swedish army failed to advance. [33][34], The Russian victories procured access to the Black Sea and allowed Catherine's government to incorporate present-day southern Ukraine, where the Russians founded the new cities of Odessa, Nikolayev, Yekaterinoslav (literally: "the Glory of Catherine"), and Kherson. Posterity will never forgive me., Contrary to Catherines dire prediction, Peters death, while casting a pall over her rule, did not completely overshadow her legacy. Catherine the Great was worried that her son, Paul, was not emotionally fit to rule so she planned to replace him with his son, Alexander, as her heir. The truth of the matter was Catherine couldnt trust the systematic bureaucracy in Russia nor the many noblemen installed by her husband before her. Potemkin quickly gained positions and awards. [125] Some of these men loved her in return, and she always showed generosity towards them, even after the affair ended. Catherine the Great - Wikipedia On the following day, the formal betrothal of Catherine and Peter took place and the long-planned dynastic marriage finally occurred on 21 August 1745 in Saint Petersburg. [30], Catherine's foreign minister, Nikita Panin (in office 17631781), exercised considerable influence from the beginning of her reign. In the plus column, the longest-reigning empress of Russia transformed her empire into one of Europe's great and . The bonnet which held her white hair was not decorated with ribbons, but with the most beautiful diamonds. For example, serfs could apply to be freed if they were under illegal ownership, and non-nobles were not allowed to own serfs. In one portrait, hes managed to just somehow portray both sides of this compelling leader., Meilan Solly [74][75], Catherine enlisted Voltaire to her cause, and corresponded with him for 15 years, from her accession to his death in 1778. [95], From 1768 to 1774, no progress was made in setting up a national school system. Assessment and legacy [ edit] The monarch was succeeded by her son,. While she had collapsed in the bathroom, she had spent many hours in her bed, with her servants taking care of her. All the ladies, some of whom took turn to watch by the body, would go and kiss this hand, or at least appear to." [98] One system that particularly stood out was produced by a mathematician, Franz Aepinus. [3] He failed to become the duke of Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and at the time of his daughter's birth held the rank of a Prussian general in his capacity as governor of the city of Stettin. [111] Orthodox Russians disliked the inclusion of Judaism, mainly for economic reasons. Catherine led a successful bloodless coup and put herself on the throne in his stead. | Although German soldiers allegedly saw the cabinet during WWII, no visible proof of the furniture exists leading many historians to believe it's just another salacious fabrication. //-->Peter and Catherine the Great Death: How Did They Die? Jaques cites a Vigilius Ericksen portrait of the empress as emblematic of Catherines many contradictions.