CATHERINE THE GREAT Also by Marc Raeff M. M. SPERANSKY: STATESMAN oF IMPERIAL RussiA SIBERIA AND THE REFORMS OF 1822 ORIGINS OF THE RussiAN INTELLIGENTSIA: THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY NoBILITY IMPERIAL RussiA, 1682-1825: THE CoMING oF AGE OF MoDERN RussiA Catherine the Great A PROFILE Edited by Marc Raeff WORLD PROFILES General Editor: A"ida DiPace Donald Palgrave Macmillan COPYRIGIIT @ 1972 BY MARC RAEFF SOFfCOVERREPRINT OF TilE HARDCOVERlSI' EDmON tg;.z ALL RIGIITS RESERVED l'IRST PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1972 FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1972 BY THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD LONDON AND BASINGSTOKE ASSOCIATED COMPANIES IN NEW YORK TORONTO DUBLIN MELBOURNE JOHANNESBURG AND MADRAS SBN 333 13497 4 ISBN 978-1-349-01469-9 ISBN 978-1-349-01467-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-01467-5 Contents Introduction vii Chronology xi PART ONE THE INDIVIDUAL Portrait of an Enlightened Autocrat 3 ALEKSANDR A. KIZEVETTER The Intellectual Formation of Catherine II 2I VASIUI A. BIL'BASSOV The Empress and the Philosophe 41 IVAN K. LUPPOL The Empress as Writer 64 GRIGORII A. GUKOVSKII PART TWO THE AuTOCRAT AND RussiAN EDUCATED SocmTY Educational Reforms 93 PAVEL N. MILIUKOV Voices of the Land and the Autocrat II3 PAVEL N. MIUUKOV The Autocrat and the Open Critic 156 ALLEN MC CONNELL v vi CONTENTS PART THREE THE RuLER l)iplornacy 181 SERGEI V. BAKHRUSHIN and SERGEI D. SKAZKIN In the Imperial Manner 197 MARC RAEFF The Legislator in Her l)ebut 247 ALEKSANDR A. KIZEVETTER The Serf Question in an Age of Enlightenment 267 ALEKSANDR S. LAPPO-DANILEVSKII Church Affairs 290 A.M. AMMANN, S.J. Postscript 301 Suggestions for Additional Reading 323 Contributors 327 Introduction HE PERSONAL LIFE of Sophie Frederike Augusta von T Anhalt-Zerbst who became Catherine II, Empress of Russia, is a glittering erotic tale, while her rule proved to be of profound and lasting significance for both European politics and Russian society. Naturally enough, the former has attracted writers more than the latter; the bibliography alone of popular and more or less inventive accounts of Catherine's love life would fit a volume. Un­ fortunately, too, most authors of these accounts have been tempted into adding their own spices to an already well-seasoned dish, and the results are quite unpalatable fare either as literature or as his- vii viii MARC RAEFF tory. Whatever can be found out with certainty about Catherine's personal life-and she was remarkably discreet and tactful about it-has been told and retold in practically all European languages.1 Because it would be superfluous, I have not chosen to draw on these easily accessible works for the present profile. The accomplishments of Catherine II as a ruler, however, have not been well illuminated in Western historiography. This is due in part to the fact that the personal role of a ruler is difficult to isolate during a long period of gradual social, economic, and in~ stitutional transformations. Another obstacle to knowing Catherine is that Russian history is still deficient in modern, perceptive, in­ formed studies of her major legislative acts and of their social and economic impact. Whenever such topics are dealt with at all in the monographic literature, their treatment ranges widely beyond the limits of Catherine's reign. For these reasons the selections pre­ sented in this volume only highlight the major social, political, and cultural aspects of Russia in the second half of the eighteenth cen­ tury, and then only as they relate to Catherine. The Empress is on center stage, but that stage is so vast that, perforce, to keep Catherine in focus, the profile is necessarily narrow. The writings here collected stress most particularly Catherine's intellectual development and accomplishments and her influence on contemporary Russian cultural and social life because it is in this domain that the Empress' personal impact can best be iden­ tified and described. Indeed, Catherine's activities in these fields set the stage for the first serious conflict between educated society and the imperial establishment, a struggle that became a dominant 1. The classic early representative of the genre was K. Waliszewski, The Romance of an Empress, first published in French in 1893 and in English, in two volumes, in 1894-1895. Among the better and more recent works of popular biography are: G. P. Gooch, Catherine the Great and Other Studies (1954); Z. Oldenbourg, Catherine the Great (1965); K. Anthony, Catherine the Great. All these authors rely heavily on Catherine's own memoirs, Mem­ oirs of Catherine the Great, edited by D. Maroger, translated by M. Bud­ berg (1961). Introduction ix theme in Russia's political and cultural history of the nineteenth century.2 I have made an effort to give as catholic a selection as possible within the space allowed and the literature available. With the ex­ ception of detailed analyses of the nature and background of well­ known and seminal legislative acts (e.g., the Charters to the No­ bility and the Towns of 1785, the Statute on Provinces of 1775), I have tried to offer a glimpse of all significant facets of Catherine's public activities8 : connections with West European intellectual leaders, contributions to Russian literature, efforts at molding pub­ lic opinion and education, ambiguous relations with educated so­ ciety and "progressive" thinkers, and the style and achievements of her diplomacy, imperial expansion, social legislation, and eccle­ siastical policy. In the Postscript, Catherine's rule is placed in the perspective of Russian historiography and assayed in the insti­ tutional development of her country. The contributors in this volume are representative of both Soviet and non-Soviet (pre-1917 and Western) history. I have made an effort to present items that heretofore have not been available in English. I hope thereby to acquaint the reader with another his­ toriographical manner as well as with facts and conclusions that have not been adequately reflected in Western writing on Russian history. The dates given in the Russian articles are those of the Julian Calendar and the transliteration used is that of the Library of 2. This justifies the inclusion of the article by Allen McConnell which deals with Catherine II only in the context of the persecution of A. Radishchev which marked the opening shot in the battle between educated elite and establishment in Russia. 3· The famous Instruction (Nakaz) to the Commission on Codification of 1767 was published repeatedly; the first English translation by Michel Tatischeff appeared in London in 1768. The most recent English edition is by W. F. Reddaway, Documents of Catherine the Great (Cambridge, 1931). The Fall 1970 issue of the Canadian Slavic Studies illustrates the most recent English and American scholarship on the institutional reforms of Catherine II. X MARC RAEFF Congress, simplified. The original footnotes of translated articles have been omitted since they refer in most cases to Russian sources and documents. Unless otherwise specified, the explanatory notes are by the editor. Chronology Apr. 21, 1729 Sophie Frederike Augusta von Anhalt-Zerbst is born in Stettin, where her father is Prussian gov­ ernor. Jan. 10, 1744 Leaves Zerbst with her mother for Russia. Feb. 3, 1744 Arrives in St. Petersburg and on February 9 is presented to Empress Elizabeth and Grand Duke Peter in Moscow. June 28, 1744 Converts to Greek Orthodoxy. Aug. 21, 1745 Marries Grand Duke Peter of Holstein, heir to the Russian throne. Sept. 20, 1754 Birth of Catherine's son, Grand Duke Paul, future Emperor. Dec. 25, 1761 Death of Empress Elizabeth, accession of Grand Duke Peter under the name of Peter III. xi Xii CHRONOLOGY June 28, 1762 Coup d'etat against Peter III, who is forced to abdicate. Catherine proclaimed Empress and sole ruler. July 6, 1762 Sudden death of ex-Emperor Peter III (probably murdered by the Orlov brothers assigned to guard him at the summer palace of Ropsha near St. Petersburg). 1766 Elections ordered for the Commission on Codifica~ tion. July 1767- Commission on Codification meets first in Moscow Nov. 1768 and then in St. Petersburg 1768-I774 First war with Turkey ends with the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainardji. First partition of Poland. Peasant uprising under the leadership of Emelian Pugachev engulfs all of eastern Russia and threat~ ens the central provinces. Nov. 7, 1775 Statute on Provinces, reforming the local admini~ tration. Dec. 12, 1777 Birth of grandson Alexander, later to become Em~ peror Alexander I. Apr. 8, 1782 General Police Regulation (Ustav blagochiniia) for town and country. Apr. 21, 178) Charter to the Nobility and Charter to the Towns granting corporate status and some degree of self­ administration to the provincial nobility and the upper merchantry. 1783 Annexation of the Crimea. 1787-1792 Second war against Turkey, ending in the Treaty of Jassy. Chronology xiii 1788-1790 War against Sweden ended by the Peace of Werre­ loe. 1793 Second partition of Poland. 1795 Third partition of Poland. June 25, 1796 Birth of grandson Nicholas, the future Emperor Nicholas I. Nov.6,1796 Death of Catherine II. Paul I becomes Emperor. .