Biography of Catherine II. Travel to Crimea

Catherine II Alekseevna the Great (nee Sophia Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, German Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, in Orthodoxy Ekaterina Alekseevna; April 21 (May 2), 1729, Stettin, Prussia - November 6 (17), 1796, Winter Palace, St. Petersburg) - Empress of All Russia from 1762 to 1796.

The daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine came to power in a palace coup that overthrew her unpopular husband Peter III from the throne.

Catherine's era was marked by the maximum enslavement of the peasants and the comprehensive expansion of the privileges of the nobility.

Under Catherine the Great, the borders of the Russian Empire were significantly expanded to the west (partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) and to the south (annexation of Novorossiya).

The system of public administration under Catherine II was reformed for the first time since that time.

Culturally, Russia finally became one of the great European powers, which was greatly facilitated by the empress herself, who was fond of literary activity, collected masterpieces of painting and corresponded with French educators.

In general, Catherine’s policy and her reforms fit into the mainstream of enlightened absolutism of the 18th century.

Catherine II the Great (documentary)

Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was born on April 21 (May 2, new style) 1729 in the then German city of Stettin, the capital of Pomerania (Pomerania). Now the city is called Szczecin, among other territories it was voluntarily transferred by the Soviet Union, following the Second World War, to Poland and is the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland.

Father, Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, came from the Zerbst-Dorneburg line of the House of Anhalt and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, where the future empress was born, ran for duke of Courland, but unsuccessfully , ended his service as a Prussian field marshal. Mother - Johanna Elisabeth, from the Gottorp estate, was a cousin of the future Peter III. Johanna Elisabeth's ancestry goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.

His maternal uncle, Adolf Friedrich, was chosen as heir to the Swedish throne in 1743, which he assumed in 1751 under the name of Adolf Friedrich. Another uncle, Karl Eitinsky, according to Catherine I, was supposed to become the husband of her daughter Elizabeth, but died on the eve of the wedding celebrations.

In the family of the Duke of Zerbst, Catherine received a home education. She studied English, French and Italian, dance, music, the basics of history, geography, and theology. She grew up as a playful, inquisitive, playful girl and loved to show off her courage in front of the boys with whom she easily played on the streets of Stettin. The parents were dissatisfied with their daughter’s “boyish” behavior, but they were satisfied that Frederica took care of her younger sister Augusta. Her mother called her Fike or Ficken as a child (German Figchen - comes from the name Frederica, that is, “little Frederica”).

In 1743, the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, choosing a bride for her heir, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Russian Emperor, remembered that on her deathbed her mother bequeathed to her to become the wife of the Holstein prince, Johanna Elisabeth’s brother. Perhaps it was this circumstance that tipped the scales in Frederica's favor; Elizabeth had previously vigorously supported the election of her uncle to the Swedish throne and exchanged portraits with her mother. In 1744, the Zerbst princess and her mother were invited to Russia to marry Pyotr Fedorovich, who was her second cousin. She first saw her future husband at Eitin Castle in 1739.

Immediately after arriving in Russia, she began to study the Russian language, history, Orthodoxy, and Russian traditions, as she sought to become more fully acquainted with Russia, which she perceived as a new homeland. Among her teachers are the famous preacher Simon Todorsky (teacher of Orthodoxy), the author of the first Russian grammar Vasily Adadurov (teacher of the Russian language) and choreographer Lange (dance teacher).

In an effort to learn Russian as quickly as possible, the future empress studied at night, sitting by an open window in the frosty air. Soon she fell ill with pneumonia, and her condition was so serious that her mother suggested bringing a Lutheran pastor. Sofia, however, refused and sent for Simon of Todor. This circumstance added to her popularity at the Russian court. On June 28 (July 9), 1744, Sofia Frederica Augusta converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy and received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna (the same name and patronymic as Elizabeth’s mother, Catherine I), and the next day she was engaged to the future emperor.

The appearance of Sophia and her mother in St. Petersburg was accompanied by political intrigue in which her mother, Princess Zerbst, was involved. She was a fan of the King of Prussia, Frederick II, and the latter decided to use her stay at the Russian imperial court to establish his influence on Russian foreign policy. For this purpose, it was planned, through intrigue and influence on Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, to remove Chancellor Bestuzhev, who pursued an anti-Prussian policy, from affairs, and replace him with another nobleman who sympathized with Prussia. However, Bestuzhev managed to intercept letters from Princess Zerbst to Frederick II and present them to Elizaveta Petrovna. After the latter learned about the “ugly role of a Prussian spy” that Sophia’s mother played at her court, she immediately changed her attitude towards her and subjected her to disgrace. However, this did not affect the position of Sofia herself, who did not take part in this intrigue.

On August 21, 1745, at the age of sixteen, Catherine was married to Pyotr Fedorovich, who was 17 years old and who was her second cousin. During the first years of their marriage, Peter was not at all interested in his wife, and there was no marital relationship between them.

Finally, after two unsuccessful pregnancies, On September 20, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, Pavel.. The birth was difficult, the baby was immediately taken away from the mother by the will of the reigning Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, and Catherine was deprived of the opportunity to raise her, allowing her to see Paul only occasionally. So the Grand Duchess first saw her son only 40 days after giving birth. A number of sources claim that Paul’s true father was Catherine’s lover S.V. Saltykov (there is no direct statement about this in the “Notes” of Catherine II, but they are often interpreted this way). Others say that such rumors are unfounded, and that Peter underwent an operation that eliminated a defect that made conception impossible. The question of paternity also aroused interest among society.

After the birth of Pavel, relations with Peter and Elizaveta Petrovna completely deteriorated. Peter called his wife “spare madam” and openly took mistresses, however, without preventing Catherine from doing the same, who during this period, thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Sir Charles Henbury Williams, had a relationship with Stanislav Poniatowski, the future king of Poland. On December 9, 1757, Catherine gave birth to her daughter Anna, which caused strong dissatisfaction with Peter, who said at the news of a new pregnancy: “God knows why my wife became pregnant again! I’m not at all sure if this child is from me and whether I should take it personally.”

During this period, the English Ambassador Williams was a close friend and confidant of Catherine. He repeatedly provided her with significant sums in the form of loans or subsidies: only in 1750 she was given 50,000 rubles, for which there are two receipts from her; and in November 1756 she was given 44,000 rubles. In return, he received various confidential information from her - verbally and through letters, which she quite regularly wrote to him as if on behalf of a man (for purposes of secrecy). In particular, at the end of 1756, after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War with Prussia (of which England was an ally), Williams, as follows from his own dispatches, received from Catherine important information about the state of the warring Russian army and about the plan of the Russian offensive, which he transferred to London, as well as to Berlin to the Prussian king Frederick II. After Williams left, she also received money from his successor Keith. Historians explain Catherine’s frequent appeal to the British for money by her extravagance, due to which her expenses far exceeded the amounts that were allocated from the treasury for her maintenance. In one of her letters to Williams, she promised, as a sign of gratitude, “to lead Russia to a friendly alliance with England, to give her everywhere the assistance and preference necessary for the good of all Europe and especially Russia, before their common enemy, France, whose greatness is a shame for Russia. I will learn to practice these feelings, I will base my glory on them and I will prove to the king, your sovereign, the strength of these feelings of mine.”.

Already starting in 1756, and especially during the illness of Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine hatched a plan to remove the future emperor (her husband) from the throne through a conspiracy, which she repeatedly wrote to Williams. For these purposes, Catherine, according to the historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, “begged a loan of 10 thousand pounds sterling from the English king for gifts and bribes, pledging on her word of honor to act in the common Anglo-Russian interests, and began to think about involving the guard in the case in the event of death Elizabeth, entered into a secret agreement on this with Hetman K. Razumovsky, commander of one of the guards regiments.” Chancellor Bestuzhev, who promised Catherine assistance, was also privy to this plan for a palace coup.

At the beginning of 1758, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna suspected the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Apraksin, with whom Catherine was on friendly terms, as well as Chancellor Bestuzhev himself, of treason. Both were arrested, interrogated and punished; however, Bestuzhev managed to destroy all his correspondence with Catherine before his arrest, which saved her from persecution and disgrace. At the same time, Williams was recalled to England. Thus, her former favorites were removed, but a circle of new ones began to form: Grigory Orlov and Dashkova.

The death of Elizaveta Petrovna (December 25, 1761) and the accession to the throne of Peter Fedorovich under the name of Peter III alienated the spouses even more. Peter III began to live openly with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, this could no longer be explained by accidental conception from her husband, since communication between the spouses had stopped completely by that time. Catherine hid her pregnancy, and when the time came to give birth, her devoted valet Vasily Grigorievich Shkurin set fire to his house. A lover of such spectacles, Peter and his court left the palace to look at the fire; At this time, Catherine gave birth safely. This is how Alexey Bobrinsky was born, to whom his brother Pavel I subsequently awarded the title of count.

Having ascended the throne, Peter III carried out a number of actions that caused a negative attitude towards him from the officer corps. Thus, he concluded an unfavorable agreement for Russia with Prussia, while Russia won a number of victories over it during the Seven Years' War, and returned to it the lands captured by the Russians. At the same time, he intended, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (Russia’s ally), in order to return Schleswig, which it had taken from Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard. Peter announced the sequestration of the property of the Russian Church, the abolition of monastic land ownership, and shared with those around him plans for the reform of church rituals. Supporters of the coup also accused Peter III of ignorance, dementia, dislike for Russia, and complete inability to rule. Against his background, Catherine looked favorably - an intelligent, well-read, pious and benevolent wife, subjected to persecution by her husband.

After the relationship with her husband completely deteriorated and dissatisfaction with the emperor on the part of the guard intensified, Catherine decided to participate in the coup. Her comrades-in-arms, the main of whom were the Orlov brothers, sergeant Potemkin and adjutant Fyodor Khitrovo, began campaigning in the guards units and won them over to their side. The immediate cause of the start of the coup was rumors about the arrest of Catherine and the discovery and arrest of one of the participants in the conspiracy, Lieutenant Passek.

Apparently, there was some foreign participation here too. As A. Troyat and K. Waliszewski write, planning the overthrow of Peter III, Catherine turned to the French and British for money, hinting to them what she was going to do. The French were distrustful of her request to borrow 60 thousand rubles, not believing in the seriousness of her plan, but she received 100 thousand rubles from the British, which subsequently may have influenced her attitude towards England and France.

Early in the morning of June 28 (July 9), 1762, while Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine, accompanied by Alexei and Grigory Orlov, arrived from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where the guards units swore allegiance to her. Peter III, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, abdicated the throne the next day, was taken into custody and died under unclear circumstances. In her letter, Catherine once indicated that before his death Peter suffered from hemorrhoidal colic. After death (although the facts indicate that even before death - see below), Catherine ordered an autopsy to dispel suspicions of poisoning. The autopsy showed (according to Catherine) that the stomach was absolutely clean, which ruled out the presence of poison.

At the same time, as historian N.I. Pavlenko writes, “The violent death of the emperor is irrefutably confirmed by absolutely reliable sources” - Orlov’s letters to Catherine and a number of other facts. There are also facts indicating that she knew about the impending murder of Peter III. So, already on July 4, 2 days before the death of the emperor in the palace in Ropsha, Catherine sent the doctor Paulsen to him, and as Pavlenko writes, “It is indicative that Paulsen was sent to Ropsha not with medicines, but with surgical instruments for opening the body”.

After her husband's abdication, Ekaterina Alekseevna ascended the throne as reigning empress with the name of Catherine II, publishing a manifesto in which the grounds for the removal of Peter were indicated as an attempt to change the state religion and peace with Prussia. To justify her own rights to the throne (and not the heir to Paul), Catherine referred to “the desire of all Our loyal subjects, obvious and unfeigned.” On September 22 (October 3), 1762, she was crowned in Moscow. As V. O. Klyuchevsky characterized her accession, “Catherine made a double takeover: she took power from her husband and did not transfer it to her son, the natural heir of his father.”.

The policy of Catherine II was characterized mainly by the preservation and development of trends laid down by her predecessors. In the middle of the reign, an administrative (provincial) reform was carried out, which determined the territorial structure of the country until 1917, as well as judicial reform. The territory of the Russian state increased significantly due to the annexation of fertile southern lands - Crimea, the Black Sea region, as well as the eastern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, etc. The population increased from 23.2 million (in 1763) to 37.4 million (in 1796), In terms of population, Russia became the largest European country (it accounted for 20% of the European population). Catherine II formed 29 new provinces and built about 144 cities.

Klyuchevsky about the reign of Catherine the Great: “The army with 162 thousand people was strengthened to 312 thousand, the fleet, which in 1757 consisted of 21 battleships and 6 frigates, in 1790 included 67 battleships and 40 frigates and 300 rowing ships, the amount of state revenue from 16 million rubles rose to 69 million, that is, it increased more than fourfold, the success of foreign trade: the Baltic - in increasing imports and exports, from 9 million to 44 million rubles, the Black Sea, Catherine and created - from 390 thousand in 1776 to 1 million 900 thousand rubles in 1796, the growth of internal turnover was indicated by the issue of coins in the 34 years of the reign for 148 million rubles, while in the 62 previous years it was issued only for 97 million."

Population growth was largely the result of the annexation of foreign states and territories (which were home to almost 7 million people) to Russia, often occurring against the wishes of the local population, which led to the emergence of “Polish”, “Ukrainian”, “Jewish” and other national issues , inherited by the Russian Empire from the era of Catherine II. Hundreds of villages under Catherine received the status of a city, but in fact they remained villages in appearance and occupation of the population, the same applies to a number of cities founded by her (some even existed only on paper, as evidenced by contemporaries). In addition to the issue of coins, 156 million rubles worth of paper notes were issued, which led to inflation and a significant depreciation of the ruble; therefore, the real growth of budget revenues and other economic indicators during her reign was significantly less than the nominal one.

The Russian economy continued to remain agricultural. The share of the urban population has practically not increased, amounting to about 4%. At the same time, a number of cities were founded (Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, etc.), iron smelting more than doubled (for which Russia took 1st place in the world), and the number of sailing and linen manufactories increased. In total, by the end of the 18th century. there were 1,200 large enterprises in the country (in 1767 there were 663). The export of Russian goods to other European countries has increased significantly, including through the established Black Sea ports. However, in the structure of this export there were no finished products at all, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and imports were dominated by foreign industrial products. While in the West in the second half of the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution was taking place, Russian industry remained “patriarchal” and serfdom, which caused it to lag behind the Western one. Finally, in the 1770-1780s. An acute social and economic crisis broke out, which resulted in a financial crisis.

Catherine’s commitment to the ideas of the Enlightenment largely predetermined the fact that the term “enlightened absolutism” is often used to characterize the domestic policy of Catherine’s time. She actually brought some of the ideas of the Enlightenment to life.

Thus, according to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher, the vast Russian spaces and the severity of the climate determine the pattern and necessity of autocracy in Russia. Based on this, under Catherine, the autocracy was strengthened, the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the country was centralized and the management system was unified. However, the ideas expressed by Diderot and Voltaire, of which she was a vocal supporter, did not correspond to her domestic policy. They defended the idea that every person is born free, and advocated the equality of all people and the elimination of medieval forms of exploitation and oppressive forms of government. Contrary to these ideas, under Catherine there was a further deterioration in the position of the serfs, their exploitation intensified, and inequality grew due to the granting of even greater privileges to the nobility.

In general, historians characterize her policy as “pro-noble” and believe that, contrary to the empress’s frequent statements about her “vigilant concern for the welfare of all subjects,” the concept of the common good in the era of Catherine was the same fiction as in Russia as a whole in the 18th century.

Under Catherine, the territory of the empire was divided into provinces, many of which remained virtually unchanged until the October Revolution. The territory of Estonia and Livonia as a result of the regional reform in 1782-1783. was divided into two provinces - Riga and Revel - with institutions that already existed in other provinces of Russia. The special Baltic order, which provided for more extensive rights of local nobles to work and the personality of the peasant than those of Russian landowners, was also eliminated. Siberia was divided into three provinces: Tobolsk, Kolyvan and Irkutsk.

Speaking about the reasons for the provincial reform under Catherine, N. I. Pavlenko writes that it was a response to the Peasant War of 1773-1775. led by Pugachev, which revealed the weakness of local authorities and their inability to cope with peasant revolts. The reform was preceded by a series of notes submitted to the government from the nobility, in which it was recommended to increase the network of institutions and “police supervisors” in the country.

Carrying out provincial reform in Left Bank Ukraine in 1783-1785. led to a change in the regimental structure (former regiments and hundreds) to the administrative division common to the Russian Empire into provinces and districts, the final establishment of serfdom and the equalization of the rights of the Cossack elders with the Russian nobility. With the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty (1774), Russia gained access to the Black Sea and Crimea.

Thus, there was no longer a need to maintain the special rights and management system of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. At the same time, their traditional way of life often led to conflicts with the authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers, as well as in connection with the Cossacks’ support for the Pugachev uprising, Catherine II ordered the disbandment of the Zaporozhye Sich, which was carried out by order of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporozhye Cossacks by General Pyotr Tekeli in June 1775.

The Sich was disbanded, most of the Cossacks were disbanded, and the fortress itself was destroyed. In 1787, Catherine II, together with Potemkin, visited Crimea, where she was met by the Amazon company created for her arrival; in the same year, the Army of the Faithful Cossacks was created, which later became the Black Sea Cossack Army, and in 1792 they were granted Kuban for eternal use, where the Cossacks moved, founding the city of Yekaterinodar.

Reforms on the Don created a military civil government modeled on the provincial administrations of central Russia. In 1771, the Kalmyk Khanate was finally annexed to Russia.

The reign of Catherine II was characterized by extensive development of the economy and trade, while maintaining “patriarchal” industry and agriculture. By a decree of 1775, factories and industrial plants were recognized as property, the disposal of which does not require special permission from their superiors. In 1763, the free exchange of copper money for silver was prohibited, so as not to provoke the development of inflation. The development and revival of trade was facilitated by the emergence of new credit institutions (state bank and loan office) and the expansion of banking operations (acceptance of deposits for safekeeping was introduced in 1770). A state bank was established and the issue of paper money - banknotes - was established for the first time.

State regulation of salt prices has been introduced, which was one of the vital goods in the country. The Senate legislatively set the price of salt at 30 kopecks per pood (instead of 50 kopecks) and 10 kopecks per pood in regions where fish are mass-salted. Without introducing a state monopoly on the salt trade, Catherine hoped for increased competition and, ultimately, an improvement in the quality of the product. However, soon the price of salt was raised again. At the beginning of the reign, some monopolies were abolished: the state monopoly on trade with China, the private monopoly of the merchant Shemyakin on the import of silk, and others.

Russia's role in the global economy has increased- Russian sailing fabric began to be exported to England in large quantities, and the export of cast iron and iron to other European countries increased (consumption of cast iron on the domestic Russian market also increased significantly). But the export of raw materials increased especially strongly: timber (5 times), hemp, bristles, etc., as well as bread. The country's export volume increased from 13.9 million rubles. in 1760 to 39.6 million rubles. in 1790

Russian merchant ships began to sail in the Mediterranean Sea. However, their number was insignificant in comparison with foreign ones - only 7% of the total number of ships serving Russian foreign trade in the late 18th - early 19th centuries; the number of foreign merchant ships entering Russian ports annually during her reign increased from 1340 to 2430.

As the economic historian N.A. Rozhkov pointed out, in the structure of exports in the era of Catherine there were no finished products at all, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and 80-90% of imports were foreign industrial products, the volume of imports of which was several times higher than domestic production. Thus, the volume of domestic manufacturing production in 1773 was 2.9 million rubles, the same as in 1765, and the volume of imports in these years was about 10 million rubles.

Industry developed poorly, there were practically no technical improvements and serf labor dominated. Thus, from year to year, cloth factories could not even satisfy the needs of the army, despite the ban on selling cloth “outside”; in addition, the cloth was of poor quality, and it had to be purchased abroad. Catherine herself did not understand the significance of the Industrial Revolution taking place in the West and argued that machines (or, as she called them, “machines”) harm the state because they reduce the number of workers. Only two export industries developed rapidly - the production of cast iron and linen, but both were based on “patriarchal” methods, without the use of new technologies that were actively being introduced in the West at that time - which predetermined a severe crisis in both industries, which began shortly after the death of Catherine II .

In the field of foreign trade, Catherine’s policy consisted of a gradual transition from protectionism, characteristic of Elizabeth Petrovna, to complete liberalization of exports and imports, which, according to a number of economic historians, was a consequence of the influence of the ideas of the physiocrats. Already in the first years of the reign, a number of foreign trade monopolies and a ban on grain exports were abolished, which from that time began to grow rapidly. In 1765, the Free Economic Society was founded, which promoted the ideas of free trade and published its own magazine. In 1766, a new customs tariff was introduced, significantly reducing tariff barriers compared to the protectionist tariff of 1757 (which established protective duties of 60 to 100% or more); they were reduced even more in the customs tariff of 1782. Thus, in the “moderate protectionist” tariff of 1766, protective duties averaged 30%, and in the liberal tariff of 1782 - 10%, only for some goods rising to 20- thirty%.

Agriculture, like industry, developed mainly through extensive methods (increasing the amount of arable land); The promotion of intensive agricultural methods by the Free Economic Society created under Catherine did not have much result.

From the first years of Catherine's reign, famine began to occur periodically in the village, which some contemporaries explained by chronic crop failures, but the historian M.N. Pokrovsky associated with the beginning of mass grain exports, which had previously, under Elizaveta Petrovna, been prohibited, and by the end of Catherine’s reign amounted to 1.3 million rubles. in year. Cases of mass ruin of peasants have become more frequent. The famines became especially widespread in the 1780s, when they affected large regions of the country. Bread prices have increased significantly: for example, in the center of Russia (Moscow, Smolensk, Kaluga) they increased from 86 kopecks. in 1760 to 2.19 rubles. in 1773 and up to 7 rubles. in 1788, that is, more than 8 times.

Paper money introduced into circulation in 1769 - banknotes- in the first decade of its existence, they accounted for only a few percent of the metal (silver and copper) money supply, and played a positive role, allowing the state to reduce its costs of moving money within the empire. However, due to the lack of money in the treasury, which became a constant phenomenon, from the beginning of the 1780s, an increasing number of banknotes were issued, the volume of which reached 156 million rubles by 1796, and their value depreciated by 1.5 times. In addition, the state borrowed money abroad in the amount of 33 million rubles. and had various unpaid internal obligations (bills, salaries, etc.) in the amount of RUB 15.5 million. That. the total amount of government debts amounted to 205 million rubles, the treasury was empty, and budget expenses significantly exceeded income, which was stated by Paul I upon his accession to the throne. All this gave the historian N.D. Chechulin, in his economic research, the basis to conclude about a “severe economic crisis” in the country (in the second half of the reign of Catherine II) and about the “complete collapse of the financial system of Catherine’s reign.”

In 1768, a network of city schools was created, based on a class-lesson system. Schools began to open actively. Under Catherine, special attention was paid to the development of women's education; in 1764, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens and the Educational Society for Noble Maidens were opened. The Academy of Sciences has become one of the leading scientific bases in Europe. An observatory, a physics laboratory, an anatomical theater, a botanical garden, instrumental workshops, a printing house, a library, and an archive were founded. On October 11, 1783, the Russian Academy was founded.

Compulsory smallpox vaccination introduced, and Catherine decided to set a personal example for her subjects: on the night of October 12 (23), 1768, the empress herself was vaccinated against smallpox. Among the first to be vaccinated were also Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. Under Catherine II, the fight against epidemics in Russia began to acquire the character of state measures that were directly included in the responsibilities of the Imperial Council and the Senate. By decree of Catherine, outposts were created, located not only on the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The “Border and Port Quarantine Charter” was created.

New areas of medicine for Russia developed: hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters were opened. A number of fundamental works on medical issues have been published.

To prevent their relocation to the central regions of Russia and attachment to their communities for the convenience of collecting state taxes, Catherine II established the Pale of Settlement in 1791, outside of which Jews had no right to live. The Pale of Settlement was established in the same place where Jews had lived before - on the lands annexed as a result of the three partitions of Poland, as well as in the steppe regions near the Black Sea and sparsely populated areas east of the Dnieper. The conversion of Jews to Orthodoxy lifted all restrictions on residence. It is noted that the Pale of Settlement contributed to the preservation of Jewish national identity and the formation of a special Jewish identity within the Russian Empire.

In 1762-1764, Catherine published two manifestos. The first - “On the permission of all foreigners entering Russia to settle in whichever provinces they wish and the rights granted to them” - called on foreign citizens to move to Russia, the second defined a list of benefits and privileges for immigrants. Soon the first German settlements arose in the Volga region, reserved for settlers. The influx of German colonists was so great that already in 1766 it was necessary to temporarily suspend the reception of new settlers until those who had already arrived were settled. The creation of colonies on the Volga was increasing: in 1765 - 12 colonies, in 1766 - 21, in 1767 - 67. According to the census of colonists in 1769, 6.5 thousand families lived in 105 colonies on the Volga, which amounted to 23.2 thousand people. In the future, the German community will play a significant role in the life of Russia.

During the reign of Catherine, the country included the Northern Black Sea region, the Azov region, Crimea, Novorossia, the lands between the Dniester and the Bug, Belarus, Courland and Lithuania. The total number of new subjects acquired by Russia in this way reached 7 million. As a result, as V. O. Klyuchevsky wrote, in the Russian Empire “the discord of interests intensified” between different peoples. This was expressed, in particular, in the fact that for almost every nationality the government was forced to introduce a special economic, tax and administrative regime. Thus, the German colonists were completely exempt from paying taxes to the state and from other duties; the Pale of Settlement was introduced for Jews; From the Ukrainian and Belarusian population in the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the poll tax was at first not levied at all, and then levied at half the amount. The indigenous population turned out to be the most discriminated against in these conditions, which led to the following incident: some Russian nobles at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. as a reward for their service, they were asked to “register as Germans” so that they could enjoy the corresponding privileges.

On April 21, 1785, two charters were issued: “Certificate on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble nobility” And “Charter of Complaint to Cities”. The Empress called them the crown of her activity, and historians consider them the crown of the “pro-noble policy” of the kings of the 18th century. As N.I. Pavlenko writes, “In the history of Russia, the nobility has never been blessed with such diverse privileges as under Catherine II.”

Both charters finally assigned to the upper classes those rights, obligations and privileges that had already been granted by Catherine’s predecessors during the 18th century, and provided a number of new ones. Thus, the nobility as a class was formed by the decrees of Peter I and then received a number of privileges, including exemption from the poll tax and the right to unlimited disposal of estates; and by decree of Peter III it was finally released from compulsory service to the state.

The charter granted to the nobility contained the following guarantees:

Already existing rights were confirmed
- the nobility were exempted from the quartering of military units and commands, from corporal punishment
- the nobility received ownership of the subsoil of the earth
- the right to have their own estate institutions, the name of the 1st estate has changed: not “nobility”, but “noble nobility”
- it was forbidden to confiscate the estates of nobles for criminal offenses; estates were to be transferred to the legal heirs
- nobles have the exclusive right of ownership of land, but the “Charter” does not say a word about the monopoly right to have serfs
- Ukrainian elders were given equal rights with Russian nobles. a nobleman who did not have an officer rank was deprived of the right to vote
- only nobles whose income from estates exceeded 100 rubles could hold elected positions.

Despite the privileges, in the era of Catherine II, property inequality among the nobles increased greatly: against the backdrop of individual large fortunes, the economic situation of part of the nobility worsened. As the historian D. Blum points out, a number of large nobles owned tens and hundreds of thousands of serfs, which was not the case in previous reigns (when the owner of more than 500 souls was considered rich); at the same time, almost 2/3 of all landowners in 1777 had less than 30 male serfs, and 1/3 of landowners had less than 10 souls; many nobles who wanted to enter the public service did not have the funds to purchase appropriate clothing and shoes. V. O. Klyuchevsky writes that many noble children during her reign, even becoming students at the maritime academy and “receiving a small salary (scholarships), 1 rub. per month, “from barefoot” they could not even attend the academy and were forced, according to the report, not to think about the sciences, but about their own food, to acquire funds for their maintenance on the side.”

During the reign of Catherine II, a number of laws were adopted that worsened the situation of the peasants:

The decree of 1763 entrusted the maintenance of military commands sent to suppress peasant uprisings to the peasants themselves.
According to the decree of 1765, for open disobedience, the landowner could send the peasant not only to exile, but also to hard labor, and the period of hard labor was set by him; The landowners also had the right to return those exiled from hard labor at any time.
A decree of 1767 prohibited peasants from complaining about their master; those who disobeyed were threatened with exile to Nerchinsk (but they could go to court).
In 1783, serfdom was introduced in Little Russia (Left Bank Ukraine and the Russian Black Earth Region).
In 1796, serfdom was introduced in New Russia (Don, North Caucasus).
After the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the serfdom regime was tightened in the territories that were transferred to the Russian Empire (Right Bank Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland).

As N.I. Pavlenko writes, under Catherine “serfdom developed in depth and breadth,” which was “an example of a blatant contradiction between the ideas of the Enlightenment and government measures to strengthen the serfdom regime.”

During her reign, Catherine gave away more than 800 thousand peasants to landowners and nobles, thereby setting a kind of record. Most of them were not state peasants, but peasants from lands acquired during the partitions of Poland, as well as palace peasants. But, for example, the number of assigned (possession) peasants from 1762 to 1796. increased from 210 to 312 thousand people, and these were formally free (state) peasants, but converted to the status of serfs or slaves. Possession peasants of the Ural factories took an active part in Peasant War of 1773-1775.

At the same time, the situation of the monastic peasants was alleviated, who were transferred to the jurisdiction of the College of Economy along with the lands. All their duties were replaced by monetary rent, which gave the peasants more independence and developed their economic initiative. As a result, the unrest of the monastery peasants ceased.

The fact that a woman who did not have any formal rights to this was proclaimed empress gave rise to many pretenders to the throne, which overshadowed a significant part of the reign of Catherine II. Yes, just from 1764 to 1773 seven False Peters III appeared in the country(who claimed that they were nothing more than the “resurrected” Peter III) - A. Aslanbekov, I. Evdokimov, G. Kremnev, P. Chernyshov, G. Ryabov, F. Bogomolov, N. Krestov; Emelyan Pugachev became eighth. And in 1774-1775. To this list was added the “case of Princess Tarakanova,” who pretended to be the daughter of Elizaveta Petrovna.

During 1762-1764. 3 conspiracies were uncovered aimed at overthrowing Catherine, and two of them were associated with the name of the former Russian emperor Ivan VI, who at the time of Catherine II’s accession to the throne continued to remain alive in prison in the Shlisselburg fortress. The first of them involved 70 officers. The second took place in 1764, when second lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg fortress, won over part of the garrison to his side in order to free Ivan. The guards, however, in accordance with the instructions given to them, stabbed the prisoner, and Mirovich himself was arrested and executed.

In 1771, a major plague epidemic occurred in Moscow, complicated by popular unrest in Moscow, called the Plague Riot. The rebels destroyed the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin. The next day, the crowd took the Donskoy Monastery by storm, killed Archbishop Ambrose, who was hiding there, and began to destroy quarantine outposts and houses of the nobility. Troops under the command of G. G. Orlov were sent to suppress the uprising. After three days of fighting, the riot was suppressed.

In 1773-1775 there was a peasant uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. It covered the lands of the Yaitsk army, the Orenburg province, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkiria, part of Western Siberia, the Middle and Lower Volga region. During the uprising, the Cossacks were joined by Bashkirs, Tatars, Kazakhs, Ural factory workers and numerous serfs from all the provinces where hostilities took place. After the suppression of the uprising, some liberal reforms were curtailed and conservatism intensified.

In 1772 took place First section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Austria received all of Galicia with its districts, Prussia - Western Prussia (Pomerania), Russia - the eastern part of Belarus to Minsk (Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces) and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. The Polish Sejm was forced to agree to the division and give up claims to the lost territories: Poland lost 380,000 km² with a population of 4 million people.

Polish nobles and industrialists contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1791; The conservative part of the population of the Targowica Confederation turned to Russia for help.

In 1793 there took place Second section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, approved at the Grodno Seim. Prussia received Gdansk, Torun, Poznan (part of the lands along the Warta and Vistula rivers), Russia - Central Belarus with Minsk and Novorossiya (part of the territory of modern Ukraine).

In March 1794, an uprising began under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the goals of which were to restore territorial integrity, sovereignty and the Constitution on May 3, but in the spring of that year it was suppressed by the Russian army under the command of A.V. Suvorov. During the Kościuszko uprising, the rebel Poles who seized the Russian embassy in Warsaw discovered documents that had a great public resonance, according to which King Stanisław Poniatowski and a number of members of the Grodno Sejm, at the time of the approval of the 2nd partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, received money from the Russian government - in in particular, Poniatowski received several thousand ducats.

In 1795 took place Third section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Austria received Southern Poland with Luban and Krakow, Prussia - Central Poland with Warsaw, Russia - Lithuania, Courland, Volyn and Western Belarus.

October 13, 1795 - a conference of the three powers on the fall of the Polish state, it lost statehood and sovereignty.

An important area of ​​Catherine II’s foreign policy also included the territories of Crimea, the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus, which were under Turkish rule.

When the uprising of the Bar Confederation broke out, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia (Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774), using as a pretext the fact that one of the Russian troops, pursuing the Poles, entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Russian troops defeated the Confederates and began to win victories one after another in the south. Having achieved success in a number of land and sea battles (the Battle of Kozludzhi, the battle of Ryabaya Mogila, the Battle of Kagul, the Battle of Larga, the Battle of Chesme, etc.), Russia forced Turkey to sign the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, as a result of which the Crimean Khanate formally gained independence, but de facto became dependent on Russia. Turkey paid Russia military indemnities in the order of 4.5 million rubles, and also ceded the northern coast of the Black Sea along with two important ports.

After the end of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Russia's policy towards the Crimean Khanate was aimed at establishing a pro-Russian ruler in it and joining Russia. Under pressure from Russian diplomacy, Shahin Giray was elected khan. The previous khan, Turkey's protege Devlet IV Giray, tried to resist at the beginning of 1777, but it was suppressed by A.V. Suvorov, Devlet IV fled to Turkey. At the same time, the landing of Turkish troops in the Crimea was prevented and thus an attempt to start a new war was prevented, after which Turkey recognized Shahin Giray as khan. In 1782, an uprising broke out against him, which was suppressed by Russian troops introduced into the peninsula, and in 1783, with the manifesto of Catherine II, the Crimean Khanate was annexed to Russia.

After the victory, the Empress, together with the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, made a triumphal tour of the Crimea.

The next war with Turkey occurred in 1787-1792 and was an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain the lands that had gone to Russia during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, including Crimea. Here, too, the Russians won a number of important victories, both land - the Battle of Kinburn, the Battle of Rymnik, the capture of Ochakov, the capture of Izmail, the battle of Focsani, the Turkish campaigns against Bendery and Akkerman were repulsed, etc., and sea - the battle of Fidonisi (1788), The Battle of Kerch (1790), the Battle of Cape Tendra (1790) and the Battle of Kaliakria (1791). As a result, the Ottoman Empire in 1791 was forced to sign the Treaty of Yassy, ​​which assigned Crimea and Ochakov to Russia, and also pushed the border between the two empires to the Dniester.

The wars with Turkey were marked by major military victories of Rumyantsev, Orlov-Chesmensky, Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, and the establishment of Russia in the Black Sea. As a result, the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, and the Kuban region went to Russia, its political positions in the Caucasus and Balkans strengthened, and Russia’s authority on the world stage was strengthened.

According to many historians, these conquests are the main achievement of the reign of Catherine II. At the same time, a number of historians (K. Valishevsky, V. O. Klyuchevsky, etc.) and contemporaries (Frederick II, French ministers, etc.) explained the “amazing” victories of Russia over Turkey not so much by the strength of the Russian army and navy, which were still quite weak and poorly organized, largely a consequence of the extreme decomposition of the Turkish army and state during this period.

Catherine II's height: 157 centimeters.

Personal life of Catherine II:

Unlike her predecessor, Catherine did not carry out extensive palace construction for her own needs. To move around the country comfortably, she set up a network of small travel palaces along the road from St. Petersburg to Moscow (from Chesmensky to Petrovsky) and only at the end of her life began building a new country residence in Pella (not preserved). In addition, she was concerned about the lack of a spacious and modern residence in Moscow and its environs. Although she did not visit the old capital often, Catherine for a number of years cherished plans for the reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin, as well as the construction of suburban palaces in Lefortovo, Kolomenskoye and Tsaritsyn. For various reasons, none of these projects were completed.

Ekaterina was a brunette of average height. She combined high intelligence, education, statesmanship and a commitment to “free love.” Catherine is known for her connections with numerous lovers, the number of which (according to the list of the authoritative Catherine scholar P.I. Bartenev) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergei Saltykov, G.G. Orlov, horse guard lieutenant Vasilchikov, hussar Zorich, Lanskoy, the last favorite there was cornet Platon Zubov, who became a general. According to some sources, Catherine was secretly married to Potemkin (1775, see Wedding of Catherine II and Potemkin). After 1762, she planned a marriage with Orlov, but on the advice of those close to her, she abandoned this idea.

Catherine's love affairs were marked by a series of scandals. So, Grigory Orlov, being her favorite, at the same time (according to M.M. Shcherbatov) cohabited with all her ladies-in-waiting and even with his 13-year-old cousin. The favorite of Empress Lanskaya used an aphrodisiac to increase “male strength” (contarid) in ever-increasing doses, which, apparently, according to the conclusion of the court physician Weikart, was the cause of his unexpected death at a young age. Her last favorite, Platon Zubov, was a little over 20 years old, while Catherine’s age at that time had already exceeded 60. Historians mention many other scandalous details (“a bribe” of 100 thousand rubles paid to Potemkin by the empress’s future favorites, many of who were previously his adjutants, testing their “male strength” by her ladies-in-waiting, etc.).

The bewilderment of contemporaries, including foreign diplomats, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, etc., was caused by the enthusiastic reviews and characteristics that Catherine gave to her young favorites, most of whom were devoid of any outstanding talents. As N.I. Pavlenko writes, “neither before Catherine nor after her did debauchery reach such a wide scale and manifest itself in such an openly defiant form.”

It is worth noting that in Europe, Catherine’s “debauchery” was not such a rare occurrence against the backdrop of the general debauchery of morals in the 18th century. Most kings (with the possible exception of Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Charles XII) had numerous mistresses. However, this does not apply to reigning queens and empresses. Thus, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa wrote about the “disgust and horror” that such persons as Catherine II instill in her, and this attitude towards the latter was shared by her daughter Marie Antoinette. As K. Walishevsky wrote in this regard, comparing Catherine II with Louis XV, “the difference between the sexes until the end of time, we think, will give a deeply unequal character to the same actions, depending on whether they were committed by a man or a woman... besides, the mistresses of Louis XV never influenced the fate of France.”

There are numerous examples of the exceptional influence (both negative and positive) that Catherine’s favorites (Orlov, Potemkin, Platon Zubov, etc.) had on the fate of the country, starting from June 28, 1762 until the death of the Empress, as well as on its domestic and foreign policies and even military actions. As N.I. Pavlenko writes, to please the favorite Grigory Potemkin, who was jealous of the glory of Field Marshal Rumyantsev, this outstanding commander and hero of the Russian-Turkish wars was removed by Catherine from command of the army and was forced to retire to his estate. Another, very mediocre commander, Musin-Pushkin, on the contrary, continued to lead the army, despite his mistakes in military campaigns (for which the empress herself called him “a complete idiot”) - thanks to the fact that he was the “favorite of June 28”, one of those who helped Catherine seize the throne.

In addition, the institution of favoritism had a negative effect on the morals of the higher nobility, who sought benefits through flattery to the new favorite, tried to make “their own man” become lovers of the empress, etc. Contemporary M. M. Shcherbatov wrote that favoritism and debauchery of Catherine II contributed to the decline of the morals of the nobility of that era, and historians agree with this.

Catherine had two sons: (1754) and Alexey Bobrinsky (1762 - son of Grigory Orlov), as well as a daughter, Anna Petrovna (1757-1759, possibly from the future king of Poland Stanislav Poniatovsky), who died in infancy. Less likely is Catherine's motherhood in relation to Potemkin's pupil named Elizaveta, who was born when the empress was over 45 years old.

Sophia Frederika Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in the German Pomeranian city of Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland). My father came from the Zerbst-Dornburg line of the Anhalt house and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, ran for the Duke of Courland, but unsuccessfully, and ended his service as a Prussian field marshal. The mother was from the Holstein-Gottorp family and was a cousin of the future Peter III. Maternal uncle Adolf Friedrich (Adolf Fredrik) was the king of Sweden from 1751 (elected heir in the city). Catherine II's mother's ancestry goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, 1st Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.

Childhood, education and upbringing

The Duke of Zerbst's family was not rich; Catherine was educated at home. She studied German and French, dance, music, the basics of history, geography, and theology. She was brought up in strictness. She grew up inquisitive, prone to active games, and persistent.

Ekaterina continues to educate herself. She reads books on history, philosophy, jurisprudence, works by Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tacitus, Bayle, and a large amount of other literature. The main entertainment for her was hunting, horse riding, dancing and masquerades. The absence of marital relations with the Grand Duke contributed to the appearance of lovers for Catherine. Meanwhile, Empress Elizabeth expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of children of the spouses.

Finally, after two unsuccessful pregnancies, on September 20 (October 1), 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, whom she was immediately taken away from, named Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) and deprived of the opportunity to raise, and only allowed to see occasionally. A number of sources claim that Pavel’s true father was Catherine’s lover S.V. Saltykov. Others say that such rumors are unfounded, and that Peter underwent an operation that eliminated a defect that made conception impossible. The question of paternity also aroused interest among society.

After the birth of Pavel, relations with Peter and Elizaveta Petrovna completely deteriorated. Peter openly took mistresses, however, without preventing Catherine from doing the same, who during this period developed a relationship with Stanislav Poniatowski, the future king of Poland. On December 9 (20), 1758, Catherine gave birth to her daughter Anna, which caused strong dissatisfaction with Peter, who said at the news of a new pregnancy: “God knows where my wife gets pregnant; I don’t know for sure whether this child is mine and whether I should recognize him as mine.” At this time, Elizaveta Petrovna’s condition worsened. All this made the prospect of Catherine’s expulsion from Russia or her imprisonment in a monastery realistic. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Catherine’s secret correspondence with the disgraced Field Marshal Apraksin and the British Ambassador Williams, dedicated to political issues, was revealed. Her previous favorites were removed, but a circle of new ones began to form: Grigory Orlov, Dashkova and others.

The death of Elizabeth Petrovna (December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762)) and the accession to the throne of Peter Fedorovich under the name of Peter III further alienated the spouses. Peter III began to live openly with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, this could no longer be explained by an accidental conception from her husband, since communication between the spouses had stopped completely by that time. Catherine hid her pregnancy, and when the time came to give birth, her devoted valet Vasily Grigorievich Shkurin set fire to his house. A lover of such spectacles, Peter and his court left the palace to look at the fire; At this time, Catherine gave birth safely. This is how the first Count Bobrinsky in Rus', the founder of a famous family, was born.

Coup of June 28, 1762

1. The nation that is to be governed must be enlightened.
2. It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, support society and force it to comply with the laws.
3. It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police force in the state.
4. It is necessary to promote the flourishing of the state and make it abundant.
5. It is necessary to make the state formidable in itself and inspiring respect among its neighbors.

The policy of Catherine II was characterized by progressive development, without sharp fluctuations. Upon her accession to the throne, she carried out a number of reforms (judicial, administrative, etc.). The territory of the Russian state increased significantly due to the annexation of fertile southern lands - Crimea, the Black Sea region, as well as the eastern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, etc. The population increased from 23.2 million (in 1763) to 37.4 million (in 1796), Russia became the most populous European country (it accounted for 20% of the European population). As Klyuchevsky wrote, “The army with 162 thousand people was strengthened to 312 thousand, the fleet, which in 1757 consisted of 21 battleships and 6 frigates, in 1790 included 67 battleships and 40 frigates, the amount of state revenue from 16 million rubles. rose to 69 million, that is, it more than quadrupled, the success of foreign trade: Baltic; in the increase in import and export, from 9 million to 44 million rubles, the Black Sea, Catherine and created - from 390 thousand in 1776 to 1900 thousand rubles. in 1796, the growth of internal circulation was indicated by the issue of coins worth 148 million rubles in the 34 years of his reign, while in the previous 62 years only 97 million were issued.”

The Russian economy continued to remain agricultural. The share of the urban population in 1796 was 6.3%. At the same time, a number of cities were founded (Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, etc.), iron smelting more than doubled (for which Russia took 1st place in the world), and the number of sailing and linen manufactories increased. In total, by the end of the 18th century. there were 1,200 large enterprises in the country (in 1767 there were 663). The export of Russian goods to European countries has increased significantly, including through the established Black Sea ports.

Domestic policy

Catherine’s commitment to the ideas of the Enlightenment determined the nature of her domestic policy and the direction of reforming various institutions of the Russian state. The term “enlightened absolutism” is often used to characterize the domestic policy of Catherine’s time. According to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher Montesquieu, the vast Russian spaces and the severity of the climate determine the pattern and necessity of autocracy in Russia. Based on this, under Catherine, the autocracy was strengthened, the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the country was centralized and the management system was unified.

Stacked commission

An attempt was made to convene the Statutory Commission, which would systematize the laws. The main goal is to clarify the people's needs to carry out comprehensive reforms.

More than 600 deputies took part in the commission, 33% of them were elected from the nobility, 36% from the townspeople, which also included nobles, 20% from the rural population (state peasants). The interests of the Orthodox clergy were represented by a deputy from the Synod.

As a guiding document for the 1767 Commission, the Empress prepared the “Nakaz” - a theoretical justification for enlightened absolutism.

The first meeting was held in the Faceted Chamber in Moscow

Due to the conservatism of the deputies, the Commission had to be dissolved.

Soon after the coup, statesman N.I. Panin proposed creating an Imperial Council: 6 or 8 senior dignitaries rule together with the monarch (as was the case in 1730). Catherine rejected this project.

According to another Panin project, the Senate was transformed - December 15. 1763 It was divided into 6 departments, headed by chief prosecutors, and the prosecutor general became its head. Each department had certain powers. The general powers of the Senate were reduced; in particular, it lost legislative initiative and became a body for monitoring the activities of the state apparatus and the highest court. The center of legislative activity moved directly to Catherine and her office with secretaries of state.

Provincial reform

7 Nov In 1775, the “Institution for the management of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire” was adopted. Instead of a three-tier administrative division - province, province, district, a two-tier administrative division began to operate - province, district (which was based on the principle of the size of the tax-paying population). From the previous 23 provinces, 50 were formed, each of which was home to 300-400 thousand people. The provinces were divided into 10-12 districts, each with 20-30 thousand d.m.p.

Thus, there was no further need to maintain the presence of Zaporozhye Cossacks in their historical homeland to protect the southern Russian borders. At the same time, their traditional way of life often led to conflicts with the Russian authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers, as well as in connection with the Cossacks’ support for the Pugachev uprising, Catherine II ordered the disbandment of the Zaporozhye Sich, which was carried out by order of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporozhye Cossacks by General Peter Tekeli in June 1775.

The Sich was bloodlessly disbanded, and then the fortress itself was destroyed. Most of the Cossacks were disbanded, but after 15 years they were remembered and the Army of the Faithful Cossacks was created, later the Black Sea Cossack Army, and in 1792 Catherine signed a manifesto that gave them Kuban for eternal use, where the Cossacks moved, founding the city of Yekaterinodar.

Reforms on the Don created a military civil government modeled on the provincial administrations of central Russia.

Beginning of the annexation of the Kalmyk Khanate

As a result of general administrative reforms of the 70s aimed at strengthening the state, it was decided to annex the Kalmyk Khanate to the Russian Empire.

By her decree of 1771, Catherine abolished the Kalmyk Khanate, thereby beginning the process of annexing the Kalmyk state, which previously had vassalage relations with the Russian state, to Russia. The affairs of the Kalmyks began to be supervised by a special Expedition of Kalmyk Affairs, established under the office of the Astrakhan governor. Under the rulers of the uluses, bailiffs were appointed from among Russian officials. In 1772, during the Expedition of Kalmyk Affairs, a Kalmyk court was established - Zargo, consisting of three members - one representative each from the three main uluses: Torgouts, Derbets and Khoshouts.

This decision of Catherine was preceded by the empress’s consistent policy of limiting the khan’s power in the Kalmyk Khanate. Thus, in the 60s, crisis phenomena intensified in the Khanate associated with the colonization of Kalmyk lands by Russian landowners and peasants, the reduction of pasture lands, the infringement of the rights of the local feudal elite, and the intervention of tsarist officials in Kalmyk affairs. After the construction of the fortified Tsaritsyn Line, thousands of Don Cossack families began to settle in the area of ​​the main Kalmyk nomads, and cities and fortresses began to be built throughout the Lower Volga. The best pasture lands were allocated for arable land and hayfields. The nomadic area was constantly narrowing, in turn this aggravated internal relations in the Khanate. The local feudal elite was also dissatisfied with the missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Christianizing nomads, as well as with the outflow of people from the uluses to the cities and villages to earn money. Under these conditions, among the Kalmyk noyons and zaisangs, with the support of the Buddhist church, a conspiracy matured with the aim of leaving the people to their historical homeland - Dzungaria.

On January 5, 1771, the Kalmyk feudal lords, dissatisfied with the policy of the empress, raised the uluses, which were roaming along the left bank of the Volga, and set off on a dangerous journey to Central Asia. Back in November 1770, an army was gathered on the left bank under the pretext of repelling the raids of the Kazakhs of the Younger Zhuz. The bulk of the Kalmyk population lived at that time on the meadow side of the Volga. Many Noyons and Zaisangs, realizing the disastrous nature of the campaign, wanted to stay with their uluses, but the army coming from behind drove everyone forward. This tragic campaign turned into a terrible disaster for the people. The small Kalmyk ethnic group lost about 100,000 people along the way, killed in battles, from wounds, cold, hunger, disease, as well as prisoners, and lost almost all their livestock - the main wealth of the people. . . .

These tragic events in the history of the Kalmyk people are reflected in Sergei Yesenin’s poem “Pugachev”.

Regional reform in Estland and Livonia

The Baltic states as a result of the regional reform in 1782-1783. was divided into 2 provinces - Riga and Revel - with institutions that already existed in other provinces of Russia. In Estland and Livonia, the special Baltic order was eliminated, which provided for more extensive rights of local nobles to work and the personality of the peasant than those of Russian landowners.

Provincial reform in Siberia and the Middle Volga region

Under the new protectionist tariff of 1767, the import of those goods that were or could be produced inside Russia was completely prohibited. Duties of 100 to 200% were imposed on luxury goods, wine, grain, toys... Export duties amounted to 10-23% of the cost of imported goods.

In 1773, Russia exported goods worth 12 million rubles, which was 2.7 million rubles more than imports. In 1781, exports already amounted to 23.7 million rubles against 17.9 million rubles of imports. Russian merchant ships began to sail in the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to the policy of protectionism in 1786, the country's exports amounted to 67.7 million rubles, and imports - 41.9 million rubles.

At the same time, Russia under Catherine experienced a series of financial crises and was forced to make external loans, the size of which by the end of the Empress’s reign exceeded 200 million silver rubles.

Social politics

Moscow Orphanage

In the provinces there were orders for public charity. In Moscow and St. Petersburg there are educational homes for street children (currently the building of the Moscow Orphanage is occupied by the Peter the Great Military Academy), where they received education and upbringing. To help widows, the Widow's Treasury was created.

Compulsory smallpox vaccination was introduced, and Catherine was the first to receive such a vaccination. Under Catherine II, the fight against epidemics in Russia began to acquire the character of state measures that were directly included in the responsibilities of the Imperial Council and the Senate. By decree of Catherine, outposts were created, located not only on the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The “Charter of Border and Port Quarantines” was created.

New areas of medicine for Russia developed: hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters were opened. A number of fundamental works on medical issues have been published.

National politics

After the annexation of lands that had previously been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Russian Empire, about a million Jews ended up in Russia - a people with a different religion, culture, way of life and way of life. To prevent their resettlement in the central regions of Russia and attachment to their communities for the convenience of collecting state taxes, Catherine II in 1791 established the Pale of Settlement, beyond which Jews had no right to live. The Pale of Settlement was established in the same place where Jews lived before - on the lands annexed as a result of the three partitions of Poland, as well as in the steppe regions near the Black Sea and sparsely populated areas east of the Dnieper. The conversion of Jews to Orthodoxy lifted all restrictions on residence. It is noted that the Pale of Settlement contributed to the preservation of Jewish national identity and the formation of a special Jewish identity within the Russian Empire.

Having ascended the throne, Catherine canceled the decree of Peter III on the secularization of lands from the church. But already in February. In 1764 she again issued a decree depriving the Church of land property. Monastic peasants numbering about 2 million people. of both sexes were removed from the jurisdiction of the clergy and transferred to the management of the College of Economy. The state came under the jurisdiction of the estates of churches, monasteries and bishops.

In Ukraine, the secularization of monastic properties was carried out in 1786.

Thus, the clergy became dependent on secular authorities, since they could not carry out independent economic activities.

Catherine obtained from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth government equalization of the rights of religious minorities - Orthodox and Protestants.

Under Catherine II, persecution stopped Old Believers. The Empress initiated the return of Old Believers, an economically active population, from abroad. They were specially allocated a place in Irgiz (modern Saratov and Samara regions). They were allowed to have priests.

The free resettlement of Germans to Russia led to a significant increase in the number Protestants(mostly Lutherans) in Russia. They were also allowed to build churches, schools, and freely perform religious services. At the end of the 18th century, there were more than 20 thousand Lutherans in St. Petersburg alone.

Expansion of the Russian Empire

Partitions of Poland

The federal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth included Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus.

The reason for intervention in the affairs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the question of the position of dissidents (that is, the non-Catholic minority - Orthodox and Protestants), so that they were equalized with the rights of Catholics. Catherine put strong pressure on the gentry to elect her protégé Stanisław August Poniatowski to the Polish throne, who was elected. Part of the Polish gentry opposed these decisions and organized an uprising, raised in the Bar Confederation. It was suppressed by Russian troops in alliance with the Polish king. In 1772, Prussia and Austria, fearing the strengthening of Russian influence in Poland and its successes in the war with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), offered Catherine a division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in exchange for ending the war, otherwise threatening war against Russia. Russia, Austria and Prussia sent in their troops.

In 1772 it took place 1st section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Austria received all of Galicia with its districts, Prussia - Western Prussia (Pomerania), Russia - the eastern part of Belarus to Minsk (Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces) and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia.

The Polish Sejm was forced to agree to the division and give up claims to the lost territories: it lost 3,800 km² with a population of 4 million people.

Polish nobles and industrialists contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. The conservative part of the population of the Targowica Confederation turned to Russia for help.

In 1793 it took place 2nd section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, approved at the Grodno Seim. Prussia received Gdansk, Torun, Poznan (part of the lands along the Warta and Vistula rivers), Russia - Central Belarus with Minsk and Right Bank Ukraine.

The wars with Turkey were marked by major military victories of Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Potemkin, Kutuzov, Ushakov, and the establishment of Russia in the Black Sea. As a result, the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, and the Kuban region went to Russia, its political positions in the Caucasus and Balkans strengthened, and Russia’s authority on the world stage was strengthened.

Relations with Georgia. Treaty of Georgievsk

Treaty of Georgievsk 1783

Catherine II and the Georgian king Irakli II concluded the Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783, according to which Russia established a protectorate over the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom. The treaty was concluded in order to protect Orthodox Georgians, since Muslim Iran and Turkey threatened the national existence of Georgia. The Russian government took Eastern Georgia under its protection, guaranteed its autonomy and protection in the event of war, and during peace negotiations it pledged to insist on the return to the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom of possessions that had long belonged to it and were illegally seized by Turkey.

The result of the Georgian policy of Catherine II was a sharp weakening of the positions of Iran and Turkey, which formally destroyed their claims to Eastern Georgia.

Relations with Sweden

Taking advantage of the fact that Russia entered into a war with Turkey, Sweden, supported by Prussia, England and Holland, started a war with it for the return of previously lost territories. The troops that entered Russian territory were stopped by General-in-Chief V.P. Musin-Pushkin. After a series of naval battles that did not have a decisive outcome, Russia defeated the Swedish battle fleet in the battle of Vyborg, but due to a storm it suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of the rowing fleets at Rochensalm. The parties signed the Treaty of Verel in 1790, according to which the border between the countries did not change.

Relations with other countries

After the French Revolution, Catherine was one of the initiators of the anti-French coalition and the establishment of the principle of legitimism. She said: “The weakening of monarchical power in France endangers all other monarchies. For my part, I am ready to resist with all my might. It's time to act and take up arms." However, in reality, she avoided participating in hostilities against France. According to popular belief, one of the real reasons for the creation of the anti-French coalition was to divert the attention of Prussia and Austria from Polish affairs. At the same time, Catherine abandoned all treaties concluded with France, ordered the expulsion of all those suspected of sympathizing with the French Revolution from Russia, and in 1790 she issued a decree on the return of all Russians from France.

During the reign of Catherine, the Russian Empire acquired the status of a “great power”. As a result of two successful Russian-Turkish wars for Russia, 1768-1774 and 1787-1791. The Crimean Peninsula and the entire territory of the Northern Black Sea region were annexed to Russia. In 1772-1795 Russia took part in three sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as a result of which it annexed the territories of present-day Belarus, Western Ukraine, Lithuania and Courland. The Russian Empire also included Russian America - Alaska and the West Coast of the North American continent (the current state of California).

Catherine II as a figure of the Age of Enlightenment

Ekaterina - writer and publisher

Catherine belonged to a small number of monarchs who communicated so intensively and directly with their subjects through the drafting of manifestos, instructions, laws, polemical articles and indirectly in the form of satirical works, historical dramas and pedagogical opuses. In her memoirs, she admitted: “I cannot see a clean pen without feeling the desire to immediately dip it in ink.”

She had an extraordinary talent as a writer, leaving behind a large collection of works - notes, translations, librettos, fables, fairy tales, comedies “Oh, time!”, “Mrs. Vorchalkina’s Name Day,” “The Hall of a Noble Boyar,” “Mrs. Vestnikova with her Family,” “The Invisible Bride” (-), essay, etc., participated in the weekly satirical magazine “All sorts of things”, published since the Empress turned to journalism in order to influence public opinion, so the main idea of ​​the magazine was criticism of human vices and weaknesses . Other subjects of irony were the superstitions of the population. Catherine herself called the magazine: “Satire in a smiling spirit.”

Ekaterina - philanthropist and collector

Development of culture and art

Catherine considered herself a “philosopher on the throne” and had a favorable attitude toward the European Enlightenment, and corresponded with Voltaire, Diderot, and d’Alembert.

Under her, the Hermitage and the Public Library appeared in St. Petersburg. She patronized various fields of art - architecture, music, painting.

It is impossible not to mention the mass settlement of German families in various regions of modern Russia, Ukraine, as well as the Baltic countries, initiated by Catherine. The goal was to “infect” Russian science and culture with European ones.

Courtyard from the time of Catherine II

Features of personal life

Ekaterina was a brunette of average height. She combined high intelligence, education, statesmanship and a commitment to “free love.”

Catherine is known for her connections with numerous lovers, the number of which (according to the list of the authoritative Catherine scholar P. I. Bartenev) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergei Saltykov, G. G. Orlov (later count), horse guard lieutenant Vasilchikov, G. A Potemkin (later prince), hussar Zorich, Lanskoy, the last favorite was the cornet Platon Zubov, who became a count of the Russian Empire and a general. According to some sources, Catherine was secretly married to Potemkin (). Afterwards, she planned a marriage with Orlov, but on the advice of those close to her, she abandoned this idea.

It is worth noting that Catherine’s “debauchery” was not such a scandalous phenomenon against the backdrop of the general debauchery of morals in the 18th century. Most kings (with the possible exception of Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Charles XII) had numerous mistresses. Catherine's favorites (with the exception of Potemkin, who had state abilities) did not influence politics. Nevertheless, the institution of favoritism had a negative effect on the higher nobility, who sought benefits through flattery to the new favorite, tried to make “their own man” become lovers of the empress, etc.

Catherine had two sons: Pavel Petrovich () (they suspect that his father was Sergei Saltykov) and Alexey Bobrinsky (son of Grigory Orlov) and two daughters: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (1757-1759, possibly the daughter of the future king), who died in infancy Poland Stanislav Poniatovsky) and Elizaveta Grigorievna Tyomkina (daughter of Potemkin).

Famous figures of Catherine's era

The reign of Catherine II was characterized by the fruitful activities of outstanding Russian scientists, diplomats, military men, statesmen, cultural and artistic figures. In 1873, in St. Petersburg, in the park in front of the Alexandrinsky Theater (now Ostrovsky Square), an impressive multi-figure monument to Catherine was erected, designed by M. O. Mikeshin, sculptors A. M. Opekushin and M. A. Chizhov and architects V. A. Schröter and D.I. Grimm. The foot of the monument consists of a sculptural composition, the characters of which are outstanding personalities of Catherine’s era and associates of the Empress:

The events of the last years of the reign of Alexander II - in particular, the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 - prevented the implementation of the plan to expand the memorial of the Catherine era.

Catherine II is the great Russian empress, whose reign became the most significant period in Russian history. The era of Catherine the Great is marked by the “golden age” of the Russian Empire, whose cultural and political life the queen raised to the European level.

Portrait of Catherine II. Artist Vladimir Borovikovsky / Tretyakov Gallery

The biography of Catherine II is full of light and dark stripes, numerous plans and achievements, as well as a stormy personal life, about which films are made and books are written to this day.

Childhood and youth

Catherine II was born on May 2 (April 21, old style) 1729 in Prussia in the family of the governor of Stettin, Prince of Zerbst and the Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp. Despite the rich pedigree, the princess's family did not have a significant fortune, but this did not stop her parents from providing home education for their daughter. At the same time, the future Russian empress learned English, Italian and French at a high level, mastered dancing and singing, and also gained knowledge about the basics of history, geography and theology.

As a child, the young princess was a playful and curious child with a pronounced “boyish” character. She did not show bright mental abilities and did not demonstrate her talents, but she helped her mother in raising her younger sister Augusta, which suited both parents. In her youth, her mother called Catherine II Fike, which means little Federica.

Catherine II in her youth. Artist Louis Caravaque / Gatchina Palace

At the age of 15, it became known that the Princess of Zerbst had been chosen as a bride for the heir Peter Fedorovich, who later became the Russian Emperor. The princess and her mother were secretly invited to Russia, where they went under the name of the Countesses of Rhinebeck.

The girl immediately began to study Russian history, language and Orthodoxy in order to learn more fully about her new homeland. Soon she converted to Orthodoxy and was named Ekaterina Alekseevna, and the next day she became engaged to Pyotr Fedorovich, who was her second cousin.

Palace coup and ascension to the throne

After the wedding with Peter III, nothing changed in the life of the future Russian empress - she continued to devote herself to self-education, studying philosophy, jurisprudence and the works of world famous authors, since her husband showed no interest in her and openly had fun with other ladies in front of her eyes. After 9 years of marriage, when the relationship between Peter and Catherine finally went wrong, the queen gave birth to an heir to the throne, who was immediately taken away from her and was not allowed to see him.

Paul I, son of Catherine II. Artist Alexander Roslin / easyArt

Then a plan to overthrow her husband from the throne matured in the head of Catherine the Great. She subtly, clearly and prudently organized a palace coup, in which she was helped by the English Ambassador Williams and the Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Count Alexei Bestuzhev.

It soon became clear that both confidants of the future Russian empress had betrayed her. But Catherine did not abandon this plan and found new allies in its implementation. They were the Orlov brothers, adjutant Fyodor Khitrov and sergeant. Foreigners also took part in organizing the palace coup, providing sponsorship to bribe the right people.

Portrait of Catherine II on horseback. Artist Virgilius Eriksen / Peterhof

In 1762, the Empress was ready to take an irrevocable step - she went to St. Petersburg, where the guards units, who by that time were already dissatisfied with the military policy of Emperor Peter III, swore allegiance to her. After this, he abdicated the throne, was taken into custody and soon died under unknown circumstances. 2 months later, on September 22, 1762, Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was crowned in Moscow and became the Russian Empress Catherine II.

Reign and achievements of Catherine II

From the very first day of her ascension to the throne, the queen clearly outlined her royal tasks and began to implement them. She quickly formulated and carried out reforms in the Russian Empire, which affected all spheres of life of the population. Catherine the Great pursued a policy that took into account the interests of all classes, which won the support of her subjects.

Portrait of Catherine II. Unknown artist / Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts

To pull the Russian Empire out of the financial quagmire, the tsarina carried out secularization and took away the lands of churches, turning them into secular property. This made it possible to pay off the army and replenish the treasury of the empire by 1 million peasant souls. At the same time, she managed to quickly establish trade in Russia, doubling the number of industrial enterprises in the country. Thanks to this, the amount of state revenue increased 4 times, the empire was able to maintain a large army and begin the development of the Urals.

As for Catherine’s domestic policy, today it is called “enlightened absolutism”, because the empress tried to achieve the “common good” for society and the state. The absolutism of Catherine II was marked by the adoption of new legislation, which was adopted on the basis of the “Order of Empress Catherine,” containing 526 articles.

Empress Catherine II. Artist Dmitry Levitsky / Tretyakov Gallery

They spoke about the principles that were to guide the deputies-lawmakers, primarily about the ideas of Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Leron d'Alembert and other educators. The Code of Laws was developed by the Statutory Commission specially convened in 1766.

Due to the fact that the queen’s political activities were still of a “pro-noble” nature, from 1773 to 1775 she was faced with a peasant uprising led by. The peasant war engulfed almost the entire empire, but the state army suppressed the rebellion and arrested Pugachev, who was subsequently beheaded. This was the only decree on the death penalty that the empress issued during her reign.

In 1775, Catherine the Great carried out a territorial division of the empire and expanded Russia into 11 provinces. During her reign, Russia acquired Azov, Crimea, Kuban, as well as parts of Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and the western part of Volyn. Catherine's provincial reform, according to researchers, had a number of significant shortcomings.

Catherine II's departure for falconry. Artist Valentin Serov / State Russian Museum

When forming provinces, the national composition of the population was not taken into account; moreover, its implementation required an increase in budget expenditures. At the same time, elected courts were introduced in the country, which dealt with criminal and civil cases.

In 1785, the Empress organized local government in cities. By decree, Catherine II established a clear set of noble privileges - she freed nobles from paying taxes, compulsory military service, and gave them the right to own lands and peasants. Thanks to the empress, a secondary education system was introduced in Russia, for which special closed schools, institutes for girls, and educational homes were built. In addition, Catherine founded the Russian Academy, which became one of the leading European scientific bases.

During her reign, Catherine paid special attention to the development of agriculture. It was considered a fundamental industry for Russia, which influenced the economic development of the state. The increase in arable land led to an increase in grain exports.

Portrait of Catherine II in Russian attire. Artist Stefano Torelli / State Historical Museum

Under her, for the first time in Russia, bread began to be sold, which the population bought with paper money, also introduced into use by the empress. Also among the valor of the monarch is the introduction of vaccination in Russia, which made it possible to prevent deadly epidemics in the country, thereby maintaining the number of citizens.

During her reign, Catherine the Second survived 6 wars, in which she received the desired trophies in the form of lands. Her foreign policy is considered by many to this day to be immoral and hypocritical. But the woman managed to go down in Russian history as a powerful monarch who became an example of patriotism for future generations of the country, despite the absence of even a drop of Russian blood in her.

Personal life

The personal life of Catherine II is vibrant and arouses interest to this day. Already in her youth, the Empress became committed to “free love,” which turned out to be a consequence of her unsuccessful marriage with Peter III.

National Museum of Sweden

The romance novels of Catherine the Great are marked by a series of scandals, and the list of her favorites contains 23 names, as evidenced by the research of authoritative “Catherine scholars.” The institution of favoritism had a negative impact on the government structure of that time. He contributed to corruption, poor personnel decisions and the decline of morals.

The most famous lovers of the monarch were Alexander Lanskoy, Grigory Potemkin and Platon Zubov, who at the age of 20 became the favorite of 60-year-old Catherine the Great. Researchers do not rule out that the empress’s love affairs were her kind of weapon, with the help of which she carried out her activities on the royal throne.

Tretyakov Gallery

It is known that Catherine the Great had three children - a son from her legal husband Peter III - Pavel Petrovich, Alexei Bobrinsky, born from Orlov, and a daughter Anna Petrovna, who died of illness at the age of one.

The empress devoted the twilight years of her life to caring for her grandchildren and heirs, as she had strained relations with her son Paul. She wanted to transfer power and the crown to her eldest grandson, whom she personally prepared for the royal throne. But her plans were not destined to happen, since her legal heir learned about his mother’s plan and carefully prepared for the fight for the throne. In the future, the empress’s beloved grandson nevertheless ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Alexander I.

Hermitage

Catherine the Great tried to remain unpretentious in everyday life; she was indifferent to fashionable clothes, but was fond of needlework, wood and bone carving. Every day she devoted her afternoon time to her favorite pastime. The Empress herself embroidered, knitted, and once personally made a pattern for a suit for her grandson Alexander. The queen had a literary gift, which she realized in writing plays for the court theater.

Despite the fact that in her youth the Empress converted to Orthodoxy, she was interested in the ideas of Buddhism. Catherine established the position of head of the Lamaist Church of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia. The ruler was officially recognized as the embodiment of the enlightened being of the Eastern religion - White Tara.

Death

The death of Catherine II occurred according to the new style on November 17, 1796. The Empress died from a severe stroke; she tossed about in agony for 12 hours and, without regaining consciousness, passed away in agony. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The tombstone bears an epitaph written by herself.

Yuri Zlotya

After ascending the throne, Paul I destroyed most of his mother's heritage. In addition, the external debt of the state was discovered, which became a burden on subsequent rulers and was repaid only at the end of the 19th century.

Memory

More than 15 monuments were erected in honor of the empress in St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Krasnodar and other cities of the Russian Empire. Later, many of the pedestals were lost. Since Catherine contributed to the spread of paper money, her portrait later adorned the 100-ruble banknote during the reign.

The memory of the great empress was repeatedly immortalized in the literary works of Russian and foreign writers - and other stars of Russian and foreign cinema.

In 2015, the fascinating TV series “” started airing in Russia. For his script, facts were taken from the diaries of the queen herself, who turned out to be a “male ruler” by nature, and not a feminine mother and wife. She appeared in the image of an empress.

Movies

• 1934 – “The Loose Empress”
• 1953 – “Admiral Ushakov”
• 1986 – “Mikhailo Lomonosov”
• 1990 – “The Tsar’s Hunt”
• 1992 – “Dreams about Russia”
• 2002 – “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”
• 2015 – “Great”
• 2018 – “Bloody Lady”

Catherine II Alekseevna (1729 - 1796), German princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst - Russian empress since 1762.

At the age of 16, Catherine married her 17-year-old cousin Peter, nephew and heir of Elizabeth, the reigning Empress of Russia (Elizabeth herself had no children).

Peter was completely abnormal and also impotent. There were days when Catherine even thought about suicide.

Catherine II and Peter III

After ten years of marriage, she gave birth to a son. In all likelihood, the child's father was Sergei Saltykov, a young Russian nobleman, Catherine's first lover.

As Peter became completely deranged and increasingly unpopular among the people and at court, Catherine's chances of inheriting the Russian throne looked completely hopeless. Peter, in addition, began to threaten Catherine with divorce. She decided to organize a coup d'etat. In June 1762, Peter, who by that time had already been emperor for six months, was overcome by another crazy idea. He decided to declare war on Denmark. To prepare for military action, he left the capital. Catherine, guarded by a regiment of the imperial guard, went to St. Petersburg and declared herself empress. Peter, shocked by this news, was immediately arrested and killed. Catherine's main accomplice were her lovers Count Grigory Orlov and his two brothers. All three were officers of the Imperial Guard.

During her more than 30-year reign, Catherine significantly weakened the power of the clergy in Russia, suppressed a major peasant revolt, reorganized the apparatus of government, introduced serfdom in Ukraine, and added more than 200,000 square kilometers to Russian territory.

Even before her marriage, Catherine was extremely sensual. So, at night she often masturbated, holding a pillow between her legs. Since Peter was completely impotent and had no interest in sex at all, the bed for him was a place where he could only sleep or play with his favorite toys. At 23, she was still a virgin. One night on an island in the Baltic Sea, Catherine's maid of honor left her alone (perhaps on Catherine's instructions) with Saltykov, a famous young seducer. He promised to give Catherine great pleasure, and she really was not disappointed. Catherine was finally able to give free rein to her sexuality. Soon she was already the mother of two children. Naturally, Peter was considered the father of both children, although one day those close to him heard the following words from him: “I don’t understand how she gets pregnant.” Catherine's second child died shortly after his real father, a young Polish nobleman who worked at the English embassy, ​​was expelled from Russia in disgrace.

Three more children were born to Catherine from Grigory Orlov.

Grigory Orlov

Fluffy skirts and lace successfully hid her pregnancy every time. Catherine's first child was born from Orlov during Peter's lifetime. During the birth, not far from the palace, Catherine's faithful servants started a large fire to distract Peter. It was well known to everyone that he was a great lover of such spectacles.

The remaining two children were raised in the homes of Catherine's servants and ladies-in-waiting. These maneuvers were necessary for Catherine, since she refused to marry Orlov, as she did not want to put an end to the Romanov dynasty. In response to this refusal, Gregory turned Catherine's court into his harem. However, she remained faithful to him for 14 years and finally abandoned him only when he seduced her 13-year-old cousin.

Ekaterina is already 43 years old. She still remained very attractive, and her sensuality and voluptuousness only increased. One of her loyal supporters, cavalry officer Grigory Potemkin, swore his allegiance to her for the rest of his life, and then entered a monastery. He did not return to social life until Catherine promised to appoint him as her official favorite.

Empress Catherine II and Grigory Potemkin

For two years, Catherine and her 35-year-old favorite led a stormy love life, filled with quarrels and reconciliations.

When Gregory became tired of Catherine, he, wanting to get rid of her without losing his influence at court, managed to convince her that she could change her favorites as easily as any of her other servants. He even swore to her that he would select them himself.

This system worked great until Catherine turned 60. The potential favorite was first examined by Catherine’s personal doctor, who checked him for any signs of sexually transmitted disease. If the favorite candidate was recognized as healthy, he had to pass another test - his masculinity was tested by one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting, whom she herself chose for this purpose. The next stage, if the candidate, of course, achieved it, was moving into special apartments in the palace. These apartments were located directly above Catherine's bedroom, and a separate staircase led there, unknown to outsiders. In the apartment, the favorite found a significant amount of money prepared in advance for him. Officially at court, the favorite had the position of Catherine's chief adjutant. When a favorite changed, the outgoing “night emperor,” as they were sometimes called, received some generous gift, for example, a large sum of money or an estate with 4,000 serfs.

Over the 16 years of the existence of this system, Catherine has had 13 favorites. In 1789, 60-year-old Catherine fell in love with 22-year-old officer of the imperial guard Platon Zubov. Zubov remained Catherine's main object of sexual interest until her death at the age of 67.

There were rumors among the people that Catherine died while trying to have sexual relations with a stallion.

In fact, she died two days after suffering a severe heart attack.

Peter's impotence is probably due to a deformation of his penis, which could be corrected with surgery.

Saltykov and his close friends once got Peter drunk and persuaded him to undergo such an operation. This was done so that Catherine’s next pregnancy could be explained. It is not known whether Peter had sexual relations with Catherine after that, but after a while he began to have mistresses.

Stanislav August Poniatowski. White General.

Died in 1865.

Buried in the Main Temple of the Prior of the White (Maltese) Order

On Nevsky Prospekt, house 38. Where Paul I was buried.

In 1764, Catherine made the Polish Count Stanislaw Poniatowski, her second lover, who had been expelled from Russia, king of Poland. When Poniatowski was unable to cope with his internal political opponents, and the situation in the country began to get out of his control, Catherine simply erased Poland from the world map, annexing part of this country and giving the rest to Prussia and Austria.

The fate of Catherine's other lovers and favorites turned out differently.

Grigory Orlov has gone crazy. Before his death, he always imagined that he was being haunted by the ghost of Peter, although the murder of the emperor was planned by Alexei, the brother of Grigory Orlov.

A foreigner by birth, she sincerely loved Russia and cared about the welfare of her subjects. Having taken the throne through a palace coup, the wife of Peter III tried to implement the best ideas of the European Enlightenment into the life of Russian society. At the same time, Catherine opposed the outbreak of the Great French Revolution (1789-1799), outraged by the execution of the French king Louis XVI of Bourbon (January 21, 1793) and predetermining Russia's participation in the anti-French coalition of European states at the beginning of the 19th century.

Catherine II Alekseevna (nee Sophia Augusta Frederica, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst) was born on May 2, 1729 in the German city of Stettin (modern territory of Poland), and died on November 17, 1796 in St. Petersburg.

The daughter of Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the Prussian service, and Princess Johanna Elisabeth (née Princess Holstein-Gottorp), she was related to the royal houses of Sweden, Prussia and England. She received a home education, the course of which, in addition to dance and foreign languages, also included the basics of history, geography and theology.

In 1744, she and her mother were invited to Russia by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, and baptized according to Orthodox custom under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna. Soon her engagement to Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (future Emperor Peter III) was announced, and in 1745 they got married.

Catherine understood that the court loved Elizabeth, did not accept many of the oddities of the heir to the throne, and, perhaps, after Elizabeth’s death, it was she who, with the support of the court, would ascend to the Russian throne. Catherine studied the works of figures of the French Enlightenment, as well as jurisprudence, which had a significant impact on her worldview. In addition, she made as much effort as possible to study, and perhaps understand, the history and traditions of the Russian state. Because of her desire to know everything Russian, Catherine won the love of not only the court, but also the whole of St. Petersburg.

After the death of Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine’s relationship with her husband, never distinguished by warmth and understanding, continued to deteriorate, taking on clearly hostile forms. Fearing arrest, Ekaterina, with the support of the Orlov brothers, N.I. Panina, K.G. Razumovsky, E.R. Dashkova, on the night of June 28, 1762, when the emperor was in Oranienbaum, carried out a palace coup. Peter III was exiled to Ropsha, where he soon died under mysterious circumstances.

Having begun her reign, Catherine tried to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment and organize the state in accordance with the ideals of this most powerful European intellectual movement. Almost from the first days of her reign, she has been actively involved in government affairs, proposing reforms that are significant for society. On her initiative, a reform of the Senate was carried out in 1763, which significantly increased the efficiency of its work. Wanting to strengthen the dependence of the church on the state, and to provide additional land resources to the nobility supporting the policy of reforming society, Catherine carried out the secularization of church lands (1754). The unification of administration of the territories of the Russian Empire began, and the hetmanate in Ukraine was abolished.

A champion of Enlightenment, Catherine creates a number of new educational institutions, including for women (Smolny Institute, Catherine School).

In 1767, the Empress convened a commission, which included representatives of all segments of the population, including peasants (except serfs), to compose a new code - a code of laws. To guide the work of the Statutory Commission, Catherine wrote “The Mandate,” the text of which was based on the writings of educational authors. This document, in essence, was the liberal program of her reign.

After the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. and the suppression of the uprising under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev, a new stage of Catherine’s reforms began, when the empress independently developed the most important legislative acts and, taking advantage of the unlimited power of her power, put them into practice.

In 1775, a manifesto was issued that allowed the free opening of any industrial enterprises. In the same year, a provincial reform was carried out, which introduced a new administrative-territorial division of the country, which remained until 1917. In 1785, Catherine issued letters of grant to the nobility and cities.

In the foreign policy arena, Catherine II continued to pursue an offensive policy in all directions - northern, western and southern. The results of foreign policy can be called the strengthening of Russia's influence on European affairs, three sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, strengthening of positions in the Baltic states, annexation of Crimea, Georgia, participation in countering the forces of revolutionary France.

The contribution of Catherine II to Russian history is so significant that her memory is preserved in many works of our culture.