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Also, the townspeople tended to turn against the junior schools and their pedagogical[clarification needed] methods. In the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783), Russia agreed to protect Georgia against any new invasion and further political aspirations of their Persian suzerains. [117] In later years, Catherine amended her thoughts. The bridegroom, known as Peter von Holstein-Gottorp, had become Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (located in the north-west of present-day[update] Germany near the border with Denmark) in 1739. Petersburg." Though the young Prussian princess had been imported to . The imperial couple moved into the new Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. A poor student who felt a stronger allegiance to his home country of Prussia than Russia, the heir spent much of his time indulging in various vicesand unsuccessfully working to paint himself as an effective military commander. Catherine the Great is a monarch mired in misconception. By 1786, Catherine excluded all religion and clerical studies programs from lay education. Russia was to stop any involvement in internal affairs of Sweden. [94] The girls who attended the Smolny Institute, Smolyanki, were often accused of being ignorant of anything that went on in the world outside the walls of the Smolny buildings, within which they acquired a proficiency in French, music, and dancing, along with a complete awe of the monarch. Born in 1729, and known as Catherine the Great because she served as Russia's longest-reigning female ruler, she was empress from 1762 until her death in 1796. Featuring Elle Fanning as the empress and Nicholas Hoult as her mercurial husband, Peter III, The Great differs from the 2019 HBO miniseries Catherine the Great, which starred Helen Mirren as its title character. But in a purely humanitarian light, Catherines expansionist drive came at a great cost to the conquered nations and the czarinas own country alike. He was strongly in favour of the adoption of the Austrian three-tier model of trivial, real, and normal schools at the village, town, and provincial capital levels. It opened in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1769. And yet it was important to me that there were tent poles of things that were true, [like] her being a kid who didn't speak the language, marrying the wrong man and responding to that by deciding to change the country.. On the night of 8 July (OS: 27 June 1762),[22] Catherine was given the news that one of her co-conspirators had been arrested by her estranged husband and that all they had been planning must take place at once. It was unthinkable they could rule a nation, especially one successfully. [73], She made a special effort to bring leading intellectuals and scientists to Russia, and she wrote her own comedies, works of fiction, and memoirs. It was instituted by the Fundamental Law of 7 November 1775. [62] This happened more often during Catherine's reign because of the new schools she established. Catherine, for her part, claimed in her memoirs that all his actions bordered on insanity. By claiming the throne, she wrote, she had saved Russia from the disaster that all this Princes moral and physical faculties promised.. The monarch was succeeded by her son,. [88] Through him, she collected information from Russia and other countries about educational institutions. [23][24] On 17 July 1762eight days after the coup that amazed the outside world[25] and just six months after his accession to the thronePeter III died at Ropsha, possibly at the hands of Alexei Orlov (younger brother to Grigory Orlov, then a court favourite and a participant in the coup). It also stipulated in detail the subjects to be taught at every age and the method of teaching. In their eyes, Catherine was the very definition of unnatural and so stories of outlandish sexual behaviour became a way of insinuating how her position in the world was not natural to her gender. I have never been so happy. Such all-consuming passion proved unsustainablebut while the pairs romantic partnership faded after just two years, they remained on such good terms that Potemkin continued to wield enormous political influence, acting as tsar in all but name, one observer noted. Catherine held western European philosophies and culture close to her heart, and she wanted to surround herself with like-minded people within Russia. 7 Reasons Catherine the Great Was So Great. The ultimate goal for the Russian government, however, was to topple the anti-Russian shah (king), and to replace him with a half-brother, Morteza Qoli Khan, who had defected to Russia and was therefore pro-Russian. Aided by her lover Grigory Orlov and his powerful family, she staged a coup just six months after her husband took the throne. Running and games were forbidden, and the building was kept particularly cold because too much warmth was believed to be harmful to the developing body, as was excessive play. Catherine completed the conquest of the south, making Russia the dominant power in the Balkans after the Russo-Turkish War of 17681774. [78] Catherine expressed some frustration with the economists she read for what she regarded as their impractical theories, writing in the margin of one of Necker's books that if it was possible to solve all of the state's economic problems in one day, she would have done so a long time ago. In 1757, Poniatowski served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War, thus severing close relationships with Catherine. The most widely known story of Catherine the Great involves her death at age 67 in 1796. Large sums were paid to Gustav III. Grigory Potemkin was involved in the palace coup of 1762. May 14, 2020. This reform never progressed beyond the planning stages. Later uprisings in Poland led to the third partition in 1795. Her foreign policy lacked a long-term strategy and from the very start was characterised by a series of mistakes. CATHERINE THE GREAT was Russia's longest ruling female leader after she succeeded her husband in the 18th century. [1] The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. While the state did not technically allow them to own possessions, some serfs were able to accumulate enough wealth to pay for their freedom. Russia's State Council in 1770 announced a policy in favour of eventual Crimean independence. The rebellion ultimately failed and in fact backfired as Catherine was pushed away from the idea of serf liberation following the violent uprising. Anna Petrovna of Russia Mourning dress is to be worn for six months, and no longer: the shorter the better. Russian poets wrote about his virtues, the court praised him, foreign ambassadors fought for his favour, and his family moved into the palace. Under Catherine's rule, despite her enlightened ideals, the serfs were generally unhappy and discontented. Catherine was born in Stettin, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire, as Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg. On the morning of 5 November 1796 . Jerzy Lojek, "Catherine II's Armed Intervention in Poland: Origins of the Political Decisions at the Russian Court in 1791 and 1792. Catherine II (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 - 17 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Ollie Upton/Hulu. Subsequently, in 1792, the Russian government dispatched a trade mission to Japan, led by Adam Laxman. She placed strictures on Catholics (ukaz of 23 February 1769), mainly Polish, and attempted to assert and extend state control over them in the wake of the partitions of Poland. Uniting Cossacks, peasants, escaped serfs and other discontented tribal groups and malcontents, Pugachev produced a storm of violence that swept across the steppes, writes Massie. She provided support to a Polish anti-reform group known as the Targowica Confederation. By cleverly surrounding herself with those allied to her cause she strengthened her hold on the throne. In private, says Jaques, she balanced a constant craving for affection with a ruthless determination to paint Russia as a truly European country. The frustration affected Catherine's health. Paul ascended to the throne and was known as Emperor Paul I. Catherine's will was discovered in . This reversal aroused the frustration and enmity of the powerful Zubovs and other officers who took part in the campaign: many of them would be among the conspirators who arranged Paul's murder five years later.[39]. In 1780, she established a League of Armed Neutrality, designed to defend neutral shipping from being searched by the British Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Assessment and legacy [ edit] His period of rule proved disappointing after repeated effort to prop up his regime through military force and monetary aid. This work, divided into four parts, dealt with teaching methods, subject matter, teacher conduct, and school administration. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres; along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe. 16987. How can history remember her for anything else if she died whilst trying to have sexual intercourse with a horse? [78] For information about particular nations that interested her, she read Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville's Memoirs de Chine to learn about the vast and wealthy Chinese empire that bordered her empire; Franois Baron de Tott's Memoires de les Turcs et les Tartares for information about the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean khanate; the books of Frederick the Great praising himself to learn about Frederick just as much as to learn about Prussia; and the pamphlets of Benjamin Franklin denouncing the British Crown to understand the reasons behind the American Revolution. In reality, those in power were beginning to fear the power that Russia was now wielding. The attitude of the serfs toward their autocrat had historically been a positive one. [29], During her reign, Catherine extended the borders of the Russian Empire by some 520,000 square kilometres (200,000sqmi), absorbing New Russia, Crimea, the North Caucasus, right-bank Ukraine, White Russia, Lithuania, and Courland at the expense, mainly, of two powersthe Ottoman Empire and the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. Catherine the Great died in 1796 at the age of 67 and was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. In 1768, she formally became the protector of political rights of dissidents and peasants of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-Russian uprising in Poland, the Confederation of Bar (17681772), supported by France. Catherine promised more serfs of all religions, as well as amnesty for convicts, if Muslims chose to convert to Orthodoxy. Potemkin also convinced Catherine to expand the universities in Russia to increase the number of scientists. A new Hulu series titled The Great takes its cue from the little-known beginnings of Catherines reign. Her goal was to modernise education across Russia. I hate fountains that torture water in order to make it take a course contrary to its nature: Statues are relegated to galleries, vestibules etc. Closer to home, her success, coupled with how she came to power, led to jealously and fear among her male objectors in the Russian court. The belief at the time was that women were inferior to men, whose role was to be subordinate to their husbands. And so she used her lovers as a means to cement her power. Today, the author adds, Wed call her a micromanager.. One claimed that she died on her toilet seat, which broke under her. Born without a drop of Russian blood inside her veins, the German-born Sophie Friederike Auguste died as Catherine the Great of Russia, whose successful 34-year reign became known as the Golden Age of Russia. A. Viazemski. [47] Catherine failed to reach any of the initial goals she had put forward. [108] Jewish members of society were required to pay double the tax of their Orthodox neighbours. 2019. 5 November]1796, Catherine rose early in the morning and had her usual morning coffee, soon settling down to work on papers; she told her lady's maid, Maria Perekusikhina, that she had slept better than she had in a long time. Following the war and the defeat of Pugachev, Catherine laid the obligation to establish schools at the guberniya a provincial subdivision of the Russian empire ruled by a governor on the Boards of Social Welfare set up with the participation of elected representatives from the three free estates.[97]. Grigory Orlov, the grandson of a rebel in the Streltsy Uprising (1698) against Peter the Great, distinguished himself in the Battle of Zorndorf (25 August 1758), receiving three wounds. The treaty also removed restrictions on Russian naval or commercial traffic in the Azov Sea, granted to Russia the position of protector of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and made the Crimea a protectorate of Russia. If all went as planned, according to Massie, the proposed legal code would raise the levels of government administration, of justice, and of tolerance within her empire. But these changes failed to materialize, and Catherines suggestions remained just that. Her mother was Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. [77] She especially liked the work of German comic writers such as Moritz August von Thmmel and Christoph Friedrich Nicolai. ", Madame Vige Le Brun also describes the empress at a gala:[85]. In addition to the advisory commission, Catherine established a Commission of National Schools under Pyotr Zavadovsky. In reality, Catherine the Great died of a stroke and she was discovered collapsed on the floor in her washroom. Rumour and degrading slander became the weapon by which they would take jabs at her legacy. In addition, some governors listened to the complaints of serfs and punished nobles, but this was by no means universal. A key principle was responsibilities defined by function. Empress Elizabeth knew the family well and had intended to marry Princess Joanna's brother Charles Augustus (Karl August von Holstein); however, he died of smallpox in 1727 before the wedding could take place. [58] Some serfs were able to use their new status to their advantage. Catherine saw Orlov as very useful, and he became instrumental in the 28 June 1762 coup d'tat against her husband, but she preferred to remain the dowager empress of Russia rather than marrying anyone. Along the way, she became a very passionate, knowledgeable proponent of painting, sculpture, books, architecture, opera, theater and literature. She had no intention of marrying him, having already given birth to Orlov's child and to the Grand Duke Paul by then. She thus spent much of this time alone in her private boudoir to hide away from Peter's abrasive personality. [73] Between 1762 and 1766, she had built the "Chinese Palace" at Oranienbaum which reflected the chinoiserie style of architecture and gardening. Catherine was worried that Potemkin's poor health would delay his important work in colonising and developing the south as he had planned. 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. [133] The court physician diagnosed a stroke[133][134] and despite attempts to revive her, she fell into a coma. When she wrote her memoirs, she said she made the decision then to do whatever was necessary and to profess to believe whatever was required of her to become qualified to wear the crown. Catherine did initiate some changes to serfdom. Catherine began issuing codes to address some of the modernisation trends suggested in her Nakaz. Is there any truth to this infamous story of bestiality? She appointed General Aleksandr Bibikov to put down the uprising, but she needed Potemkin's advice on military strategy. All Rights Reserved. Only 400,000 roubles of church wealth were paid back. She had the government collect and publish vital statistics. She believed in the . [125] Some of these men loved her in return, and she always showed generosity towards them, even after the affair ended. The British ambassador James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, reported back to London: Her Majesty has a masculine force of mind, obstinacy in adhering to a plan, and intrepidity in the execution of it; but she wants the more manly virtues of deliberation, forbearance in prosperity and accuracy of judgment, while she possesses in a high degree the weaknesses vulgarly attributed to her sexlove of flattery, and its inseparable companion, vanity; an inattention to unpleasant but salutary advice; and a propensity to voluptuousness which leads to excesses that would debase a female character in any sphere of life. On 5 August 1786, the Russian Statute of National Education was created. No. [40], In 1764, Catherine placed Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, her former lover, on the Polish throne. Inspired by Byzantine design, the crown was constructed of two half spheres, one gold and one silver, representing the eastern and western Roman empires, divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop. However, because her second cousin Peter III converted to Orthodox Christianity, her mother's brother became the heir to the Swedish throne[4] and two of her first cousins, Gustav III and Charles XIII, later became Kings of Sweden. Some claimed Catherine failed to supply enough money to support her educational program. Sophie had turned 16. [32], Peter the Great had succeeded in gaining a toehold in the south, on the edge of the Black Sea, in the Azov campaigns. [106], Russia often treated Judaism as a separate entity, where Jews were maintained with a separate legal and bureaucratic system. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the empress, changed the face of the country. They submitted recommendations for the establishment of a general system of education for all Russian orthodox subjects from the age of 5 to 18, excluding serfs. She had her husband arrested, and forced him to sign a document of abdication, leaving no one to dispute her accession to the throne. In terms of making Russia a great power, says Hartley, these efforts proved successful. [73] Catherine had at first attempted to hire a Chinese architect to build the Chinese Village, and on finding that was impossible, settled on Cameron, who likewise specialised in the chinoiserie style. She trained herself, biographer Virginia Rounding told Times Olivia B. Waxman last October, learning and beginning to form the idea that she could do better than her husband., In Catherines own words, Had it been my fate to have a husband whom I could love, I would never have changed towards him. Peter, however, proved to be not only a poor life partner, but a threat to his wifes wellbeing, particularly following his ascension to the Russian throne upon his aunt Elizabeths death in January 1762. Grigory Orlov and his other three brothers found themselves rewarded with titles, money, swords, and other gifts, but Catherine did not marry Grigory, who proved inept at politics and useless when asked for advice. In 1774, a disillusioned military officer named Yemelyan Pugachev capitalized on the unrest fomented by Russias ongoing fight with Turkey to lead hundreds of thousands into rebellion. She addressed me immediately in a voice full of sweetness, if a little throaty: "I am delighted to welcome you here, Madame, your reputation runs before you. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. Russia inflicted some of the heaviest defeats ever suffered by the Ottoman Empire, including the Battle of Chesma (57 July 1770) and the Battle of Kagul (21 July 1770). [91] This work emphasised the fostering of the creation of a 'new kind of people' raised in isolation from the damaging influence of a backward Russian environment. Perhaps the most readily recognizable anecdote related to Catherine centers on a horse. [13], According to Alexander Hertzen, who edited a version of Catherine's memoirs, Catherine had her first sexual relationship with Sergei Saltykov while living at Oranienbaum as her marriage to Peter had not been consummated, as Catherine later claimed. When it became apparent that his plan could not succeed, Panin fell out of favour and Catherine had him replaced with Ivan Osterman (in office 17811797). Sophie's childhood was very uneventful. Orlov died in 1783. In 1772, Catherine wrote to Potemkin. Gustav Adolph felt pressured to accept that Alexandra would not convert to Lutheranism, and though he was delighted by the young lady, he refused to appear at the ball and left for Stockholm. The official cause of death was a stroke but was possibly an assassination. Army officer Grigory Potemkin was arguably the greatest love of Catherines life, though her relationship with Grigory Orlov, who helped the empress overthrow Peter III, technically lasted longer. In 1783, storms drove a Japanese sea captain, Daikokuya Kday, ashore in the Aleutian Islands, at that time Russian territory. Catherine kept her illegitimate son by Grigory Orlov (Alexis Bobrinsky, later elevated to Count Bobrinsky by Paul I) near Tula, away from her court. She had the book burned and the author exiled to Siberia. The double doors opened and the Empress appeared. Russia invaded Poland on 26 August 1764, threatening to fight, and imposing Poniatowski as king. In one portrait, hes managed to just somehow portray both sides of this compelling leader., Meilan Solly Catherine decided it promoted the dangerous poison of the French Revolution. . 1772-04-06 Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, ends tax on men with beards, enacted by Tsar . [99], Despite these efforts, later historians of the 19th century were generally critical. In the plus column, the longest-reigning empress of Russia transformed her empire into one of Europe's great and . In 1762 called on the army to upgrade its medical services. . The truss holding her equine paramour broke, crushing Catherine to death beneath the poor beast. Catherine and Peter were ill-matched, and their marriage was notoriously unhappy. Add some worm castings if you choose. That same morning, two of the Orlov brothers arrested Peter and forced him to sign a statement of abdication. Teplov, T. von Klingstedt, F.G. Dilthey, and the historian G. Muller. [118][119], Religious education was reviewed strictly. A shrewd statesman, Panin dedicated much effort and millions of roubles to setting up a "Northern Accord" between Russia, Prussia, Poland and Sweden, to counter the power of the BourbonHabsburg League. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt. She . He lauded her accomplishments, calling her "The Star of the North" and the "Semiramis of Russia" (in reference to the legendary Queen of Babylon, a subject on which he published a tragedy in 1768). The church's lands were expropriated, and the budget of both monasteries and bishoprics were controlled by the Collegium of Accounting. Four years later, in 1766, she endeavoured to embody in legislation the principles of Enlightenment she learned from studying the French philosophers. [79], Within a few months of her accession in 1762, having heard the French government threatened to stop the publication of the famous French Encyclopdie on account of its irreligious spirit, Catherine proposed to Diderot that he should complete his great work in Russia under her protection.