Catherine the Great Catherine II[a] (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 in Szczecin – 17 Catherine II November 1796[b]), most commonly known as Catherine the Great,[c] was Empress of All Russia from 1762 until 1796—the country's longest-ruling female leader. She came to power following a coup d'état that overthrew her husband and second cousin, Peter III. Under her reign, Russia grew larger, its culture was revitalised, and it was recognized as one of the great powers worldwide. In her accession to power and her rule of the empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev, and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Bar confederation and Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774 due to the support of the United Kingdom, and Russia colonised the territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the Portrait of Catherine II in her 50s, by Johann west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, Baptist von Lampi the Elder King Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Empress of Russia Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Reign 9 July 1762 – 17 November 1796 Alaska, establishing Russian America. Coronation 22 September 1769 Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas (governorates), and Predecessor Peter III many new cities and towns were founded on her orders. An admirer of Peter the Successor Paul I Great, Catherine continued to modernize Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the economy continued to depend on Empress consort of Russia serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and of private landowners Tenure 5 January – 9 July 1762 intensified the exploitation of serf labour. This was one of the chief reasons behind rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachev Rebellion of Cossacks, Born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst nomads, peoples of Volga and peasants. 2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729 Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia [1] The period of Catherine the Great's rule, the Catherinian Era, is considered a (now Szczecin, Poland) Golden Age of Russia.[2] The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued Died 17 November [O.S. 6 during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian November] 1796 (aged 67) nobles from compulsory military or state service. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the empress, changed the face of Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg, the country. She enthusiastically supported the ideals of the Enlightenment and is Russian Empire often included in the ranks of the enlightened despots.[3] As a patron of the arts, Burial Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, she presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment, including the Saint Petersburg establishment of the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, the first state-financed Spouse higher education institution for women in Europe. Peter III of Russia (m. 1745; died 1762) Issue Paul I of Russia Contents among others... Early life Full name Marriage, reign of Peter III, and coup d'état German: Sophie Friederike Reign (1762–96) Auguste Coronation (1762) Foreign affairs Russian: Екатерина Economics and finance Алексеевна Романова, Government organization romanized: Yekaterina Alekseyevna Romanova Serfs Arts and culture English: Catherine Alexeievna Education Romanova Religious affairs House Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov (by Personal life marriage) Poniatowski Ascania (by birth) Orlov Father Christian August, Prince of Potemkin Anhalt-Zerbst Final months and death Mother Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Children Holstein-Gottorp Royal descendants Religion Russian Orthodox (1744–1796) British royalty prev. Lutheran (1729–1744) Danish royalty Signature Dutch royalty Spanish royalty Swedish royalty Title In popular culture Ancestry List of prominent Catherinians See also References Sources Further reading External links Early life Catherine was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland) as Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt.[4] He tried to become the duke of Duchy of Courland and Semigallia but in vain and at the time of his daughter's birth held the rank of a Prussian general in his capacity as governor of the city of Stettin. But because of conversion of her second cousin Peter III to Orthodox Christianity, two of her first cousins became Kings of Sweden: Gustav III and Charles XIII.[5] In accordance with the custom then prevailing in the ruling dynasties of Germany, she received her education chiefly from a French governess and from tutors. According to her memoirs, Sophie was regarded as a tomboy, and trained herself to master a sword. Just prior to her arrival in Russia, she participated in a duel with her female second cousin from Anhalt. During this duel between noble girls, both exchanged sword-to-sword blows only, as they both had a fear of it leading to bloodletting. Sophie came to be known by the nickname Fike.[6] Sophie's childhood was very uneventful apart from the duel. She once wrote to her correspondent Baron Grimm: "I see nothing of interest in it."[7] Although Sophie was born a princess, her family had very little money. Her rise to power was supported by her mother's wealthy relatives, who were both nobles and royal relations. Her mother's brother became the heir to the Swedish throne after her second cousin Peter III converted to Orthodoxy.[8][9] The more than 300 sovereign entities of the Holy Roman Empire, many of them quite small and powerless, made for a highly competitive political system as the various princely families fought for advantage over each other, often via political marriages.[10] For the smaller German princely families, an advantageous marriage was one of the best means of advancing their interests, and the young Sophie was groomed throughout her childhood to be the wife of some powerful ruler in order to improve the position of the reigning house of Anhalt. Besides her native German, Sophie became fluent in French, the lingua franca of European elites in the 18th century.[11] The young Sophie received the standard education for an 18th- century German princess, with a concentration upon learning the etiquette expected of a lady, French, and Lutheran theology.[12] Sophie first met her future husband, who would become Peter III of Russia, at the age of 10. Peter was her second cousin. Based on her writings, she found Peter detestable upon meeting him. She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such a young age. Peter also still played with toy soldiers. She later wrote that she stayed at one end of the castle, and Peter at the other.[13] Marriage, reign of Peter III, and coup d'état The choice of Princess Sophie as wife of the future tsar was one result of the Lopukhina Conspiracy in which Count Lestocq and Prussian king Frederick the Great took an active part. The object was to strengthen the friendship between Prussia and Russia, to weaken the influence of Austria and to ruin the chancellor Aleksey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, on whom Russian Empress Elizabeth relied, and who was a known partisan of the Austrian alliance. The diplomatic intrigue failed, largely due to the intervention of Sophie's mother, Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Historical accounts portray Johanna as a cold, abusive woman who loved gossip and court intrigues. Her hunger for fame centred on her daughter's prospects of becoming empress of Russia, but she infuriated Empress Elizabeth, who eventually banned her from the country for spying for King Frederick II of Prussia. Empress Elizabeth knew the family well: She had intended to marry Princess Johanna's brother Charles Augustus (Karl August von Holstein), but he died of smallpox in 1727 before the wedding could take place.[14] Despite Johanna's interference, Empress Elizabeth took a strong liking to Sophie, and her marriage to Peter eventually took place in 1745. When Sophie arrived in Russia in 1744, she spared no effort to ingratiate herself not only with Empress Elizabeth, but with her husband and with the Russian people as well. She applied herself to learning the Russian language with zeal, rising at night and walking about her bedroom barefoot, Young Catherine soon after repeating her lessons. This practice led to a severe attack of pneumonia in March 1744. When she her arrival in Russia, by wrote her memoirs, she said she made the decision then to do whatever was necessary and to profess Louis Caravaque to believe whatever was required of her to become qualified to wear the crown. Although she mastered the language, she retained an accent. Sophie recalled in her memoirs that as soon as she arrived in Russia, she fell ill with a pleuritis that almost killed her. She credited her survival to frequent bloodletting; in a single day, she had four phlebotomies. Her mother, who was opposed to this practice, fell into the empress's disfavour. When Sophie's situation looked desperate, her mother wanted her confessed by a Lutheran pastor. Awaking from her delirium, however, Sophie said: "I don't want any Lutheran; I want my Orthodox father [clergyman]." This raised her in the empress's esteem. Princess Sophie's father, a devout German Lutheran, opposed his daughter's conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy.