Catherine the Great, despite her Germanic background, was one of the most remarkable of all the Russian rulers. Born in 1729 to a minor prince of the German throne and his overly ambitious wife, Sophia (as she was known until her conversion) was raised to marry well. She was heavily influenced by her mother's ambitious schemes to marry her off to a prince or even a king, and as such it was no surprise when, in 1744, she and her mother set off for Russia for her possible engagement to the heir to the Russian throne.

Sophia was, by all accounts, pretty rather than beautiful; she was very intelligent, well read, and precocious. In her teens, she began reading the works of the French philosophes, including Voltaire, and corresponded with many of them. She learned the Russian language and became familiar with Russian literature. She converted to Russian Orthodoxy, taking the name Ekaterina in honor of Peter the Great's second wife (and the current empress's mother). She was also outgoing, energetic, and friendly, traits which set her apart from her boring and generally disliked husband.

Catherine's life at the court was one marked by intrigue and guile. On several occasions she was nearly forced out by Peter and other members of the court, but she managed to save herself by throwing herself on the mercy of Elizabeth. Elizabeth liked Catherine, and tried to help her survive. In fact, it is believed that Elizabeth was responsible for setting up Catherine's first two affairs, which enabled her to produce an heir to the throne. (Interestingly, Peter was not sterile, despite his bout with smallpox (he later succeeded in impregnating his mistress), but he and Catherine were rarely involved in marital relations). Catherine spent her time gathering friends, corresponding with intellectuals in Europe, and generally biding her time. Her interest in France, and in Europe in general, would lead her to begin to collect art; ultimately, her collection would become the foundations of the Hermitage Museum.

When Elizabeth died in 1761, and Peter came to the throne, Catherine could do nothing because of her pregnancy; by the time Peter had managed to alienate almost everyone around him, in June 1762, Catherine was ready to strike.

Catherine at the time of coup

Catherine in Power

When Catherine took the throne in June 1762, she recognized that her position was quite precarious. She only claimed to certain groups that she had take the throne in the name of her son Paul; most of the people at court recognized that she intended to rule on her own. She immediately rewarded those who had assisted her, settling them with lands and monetary gifts. Those who had opposed her were generally sent into exile; she could hardly fault people for supporting the emperor, even if he was a poor one.

The first real threat to Catherine came not from those who believed that Paul should be emperor, but from another threat; Ivan VI, the infant who had been overthrown by Elizabeth. The unfortunate child had been imprisoned for his entire life, and according to most witnesses was basically a wild animal, incapable of speech or even human movement. In July 1764, a rebellion attempt occurred, and in the course of it a young army officer tried to free Ivan VI from prison. The guards there had orders to execute him if anyone attempted to liberate the former tsar, and when the coup attempt occurred, Ivan VI was quickly killed. The rebellion fell apart, the conspirators were publicly executed, and Catherine turned her attention to other issues to consolidate her power.

The Legislative Commission

Catherine resumed Peter the Great's practice of traveling around Russia to meet her subjects and determine exactly what needed to be done. This, coupled with her rewards to loyal servitors and good luck with advisors, enabled her to secure her position, and in 1767, she began implementing some of the ideas she had been considering for the country. One of the first ideas was a codification of the law, something that even Peter had not undertaken. Based on philosophe ideas, especially those of Montesquieu (from his Spirit of the Laws), Catherine wished to provide some Westernization to the law code of Russia. Her Nakaz, or Instruction, which was distributed to the Legislative Commission, largely plagiarized Montesquieu, and while it did not promise a constitution or the emancipation of the serfs, it was a very liberal document, especially given the country in which it originated. She also relied heavily on Beccaria's Crimes and Punishments, denouncing capital punishment (which had been outlawed under Elizabeth) and the use of torture. The document was so liberal that it was actually banned in France shortly after its publication.

To implement the Nakaz, Catherine called the Legislative Commission, a body which was to represent most areas of society. In the end, neither the serfs nor the clergy were invited, but most other groups, including state peasants, were. The problem was that the Commission, despite its great promise, was simply too large to get anything done. After meeting together for 18 months, it managed to accomplish nothing. The Commission split on class and economic lines, and its membership was frequently at odds with one another. In 1768, when Russia went to war against Turkey, Catherine used the conflict to disband the Legislative Commission. While the Nakaz was never put into practice, the exercise did give Catherine information about the country that she did not know previously, and it made her reputation as an enlightened leader more publicly recognized. Voltaire and others wrote of her fairness, her desire for equality for all, and her generally enlightened rule. While these were all partially true statements, Catherine manipulated the philosophes and others so that she received the best possible press while remaining firmly in control of her country.

Other Reforms

Catherine's reforms were not limited to those which the Legislative Commission dealt with. She introduced a new system of local government in 1775, which decentralized power and gave firmer control of the local gentry population. She further strengthened the power of the gentry by introducing, in 1785, the Charter to the Nobility, which gave the nobles greater powers than they had at any point since the beginning of Romanov rule. Catherine's decision to do so also strengthened the bonds of serfdom, which seems, at first glance, to be in direct contrast to her other plans. However, the nobility was dependent on the serfs economically, and to keep the nobles on her side, Catherine was willing to sacrifice enlightened ideas in this case. Catherine even extended serfdom into the Ukraine, an area which had previously been exempt from the practice. By 1794-1796, the date of the last census of her reign, serfs made up 53% of all peasants and 49% of the total population.

Some of the reforms were tied directly to the Pugachev rebellion of 1773-1774. Emelian Pugachev was a Don Cossack who, like many of his brethern, wanted an end to the social hierarchy and a better life for himself. To this end, he began a rebellion in the fall of 1773 in the Volga basin which, at its height, threatened even Moscow. Pugachev claimed to be Emperor Peter III: he stated that he had foiled the assassination plot against him, and had waited until the right time to reassert his power. In 1773, with Russia fighting against the Turks, he tried to claim the throne. His supporters included Cossacks, Old Believers, disgruntled workers, and ethnic minorities, and at its height his mob had tens of thousands behind it. However, when Catherine heard of the rebellion, she sought to quickly quell it. Her soldiers attacked the rebels, and were able to defeat them (largely due to superior weaponry); those who were captured were brutally tortured, to serve as a deterrent to others who might join. Pugachev's own men betrayed him, and in late 1774, turned him over to the Empress's troops. He was sent to Moscow, paraded through the streets in a cage, and beheaded. His ashes were poured into the river to avoid any chance of a shrine being formed. The greatest threat to Catherine's power was thereby disposed of.

Foreign Affairs

The Turkish Wars

As mentioned above, Catherine spent a significant amount of her reign engaged in war. The wars with Turkey, which occurred on and off from 1768-1792, were a constant thorn in her side. The First Turkish war, which lasted until 1774, resulted in Russia receiving Azov (again), parts of the Black Sea coast, and areas around the Crimea. The Russians were allowed to built an Orthodox church in Constantinople (which had been seized by the Turks in the 15th century) and received the promise that Orthodox Christians would be well treated in the area. The successes of this war led Catherine to lay claims on the Crimea, seizing it in 1783, and then moving a substantial portion of the fleet into the Black Sea by 1785. This expansion, aided by Grigorii Potemkin, one of Catherine's lovers and the greatest of her advisors, became known as the "Greek Project"; Catherine was so hopeful of seizing this territory that she insisted that her second grandson be named Constantine, with the idea that he would one day rule Constantinople.

The Second Turkish War was brought on by these ambitious schemes. In 1787, Turkey declared war on Russia again, after the Russians had refused to abandon the Crimea. The Turks were again defeated, and forced to sign over substantial lands, including recognizing the Russian claims to the Crimea.

The Partition of Poland

The question of what to do with Poland was one which had confronted all of the Romanov leaders. By the 18th century, the country was weak, its power decentralized, and with virtually non-functioning governmental bodies. Catherine had placed one of her former lovers (and possibly the father of her son Paul), Stanislaus Poniatowski, on the throne in 1764, but he was ruling over an ethnically and religiously diverse country that was surrounded by three large and greedy neighbors: Prussia, Austria, and Russia. The decision to partition Poland in 1775 was made by each of its neighbors for a different reason: Russia to protect its religious minorities (a convenient excuse that the Russians will use repeatedly); the Austrians because they feared if they did not get involved they would not receive any of the spoils; and the Prussians to try to check Russian power. The first partition saw about one-third of Poland's territory go to her neighbors, along with more than one-third of her population. The true victor in the first partition was Prussia, who, despite receiving the smallest of the portion, received the most lucrative area. The second partition, in 1793, was even more disastrous for the Poles; Austria did not participate, but both Russia and Prussia carved out more territory (on the pretext of supporting the old order in Poland, which had been done away with in the Polish reforms of 1792). Russia was also granted the right to move its troops into the area that remained of independent Poland. In 1794, the Poles responded by rising up against the Russians, but the Russian and Prussian armies proved too strong for the Poles, and the resistance movement was crushed. As a result, the third partition of Poland took place in 1795; as a result of the partition, Poland ceased to exist as an independent state. Russia claimed (and continues to claim) that the territories taken were old Russian and Kievan lands, and that therefore the partitions were, in fact, only reuniting the Russian people with their own. While this is technically accurate, Poles had been living independently for over 100 years, so it was a bit of a stretch. The ultimate result for Russia was a population increase of nearly over 5 million people, and the territories of Lithuania, the Ukraine, Latvia, and White Russia came under Russian control.

Catherine in 1783, shortly before the annexation of the Crimea

The Last Years of Catherine's Reign

Catherine's last years were marked by a more reactionary bent. The Pugachev rebellion had quashed much of her interest in allowing for greater reforms, and all desire to support the ideas of the Enlightenment died out with the French Revolution, particularly with the execution of King Louis XVI. Her last years in power saw more and more reactionary responses, which ended many of the practices (free press, free assembly, etc) which had been granted early in her reign.

The last years of her reign also saw increased bitterness between Catherine and her son. Paul had been taken from Catherine at birth and raised by Elizabeth until her death. At that point, when Paul was 8, his mother became Empress, and she had little time for him. As a result, he grew up bitter and angry at Catherine, frequently claiming (especially as he got older) that she had stolen his birthright. Catherine had responded to these threats by not allowing Paul any role within her government, thus alienating him further. Catherine also took his first two sons, Alexander and Constantine, and raised them largely as her own, adding to the resentment that Paul felt towards his mother. Upon her death, Paul would extract his revenge, in a number of ways, most of which are discussed in the next lecture. One of the most damaging means by which he extracted his revenge, however, was by damaging her reputation.

So, was there really a horse?

The simple answer to that question is, no, Catherine the Great was not killed by having a horse fall on her during sex. She actually suffered a brain aneurysm in her bathroom, and died the next day. However, that legend has been one of the most persistent in all of history, and the reason for it can be traced back to Paul.

First, let's set the record straight; Catherine was a passionate woman who loved men, and was not opposed to taking lovers. However, here is a significant double standard: most of the Russian male rulers (Peter the Great being the most obvious example) were well known for their sexuality, and the fact that they slept with as many women as they chose. Catherine, because she did not remarry after Peter's death, took lovers herself and was later villified for it. (The double standard, stud versus slut, is very much in evidence here.) And it is also true that Catherine tended to have, as her lovers, men who helped direct policy during her reign (Orlov and Potemkin are two of the most obvious examples of this). In her early years, certainly into the 1780s, Catherine chose men who would be both lovers and advisors, rather than those who were the most attractive (Potemkin was once called the ugliest man in Europe).

Portrait of Potemkin

In her later years, with her beauty fading, she tended to choose men who were younger and younger; in fact, through the 1790s, her lovers were all younger than her own son. These men were also granted significant powers within government, despite in many cases their clear lack of ability, and this raised Paul's resentment level even higher.

When Catherine died, in 1796, Paul immediately set about to destroy any positives which existed about his mother's rule. One of the easiest ways to do this was to destroy her reputation by making her out to be a man-hungry witch who wanted nothing more than to sleep her way to the top. As a result, Paul spread (or allowed the spread) of rumors about his mother than included everything from her sexual activities with animals to lists of the men she had slept with to come to power. The other male leaders of the day (including William Pitt of England) were quick to jump on the anti-Catherine bandwagon (although in truth other men, including Frederick II of Prussia, had no qualms making comments about her while she was still alive), and as a result her reputation was further sullied. This practice has not ended; one of the most well known biographies of Catherine's life, "Catherine the Great: Life and Legend" by John Alexander, published in the late 1980s, includes a chapter entitled "Nymphomanic?" and includes reference to the fact that she liked to ride pillows as a young girl as a form of masturbation.

Whatever form her sexuality took, it cannot distract from the fact that she was a remarkable leader. She herself believed that her reign was a continuation of the Westernization begun under Peter I, a fact evidenced by the famous statue of Peter that she had commissioned during her reign: the inscription simply reads, "To Peter the First, From Catherine the Second".

The Bronze Horseman, in St. Petersburg