Catherine+the+Great

media type="file" key="catherinethegreatfields.mp3"[|catherinethegreatfields.mp3] Catherine the Great was the empress of Russia for 34 years. During her reign, Russia experienced it's highpoint of Russian Nobility. She was born a German princess on April 21, 1729. Her birth name was Sophia. She spent her childhood in Germany, and learned to speak German and French. Her family was connected to some of the great royal families in Europe. When she was 14, her mom took her to Russia to marry the Russian Prince, Peter Fyodorovich. Before the wedding, she became Russian Orthodox and changed her name to Catherine. Catherine’s married life wasn't good. Peter was mentally unstable, and he was unfaithful. In response, Catherine also was unfaithful. This caused many people at the time to question whether her first born son, Paul was actually the son of Peter. But Catherine was ambitious. She had plans of taking the Russian crown herself, so she put up with her marriage. She quickly learned the Russian ways and learned the language. She also began reading books of major European thinkers, and was especially drawn to the movement known as the Enlightenment. This movement insisted that life should be based on reason, or logic, and not on old customs. All people were entitled to certain civil rights, and it was the duty of governments to protect these rights. These ideas began to shape Catherine’s political thinking. In 1762 Peter became to rule of Russia and became Czar Peter III. His personality and his political decisions angered many Russians, but Catherine was becoming increasingly popular. With the army’s help, she managed to overthrow the government. Paul was the rightful heir, or successor, to the throne, but Catherine had herself crowned Empress of Russia. Peter was imprisoned, then murdered a few days later. Catherine immediately began to reform old Russian law. She worked tirelessly, often waking up at five or six in the morning and then working for fifteen hours. During her first years on the throne, she wrote down her ideas for a model Russian government, which she published in 1767 as the Instruction. This document clearly shows Enlightenment thinking. Similar thoughts were found in the Declaration of Independence written about 10 years later. In this document, Catherine stated that government officials must act morally, and they must rule according to the desires of the people. She also wrote that land can be best farmed or developed by men who are free and who own that land. This last belief seemed to contradict Russia’s long-held system of serfdom, or the practice of forcing peasant farmers to work on land owned by the nobility. Serfs were treated like slaves, often being bought and sold at auctions in public squares. Some were even traded for dogs or gambled away. To change this, Catherine called together representatives from all social classes in Russia. She wanted them to discuss the needs of the country and to use the Instruction to simplify Russia’s laws. But they couldn't agree on anything, so the old laws and practices remained unchanged. Many people in countries throughout Europe read the Instruction, and Catherine was widely praised as a true “enlightened despot.” But her views on the function of government soon changed. Because she had take the Russian throne by force, with the help of the nobility, she could not afford to anger them. Therefore, she could not govern all of her subjects equally. She had to favor the nobility in order to keep their support. Catherine freed them from required government service, as either civil servants or soldiers. She also freed them from paying taxes, and gave them complete control over their land and serfs. This angered the serfs, who rebelled at least 60 times during Catherine’s rule. Protecting the interests of the nobility, she crushed each revolt. While Catherine strengthened her power at home, she also sought to increase it in Europe. She believed that the greater the population, the greater the might of the Russian Empire. Trying to add to the size of her empire, she gained influence over the king of neighboring Poland, and then defeated that country when it rebelled in 1768. Over the next twenty years, along with the leaders of Austria and Prussia, Catherine seized large portions of Poland. In 1792 Poland no longer existed on the map. She also took control of the Black Sea and the Crimea by defeating Turkey. When Catherine took over Russia, she ruled about 20 million people. When she finished extending the borders of the Russian Empire, she controlled over 36 million people. So she almost doubled the amount of people that she ruled. Catherine’s reign was a mixture of opposites. She forced serfs to live under terrible conditions, yet she introduced many remarkable steps for the care of the sick and of the needy. She founded hospitals and even promoted the new medical practice of vaccination. She also attached a great importance to education and to the arts. She formed schools and encouraged artists and playwrights, even writing a few plays herself. Nevertheless, her attempt to bring high culture to Russian society was offset by her desire for extravagant feasts and parties. When she died from a stroke in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1796, leaving the throne to Paul, her court was as culturally rich as any in Europe. Unfortunately, only a few of her countrymen could enjoy it: the lower classes of Russia remained poor.

__Sources__ - Catherine II of Russia. Retrieved September 30, 2008, from wikipedia.org Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_II_the_Great

- Catherin the Great. Retrieved September 30, 2008, from mnsu.edu Web site: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/russia/catherine.html

- Harcave, S (1973). //The McGraw-Hill Ecyclopedia of World Biography//. McGrraw-Hill inc..

Catherine the Great was the empress of Russia for 34 years. During her reign, Russia experienced it's highpoint of Russian Nobility. She was born a German princess on April 21, 1729. Her birth name was Sophia. When she was 14, her mom took her to Russia to marry the Russian Prince, Peter Fyodorovich. Before the wedding, she became Russian Orthodox and changed her name to Catherine. Catherine’s married life wasn't good. Peter was mentally unstable, and unfaithful. So Catherine also was unfaithful. This caused many people at the time to question whether her first born son, Paul was actually the son of Peter. Catherine was ambitious. She had plans of taking the Russian crown herself, so she put up with Peter. She quickly learned the Russian ways and learned the language. She also began reading books of major European thinkers, and was especially drawn to the movement known as the Enlightenment. This movement insisted that life should be based on reason, or logic, and not on old customs. All people were entitled to certain civil rights, and it was the duty of governments to protect these rights. These ideas began to shape Catherine’s political thinking. In 1762 Peter became to rule of Russia and became Czar Peter III. His personality and political decisions angered many Russians, but Catherine was becoming increasingly popular. With the army’s help, she managed to overthrow the government. Paul was the rightful heir to the throne, but Catherine had herself crowned Empress of Russia. Catherine had Peter imprisoned, and then murdered a few days later. Catherine immediately began to reform old Russian law. She worked tirelessly, often waking up at five or six in the morning and then working for fifteen hours. During her first years on the throne, she wrote down her ideas for a model Russian government, which she published in 1767 as the Instruction. This document clearly shows Enlightenment thinking. Similar thoughts were found in the Declaration of Independence written about 10 years later. In this document, Catherine stated that government officials must act morally, and they must rule according to the desires of the people. She also wrote that land can be best farmed or developed by men who are free and who own that land. This last belief seemed to contradict Russia’s long-held system of forcing peasant farmers to work on land owned by the nobility. Serfs were treated like slaves, often being bought and sold at auctions in public squares. To change this, Catherine called together representatives from all social classes in Russia. She wanted them to discuss the needs of the country and to use the Instruction to simplify Russia’s laws. But they couldn't agree on anything, so the old laws and practices remained unchanged. Many people in countries throughout Europe read the Instruction, and Catherine was widely praised as a true “enlightened despot.” But her views on the function of government soon changed. Because she had take the Russian throne by force, with the help of the nobility, she could not afford to anger them. Therefore, she could not govern all of her subjects equally. She had to favor the nobility in order to keep their support. Catherine freed them from required government service, as either civil servants or soldiers. She also freed them from paying taxes, and gave them complete control over their land and serfs. This angered the serfs, who rebelled at least 60 times during Catherine’s rule. Protecting the interests of the nobility, she crushed each revolt. While Catherine strengthened her power at home, she also sought to increase it in Europe. She believed that the greater the population, the greater the might of the Russian Empire. Trying to add to the size of her empire, she gained influence over the king of neighboring Poland, and then defeated that country when it rebelled in 1768. Over the next twenty years, along with the leaders of Austria and Prussia, Catherine seized large portions of Poland. In 1792 Poland no longer existed on the map. She also took control of the Black Sea and the Crimea by defeating Turkey. When Catherine took over Russia, she ruled about 20 million people. When she finished extending the borders of the Russian Empire, she controlled over 36 million people. So she almost doubled the amount of people that she ruled. Catherine’s reign was a mixture of opposites. She forced serfs to live under terrible conditions, yet she introduced many remarkable steps for the care of the sick and of the needy. She founded hospitals and even promoted the new medical practice of vaccination. She also attached a great importance to education and to the arts. She formed schools and encouraged artists and playwrights, even writing a few plays herself. Nevertheless, her attempt to bring high culture to Russian society was offset by her desire for extravagant feasts and parties. When she died from a stroke in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1796, leaving the throne to Paul, her court was as culturally rich as any in Europe. Unfortunately, only a few of her countrymen could enjoy it: the lower classes of Russia remained poor.
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