Catherine the Great of Russia is a figure touched on in many history classes, alongside Peter the Great and Frederick II of Prussia. A closer study reveals a complex woman whose life was unique and changed a nation forever.
Born May 2, 1729, as Sophie Friederike August, Princess von Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine was the daughter of a German prince: Christian August von Anhalt-Zerbst and related to the Holstein family through her mother.
At the age of fourteen, it was determined that she would marry Karl Urlich, the Duke of Holstein. He was the grandson of Peter the Great, would be named Duke Peter upon his ascension to the office, and was the heir apparent.
Marriage of Catherine the Great and Peter III
When arriving in Russia in 1744, Princess Sophie was given the title of Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna and the couple was married a year later. The marriage of Peter and Catherine was apparently a failure. He had many emotional and mental problems and was probably an impotent alcoholic. During their marriage, Catherine had three lovers and none of her three children were suspected to be the birth children of Peter.
Catherine and Peter differed greatly in their political opinions. Catherine was decidedly pro-Russian and spent much of her time reading and educating herself in preparation to become empress. Peter, on the other hand almost worshipped the enemy of the current empress Elizabeth: Frederick II of Prussia.
On January 5, 1762, Empress Elizabeth passed away while Russia was in the midst of the Seven Years’ War. Soon after her death, Peter III ended Russia’s involvement in the war, quickly allied himself with Frederick II and looked for a way to rid himself of his wife.
The Coronation of Catherine the Great
Intelligent and pro-Russian, Catherine enjoyed the support of the Russian court, army, and public in both of the capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg. On July 9, 1762, Catherine led loyal regiments into St. Petersburg and declared herself empress in the Kazan Cathedral. In response, Peter III abdicated the throne and eight days later, was assassinated. It was believed that Catherine was responsible for his death although that is unlikely.
In September 1762, Catherine was crowned as Catherine II in Moscow and reigned for the next thirty-four years. Her intention was to make Russia a powerful and enlightened nation.
Yemelyan Pugachov and the Pretend Peter III
The largest uprising in Russia prior to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, which put an end to Enlightened goals, occurred in 1773 when Yemelyan Pugachov pretended to be the deceased Peter III and in June 1774, his troops prepared to advance on Moscow. Catherine quickly dispatched her loyal troops to crush the rebel forces. Pugachov was beheaded in 1775.
Liaison with Grigory Potemkin
In 1774, Catherine began a two-year liaison with Grigory Potemkin, a great hero from the war against Turkey and her only favorite to play a political role. She saw Potemkin as her equal until his death in 1791. As an expansionist, Potemkin helped motivate the annexation of the Crimea from the Turks in 1783.
The end of her reign was spent in conflict over whom to leave the throne to. The obvious answer was to leave it to Paul, her son; however, she wished to leave it to her favored grandson, Alexander, who was too young to be the heir. Catherine died suddenly at the age of sixty-seven, of a stroke.
Today, Russians view Catherine the Great as a symbol of national pride, though she is often criticized by non-Russians for her personal conduct and despotism.
