January 22: born: John III Vasilyevich, Francis Bacon, Pierre Gassendi, Gotthold Lessing, Andre Marie Ampere, Sergei Eisenstein, Mikhail Kirponos, Lev Landau, Leonid Yarmolnik, Lera Kozlova Subscribe
Home / Table of Contents / Famous Namesakes / Catherine II / Biographies / Names / Patronymic names / Name and patronymic / Horoscopes / Tests/ Events Catherine II biography
Catherine II Alekseevna the Great (Ekaterina II) (1729-1796) - Russian Empress (since 1762).
German Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt Zerbst.
Since 1744 — in Russia.
Since 1745, the wife of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III, whom she dethroned (1762), relying on the guard (G. G. and A. G. Orlov, etc.).
The zodiac sign is Taurus.
Catherine II reorganized the Senate (1763), secularized the lands (1763-64), abolished the hetmanate in Ukraine (1764).
She headed the Laid Commission in 1767-69.
Under Catherine II, the Peasant War of 1773-75 took place.
She issued an Institution for the administration of the province in 1775, a Letter of Commendation to the nobility in 1785 and a Letter of Commendation to the cities in 1785.
Under Catherine II, as a result of the Russian Turkish wars of 1768-74, 1787-91, Russia finally gained a foothold on the Black Cape, the Sev were annexed.
Black Sea region, Crimea, Prikubanye.
She accepted Eastern Georgia under Russian citizenship (1783).
During the reign of Catherine II, sections of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth were implemented (1772, 1793, 1795).
She corresponded with Voltaire and other figures of the French Enlightenment.
Catherine II is the author of many fictional, dramatic, journalistic, popular science works, "Notes".
Origin, upbringing and education
Catherine II Alekseevna was born on May 2 (April 21, New style), 1729, in Stettin.
Born Sophia Augusta Frederica, Princess of Anhalt of Zerbst.
Catherine, the daughter of Prince Christian August of Anhalt Zerbst, who was in the Prussian service, and Princess Johanna Elizabeth (nee Princess Holstein of Gottorp), was related to the royal houses of Sweden, Prussia and England.
She received a home education: she studied German and French, dance, music, the basics of history, geography, theology.
Already in childhood, Catherine's independent character, curiosity, perseverance and at the same time a penchant for lively, mobile games appeared.
In 1744, Catherine and her mother were summoned to Russia by the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, baptized according to Orthodox custom under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna and named the bride of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (the future Emperor Peter III), whom she married in 1745.
Before taking the throne, Catherine II set herself the goal of winning the favor of the Empress, her husband and the Russian people.
However, her personal life was unsuccessful: Peter was infantile, so during the first years of marriage there was no marital relationship between them.
After paying tribute to the cheerful life of the court, Catherine turned to reading French enlighteners and works on history, law and economics.
These books formed her worldview.
Catherine became a consistent supporter of the ideas of the Enlightenment.
She was also interested in the history, traditions and customs of Russia.
In the early 1750s, Catherine II had an affair with a guard officer S. V. Saltykov, and in 1754 gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Paul I, but rumors that Saltykov was Pavel's father have no basis.
In the second half of the 1750s, Catherine had an affair with the Polish diplomat S. Poniatowski (later King Stanislav August), and in the early 1760s with G. G. Orlov, from whom she gave birth in 1762 to a son Alexey, who received the surname Bobrinsky.
The deterioration of relations with her husband led to the fact that she began to fear for her fate in the event of his coming to power and began to recruit supporters at court.
Catherine's ostentatious piety, her prudence, and sincere love for Russia — all this sharply contrasted with Peter's behavior and allowed her to gain authority both among the high society metropolitan society and the general population of St. Petersburg.
Accession to the throne During the six months of the reign of Peter III, Catherine's relations with her husband (who openly appeared in the company of her mistress E. R. Vorontsova) continued to deteriorate, becoming clearly hostile.
There was a threat of her arrest and possible expulsion.
Ekaterina carefully prepared the plot, relying on the support of the Orlov brothers, N. I. Panin, K. G. Razumovsky, E. R. Dashkova, etc.
On the night of June 28, 1762, when the emperor was in Oranienbaum, Catherine secretly arrived in St. Petersburg and was proclaimed an autocratic empress in the barracks of the Izmailovsky regiment.
Soon the rebels were joined by soldiers of other regiments.
The news of Catherine's ascension to the throne quickly spread through the city and was enthusiastically received by St. Petersburg residents.
To prevent the actions of the deposed emperor, messengers were sent to the army and to Kronstadt.
Meanwhile, Peter, having learned about what had happened, began to send proposals for negotiations to Catherine, which were rejected.
The empress herself, at the head of the guard regiments, went to St. Petersburg and on the way received Peter's written abdication from the throne.
On July 9, 1762, Catherine II came to power as a result of a palace coup.
"The arrest of Passek raised all the conspirators to their feet, who were afraid that the arrested person might extradite them under torture.
At night, it was decided to send Alexey Orlov for Catherine, who was living in Peterhof waiting for the emperor's name day (June 29).
Early in the morning on June 28, Alexey Orlov ran into Ekaterina's bedroom and said that Passek had been arrested.
Somehow dressed, the empress sat down with the maid of honor in the carriage of Orlov, who was placed on the box, and was brought directly to the Izmailovsky regiment.
The soldiers, who had been trained for a long time, ran out to the square on a drum beat and immediately swore an oath, kissing the hands, feet, and dress of the empress.
Colonel Count K. Razumovsky himself appeared.
Then, before the priest who was taking the oath, they moved to the Semyonovsky regiment with a cross in their hand, where the same thing was repeated.
At the head of both regiments, accompanied by a crowd of people, Catherine went to the Kazan Cathedral, where at a prayer service she was proclaimed the autocratic empress.
From here, she went to the newly built Winter Palace and found the Senate and Synod already assembled there, who unquestioningly joined her and swore an oath.
Horse guards and Preobrazhentsy with some army units joined the movement and surrounded the palace among more than 14 thousand, enthusiastically greeting Catherine, who was walking around the regiments; crowds of people echoed the troops."
Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky.
Russian history.
A complete course of lectures in 3 books.
Book 3.
- Moscow: Mysl, 1993, pp.
189-190.
The nature and way of the reign of Catherine 2 Catherine II was a subtle psychologist and an excellent connoisseur of people, she skillfully selected her assistants, not being afraid of bright and talented people.
That is why the Catherine time was marked by the appearance of a whole galaxy of outstanding state figures, generals, writers, artists, musicians.
In dealing with her subjects, Catherine II was, as a rule, reserved, patient, tactful.
She was an excellent conversationalist, she was able to listen carefully to everyone.
By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she was good at catching every good idea and used it for her own purposes.
During the entire reign of Catherine II, there were practically no noisy resignations, none of the nobles were disgraced, were not exiled, and even more so executed.
Therefore, the idea of Catherine's reign as the "golden age" of the Russian nobility has developed.
At the same time, Catherine was very vain and valued her power more than anything else in the world.
For the sake of its preservation, she is ready to make any compromises to the detriment of her beliefs.
Attitude to religion and the peasant question Catherine II was distinguished by ostentatious piety, considered herself the head and defender of the Russian Orthodox Church and skillfully used religion in her political interests.
Her faith, apparently, was not too deep.
In the spirit of the times, she preached religious tolerance.
During her reign, the persecution of Old Believers was stopped, Catholic and Protestant churches and mosques were built, but the transition from Orthodoxy to another faith was still severely punished.
Catherine II was a staunch opponent of serfdom, considering it inhumane and contrary to the very nature of man.
In her papers, there are many sharp statements about this, as well as arguments about various options for the elimination of serfdom.
However, she did not dare to do anything specific in this area because of a well founded fear of a noble revolt and another coup.
At the same time, Catherine was convinced of the spiritual underdevelopment of the Russian peasants and therefore in danger of granting them freedom, believing that the life of the peasants among the caring landowners is quite prosperous.
Catherine II came to the throne with a well defined political program based, on the one hand, on the ideas of the Enlightenment and, on the other, taking into account the peculiarities of the historical development of Russia.
The most important principles of the implementation of this program were gradual, consistent, and taking into account public sentiment.
In the first years of her reign, Catherine II carried out the reform of the Senate (1763), which made the work of this institution more effective; carried out the secularization of church lands (1764), which significantly replenished the state treasury and eased the situation of a million peasants; eliminated the hetmanate in Ukraine, which corresponded to her ideas about the need to unify governance throughout the empire; invited German colonists to Russia for the development of the Volga and Black Sea regions.
In the same years, a number of new educational institutions were founded, including the first educational institutions for women in Russia (the Smolny Institute, the Catherine School).
In 1767, Catherine II announced the convocation of a Commission to compose a new code of conduct, consisting of elected deputies from all social groups of Russian society, with the exception of serfs.
Catherine wrote a "Mandate" for the Commission, which was essentially a liberal program of her reign.
The appeals of Catherine II were not, however, understood by the deputies of the Commission, who were arguing on minor issues.
During their discussions, deep contradictions between individual social groups, a low level of political culture and the outright conservatism of the majority of the Commission members were revealed.
At the end of 1768, the Laid Commission was dissolved.
Ekaterina herself appreciated the experience of the Commission as an important lesson that introduced her to the moods of different segments of the country's population.
After the end of the Russian Turkish war of 1768-74 and the suppression of the uprising led by E. I. Pugachev, a new stage of Catherine's reforms began, when the Empress herself was already developing the most important legislative acts.
In 1775, a manifesto was issued that allowed the free establishment of any industrial enterprises.
In the same year, the provincial reform was carried out, which introduced a new administrative and territorial division of the country, which remained until the October Revolution of 1917.
In 1785, Catherine II issued her most important legislative acts — letters patent to the nobility and cities.
A third charter was also prepared for the State peasants, but political circumstances did not allow it to be put into effect.
The main significance of the letters was associated with the implementation of the most important of the goals of Catherine's reforms — the creation of full fledged estates of the Western European type in Russia.
For the Russian nobility, the charter meant the legal consolidation of almost all the rights and privileges that he had.
In the 1780s, the reform of education was continued: a network of urban school institutions based on the class based system was created.
In the last years of her life, Catherine II continued to develop plans for serious transformations.
In 1797, a radical reform of the central administration was planned, the introduction of legislation on the order of succession to the throne, the creation of the highest judicial instance based on elected representation from the three estates.
However, Ekaterina did not have time to complete her reform program.
In general, Catherine's reforms were a direct continuation of the transformations of Peter I.
Diploma for the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian nobility on April 21, 1785
A certificate for the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian nobility.
The document adopted
On April 21, 1785, he brought together all the privileges of the nobility given to him up to that time and consolidated his dominant position in politika (Greek politika — state or public affairs, from polis the state) - a sphere of activity related to relations between social groups, the essence of which is to determine the forms, tasks, and content of the state's activities.
They distinguish between foreign and domestic policy.
Domestic policy covers the main areas of activity of the state, parties (economic, social, cultural, technical policy, etc.).
Foreign policy covers the sphere of relations between states.
and the economy.
For the first time, the right to organize noble assemblies in governorates, provinces and counties was granted.
The main purpose of their activities was to consolidate and defend the privileges of the nobility at the local level, to resolve emerging disputes.
For the first time, the right to organize noble assemblies in governorates, provinces and counties was granted.
The main purpose of their activities was to consolidate and defend the privileges of the nobility at the local level, to resolve disputes that arise, etc.
The electability to the leadership structures of the noble assemblies was limited for those elected by age (at least 25 years old) and wealth (income from villages could not be less than 100 rubles).
Foreign policy
Following Peter I, Catherine believed that Russia should take an active position on the world stage, conduct an offensive (and to some extent aggressive) policy.
Upon assuming the throne, she broke the alliance treaty concluded by Peter III with Prussia.
Thanks to her efforts, Duke E. I. Biron was restored to the Courland throne.
In 1763, relying on the support of Prussia, Russia achieved the election of its protege Stanislaw August Poniatowski to the Polish throne.
This led to a cooling of relations with Austria, which, fearing an excessive strengthening of Russia, began to incite Turkey to war with the Russian Empire.
The Russian Turkish War of 1768-74 was generally successful for Russia, but the difficult internal political situation prompted Russia to seek peace, for which it was necessary to restore relations with Austria.
As a result, a compromise was reached, the victim of which fell to Poland: in 1772, Russia, Prussia and Austria carried out the first partition of part of its territory.
The Kyuchuk Kaynardzhiy Peace was signed with Turkey, which ensured the independence of the Crimea, which was beneficial for Russia.
In the war between England and its North American colonies, Russia formally took a neutral position and Catherine II refused the English king to help Great Britain with troops.
At the initiative of N. I. Panin, Russia issued a Declaration on Armed Neutrality, which was joined by a number of European states, which objectively contributed to the victory of the colonists.
In the following years, the Russian positions in the Crimea and the Caucasus were strengthened, which ended in 1782 with the inclusion of the Crimea into the Russian Empire and the signing of the Treaty of St. George with the Kartli Kakheti Tsar Irakli II in 1783, which ensured the presence of Russian troops in Georgia, and subsequently its annexation to Russia.
In the second half of the 1770s, a new foreign policy doctrine of the Russian government was formed — the Greek project.
Its main goal was the restoration of the Greek (Byzantine) Empire with its capital in Constantinople and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the grandson of Catherine II, as emperor.
In 1779, Russia significantly strengthened its international authority by participating as an intermediary between Austria and Prussia in the Teschen Congress.
In 1787, Catherine, accompanied by the court, foreign diplomats, the Austrian emperor and the Polish king, made a trip to the Crimea, which became a grandiose demonstration of Russian military power.
Soon after, a new war with Turkey began, with Russia acting in alliance with Austria.
Almost simultaneously, the war with Sweden (1788-90) began, trying to achieve revenge for the defeat in the Northern War.
However, Russia successfully coped with both opponents.
The war with Turkey ended in 1791.
In 1792, the Iasi Peace was signed, which consolidated Russia's influence in Bessarabia and Transcaucasia, as well as the annexation of the Crimea.
In 1793 and 1795, the second and third partitions of Poland took place, which finally ended Polish statehood.
Catherine II initially reacted to the events in revolutionary France with a certain degree of sympathy, seeing in them the result of the unreasonable despotic policy of the French kings.
However, after the execution of Louis XVI, she saw the revolution as a danger for the whole of Europe.
On February 27, 1781, Catherine II issued a decree on the establishment of "city schools" in St. Petersburg, the first public schools in the Russian Empire.
It was supposed to establish one city school in each part of the capital.
The empress was going to establish one of these institutions at the expense of her Cabinet, and the rest were to be maintained at the expense of ordinary people.
Personal life The time of Catherine II is the heyday of favoritism, characteristic of European life in the second half of the 18th century.
Having parted at the beginning of 17 in the 70s with G. G. Orlov, in the following years the empress changed a number of favorites.
As a rule, they were not allowed to participate in solving political issues.
Only two of her famous lovers Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin and P. V. Zavadovsky became major statesmen.
Catherine II lived with her favorites for several years, but then parted for a variety of reasons (due to the death of a favorite, his treason or unworthy behavior), but none of them was subjected to disgrace.
All of them were generously awarded with ranks, titles, money and serfs.
All her life, Catherine II was looking for a man who would be worthy of her, would share her hobbies, views, etc.
But she apparently did not manage to find such a person.
However, there is an assumption that she secretly married Potemkin, with whom she maintained friendly relations until his death.
All sorts of rumors about orgies at court, Catherine's penchant for nymphomania, etc .are nothing more than a groundless myth. (Alexander Kamensky)
Catherine II died on November 17 (November 6, according to the article) 1796, St. Petersburg A film about the life and work of the Russian Empress Catherine II the Great. (c)
Encyclopedia channel Narrative: Gorbenko Maxim.
Text: Konovalova Irina.
Literary editor: Myagkih Ella.
Director: Konovalova Irina.
General producer: Naumov Oleg.
Chef Editor: Putintsev Vitaliy.
See other famous women of history named Catherine.
Biographies of celebrities by their last name with the letter E. Famous women by their first name with the letter E (and men).
Description of female names with the letter E (and male).
The meaning and origin of the name Catherine.
Did you like the article?
Share it with your friends!
Get +1 to Karma :) And leave a comment below.
To share…
Subscribe to the news
See more from this site:
Find something else interesting:
×
technology
Internet Picture
Arrange: Relevance
Relevance
Date
The Internet
Picture
<div><img src="//mc.yandex.ru/watch/1080626" style="position:absolute; left:-9999px;" alt="" /></div>
Do you have something to say, add to it, or have you noticed an error?
Share it!
Spam, insults, profanity, SEO links, advertising, disrespectful treatment, etc. are prohibited.
Violators are banned.
Not to be picky - so as not to anger others and not to disgrace yourself.
Those who do not know how to do anything themselves and cannot do it, are the first to criticize and do it unceremoniously.
Well, a faulty site, sometimes sewn with white threads, in some places the links are dead - even so.
No one forbids you to say this... but where is the elementary delicacy?
And the more insignificant the critic, the more brazen he is (Baltasar Gracianov, virtual philosopher and cyber mannerist, knight of the Order of Binoculars)
Share it with your friends on VKontakte odnoklassniktwitterfacebookmy MirLiveJournalGoogle PlusYandex
