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World HistoryUnit #8 Revolution and Empire

Catherine the GreatCatherine was born Sophia Augusta Frederika of Anhalt-Zerbst on April 21st 1729. Her father was a minor German prince. At the age of 16 she married Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne and took the name Catherine. The couple had one son, Paul, but the marriage was not a happy one, Peter was remote and Catherine was unhappy. She began a liaison with Gregory Orlov a member of the Imperial Guard. Catherine also maintained correspondence with many of the enlightened minds of the period including Voltaire and Diderot.

Peter III and Catherine the Great were very different. Peter III idolized Frederick the Great of Prussia. In fact, he ended a war that Russia had been fighting with Prussia by giving all of Russia’s gains back to Prussia. While Peter was not fond of Russia, Catherine wanted to become more Russian. She learned the customs and language of her new country and learned about the court. Shortly after Peter III came into power, the royal guard deserted him and helped Catherine gain the throne. The coup that brought Catherine to power was organized by one of her lovers, named Count Grigorii Orlov. On 25th December 1761 Peter became Tsar of Russia. Three days later Peter died at the hands of Alexis Orlov, brother of Gregory.

As ruler of Russia Catherine set about enlarging the countries borders and developing mining and trade. She also sought to forge a role for Russia as an international mediator.

Catherine was an enlightened monarch and read the works of and corresponded with the economists, encyclopedists and writers of the time. Encouraged by Gregory Potemkin, she also set up new schools and Russia's first Medical School. Catherine disliked serfdom but realising that imposing its abolition would alienate the nobility she issued decrees demanding that serfs be treated humanely.

Catherine was also an absolute monarch, like other European rulers of the time, and often she was among the most ruthless. She granted a charter to the boyars outlining importantrights, such as exemption from taxes. She also allowed them to increase their stranglehold on the peasants. When peasants rebelled against the harsh burdens of serfdom, Catherine took firm action to repress them. As a result, conditions grew worse for Russian peasants. Under Catherine, even more peasants were forced into serfdom.

Like Peter the Great, Catherine was determined to expand Russia’s borders. Waging the Russo-Turkish war against the Ottoman Empire gained her a warm-water port on the Black Sea in 1774. She also took steps to seize territory from neighboring Poland. The Partitions of Poland In the 1770s, Catherine, King Frederick II of Prussia, and Emperor Joseph II of Austria hungrily eyed Poland. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had once been a great European power. However, its rulers were unable to centralize their power or diminish the influence of the Polish nobility. The divided Polish government was ill-prepared to stand up to the increasing might of its neighbors, Russia, Prussia, and Austria. To avoid fighting one another, the three monarchs agreed in 1772 to partition, or divide up, Poland. Catherine took part of eastern Poland, where many Russians and Ukrainians lived. Frederick and Joseph took control of Polish territory in the west. Poland was further partitioned in1793. Then in 1795, Austria, Prussia, and Russia each took their final slices and the independent country of Poland vanished from the map. Not until 1919 would a free Polish state reappear.

Catherine died of a stroke on 6th November 1796 at the age of sixty-two years.

Questions

1. How did Catherine (II) become the empress of Russia? What happened to her husband?

2. What are some of the reforms of Catherine the Great?

3. Were all Russians truly happy with Peter and Catherine the great? Explain.

4. Who is Pugachev? What was his rebellion and how does this reflect the plight of serfs in Russia?

5. Poor Poland What happened to this country with the leadership of the action going to Catherine the Great?