Catherine the Great

Born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a minor German princely family, she was selected in 1744 as a bride for Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne. She converted to Orthodoxy, taking the name Yekaterina (Catherine). Her marriage was unhappy, but she immersed herself in Russian culture and politics, cultivating relationships with influential nobles and military figures.¹ In 1762, after Peter III's short, unpopular reign, Catherine orchestrated a coup with the help of the Imperial Guard, deposing her husband. Peter was killed soon after, and Catherine assumed the throne. Her accession was supported by key figures such as the Orlov brothers, who helped secure her rule.²

Early in her reign, Catherine convened the Legislative Commission in 1767 to codify laws, inspired by the Enlightenment ideals of Montesquieu and Beccaria.¹ Although the commission was dissolved without producing a new code, it shaped her later reforms. She expanded serfdom in some regions while granting more rights to towns and the nobility through the Charter to the Nobility (1785) and the Charter to the Towns (1785).³ Her foreign policy was aggressive: she annexed Crimea in 1783, secured the Black Sea coastline, and participated in the partitions of Poland, adding vast territories to Russia. She also fought two successful wars against the Ottoman Empire (1768–1774, 1787–1792).⁴

Catherine was a dedicated patron of the arts, education, and the Enlightenment. She corresponded with Voltaire, Diderot, and d'Alembert, and purchased Diderot's library, paying him a salary as its librarian.¹ She founded the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, Russia's first state-run women's educational institution, and supported the establishment of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her collection of art became the core of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. She also wrote plays, memoirs, and a history of Russia, and promoted the construction of neoclassical buildings, including the Hermitage Theatre and the Alexander Palace.⁵

Despite her reputation as an enlightened despot, Catherine's reign saw the tightening of serfdom and a brutal suppression of the Pugachev Rebellion (1773–1775), which was led by a former Don Cossack claiming to be Peter III.³ She also introduced the first smallpox vaccination in Russia in 1768, inoculating herself and her son to set an example.⁶ Her personal life included a series of influential lovers, most notably Grigory Potemkin, who helped govern the south. The myth that she died while attempting to mate with a horse is a fabricated rumour spread by her political enemies.¹ Catherine's legacy is complex: she expanded Russia's borders and culture, yet her reforms failed to address the plight of the serfs, a contradiction that later fueled revolutionary movements.

Imperial Guard

Elite military units that protected the Russian imperial family and often played a role in palace coups.

Legislative Commission

A consultative body convened by Catherine in 1767 to draft a new legal code, drawing on Enlightenment principles.

Charter to the Nobility

A 1785 decree that granted nobles extensive rights, including exemption from service and corporal punishment.

Pugachev Rebellion

A major peasant and Cossack uprising (1773–1775) led by Yemelyan Pugachev, threatening Catherine's rule.

Hermitage Museum

An art museum in Saint Petersburg founded by Catherine in 1764, now one of the world's largest.