Their son, Aleksey Grygoriovich Bobrinsky (17621813), had one daughter, Maria Alexeyeva Bobrinsky (Bobrinskaya) (17981835), who married in 1819 the 34-year-old Prince Nikolai Sergeevich Gagarin (London, England, 17841842) who took part in the Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) against Napoleon, and later served as ambassador in Turin, the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. [70] In a letter to Voltaire in 1772, she wrote: "Right now I adore English gardens, curves, gentle slopes, ponds in the form of lakes, archipelagos on dry land, and I have a profound scorn for straight lines, symmetric avenues. Book. Catherine the Great Builds a New Russia Catherine the Great, who died on this day, dragged Russia into the modern era while leading a life filled with political drama, sexual intrigue - and murder. [73] The Chinese Palace was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi who specialised in the chinoiserie style. She fell into a coma and died the next day whilst lying in her bed. Perhaps the most readily recognizable anecdote related to Catherine centers on a horse. Central to the institute's philosophy of pedagogy was strict enforcement of discipline. Catherine also issued the Code of Commercial Navigation and Salt Trade Code of 1781, the Police Ordinance of 1782, and the Statute of National Education of 1786. "Catherine II and the Socio-Economic Origins of the Jewish Question in Russia", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 14:56. Thirty-four years after assuming the throne, Catherine passed away on November 6, 1796. Madame Vige Le Brun vividly describes the empress in her memoirs:[85], the sight of this famous woman so impressed me that I found it impossible to think of anything: I could only stare at her. [45] In a 1790 letter to Baron de Grimm written in French, she called the Qianlong Emperor "mon voisin chinois aux petits yeux" ("my Chinese neighbour with small eyes"). By 1782, Catherine arranged another advisory commission to review the information she had gathered on the educational systems of many different countries. Catherine promised more serfs of all religions, as well as amnesty for convicts, if Muslims chose to convert to Orthodoxy. Like his wife, Peter was actually Prussian. Wrens: The history of the Women's Royal Naval Service, The life of Noor Inayat Khan: An unsung hero of WWII. [51], In 1768, the Assignation Bank was given the task of issuing the first government paper money. [118][119], Religious education was reviewed strictly. By cleverly surrounding herself with those allied to her cause she strengthened her hold on the throne. When Sophie's situation looked desperate, her mother wanted her confessed by a Lutheran pastor. Bored with her husband, Catherine became an avid reader of books, mostly in French. 7 Reasons Catherine the Great Was So Great. [58] Some serfs were able to use their new status to their advantage. We will remember him forever. Due to various rumours of Catherine's promiscuity, Peter was led to believe he was not the child's biological father and is known to have proclaimed, "Go to the devil!" She had no intention of marrying him, having already given birth to Orlov's child and to the Grand Duke Paul by then. A. Viazemski. The Treaty of Kk Kaynarca, signed 10 July 1774, gave the Russians territories at Azov, Kerch, Yenikale, Kinburn, and the small strip of Black Sea coast between the rivers Dnieper and Bug. [102], In 1762, to help mend the rift between the Orthodox church and a sect that called themselves the Old Believers, Catherine passed an act that allowed Old Believers to practise their faith openly without interference. She expanded Russia's borders to the Black Sea and into central Europe during her reign. ]]> In 1785, Catherine declared Jews to be officially foreigners, with foreigners' rights. Catherine named ahin Giray, a Crimean Tatar leader, to head the Crimean state and maintain friendly relations with Russia. Many cities and towns were founded on Catherine's orders in the newly conquered lands, most notably Odessa, Yekaterinoslav (to-day known as Dnipro), Kherson, Nikolayev, and Sevastopol. Catherine did indeed like horses, so much so that a portrait was painted of her on horseback. The choice of Princess Sophie as wife of the future tsar was one result of the Lopukhina affair in which Count Jean Armand de Lestocq and King Frederick the Great of Prussia took an active part. 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. [78] In the third category fell the work of Voltaire, Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, Ferdinando Galiani, Nicolas Baudeau, and Sir William Blackstone. She avoided force and tried persuasion (and money) to integrate Muslim areas into her empire. 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. She sent the Russian army into Poland to avoid possible disputes. Ostensibly reigning on behalf of Peters heir apparentthe couples 8-year-old son, Paulshe had no intention of yielding the throne once her son came of age. the official cause of death was given as haemorrhoids and Catherine never . In the end, it seems the misogynists somewhat got their wish since the rumour still doggedly persists to this day. He later became the de facto absolute ruler of New Russia, governing its colonisation. [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. The bonnet which held her white hair was not decorated with ribbons, but with the most beautiful diamonds. In the east Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. Potemkin quickly gained positions and awards. While the nobility provided appreciable amounts of money for these institutions, they preferred to send their own children to private, prestigious institutions. In the south the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Bar Confederation and Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. To become serfs, people conceded their freedoms to a landowner in exchange for their protection and support in times of hardship. 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. To the general public, Catherine is perhaps best known for conducting a string of salacious love affairs. All Rights Reserved. She was also very fat, but her face was still beautiful, and she wore her white hair up, framing it perfectly. 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. The cause of death was confirmed by autopsy. Four years later, in 1766, she endeavoured to embody in legislation the principles of Enlightenment she learned from studying the French philosophers. The cause of death is unclear, though the official autopsy report indicates that he died of hemorrhoids and an apoplectic stroke. [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). Later uprisings in Poland led to the third partition in 1795. Catherine decided to have herself inoculated against smallpox by Thomas Dimsdale, a British doctor. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine She read widely and corresponded with many of the prominent thinkers of the era, including Voltaire and Diderot. The empress was a great lover of art and books, and ordered the construction of the Hermitage in 1770 to house her expanding collection of paintings, sculpture, and books. She was given the last rites and died the following evening around 9:45. Rumours of Catherine's private life had a small basis in the fact that she took many young lovers, even in old age. Sophie had turned 16. Catherine created the Orenburg Muslim Spiritual Assembly to help regulate Muslim-populated regions as well as regulate the instruction and ideals of mullahs. 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. The commission studied the reform projects previously installed by I.I. "The circumstances and cause of death, and the intentions and degree of responsibility of those . 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. She transformed the clergy from a group that wielded great power over the Russian government and its people to a segregated community forced to depend on the state for compensation. Peter . She was a patron of the . It was fighting and winning wars, modernising and revitalising. [120] By separating the public interests from those of the church, Catherine began a secularisation of the day-to-day workings of Russia. She found that piecemeal reform worked poorly because there was no overall view of a comprehensive state budget. News of Catherine's plan spread, and Frederick II (others say the Ottoman sultan) warned her that if she tried to conquer Poland by marrying Poniatowski, all of Europe would oppose her. | The frustration affected Catherine's health. [107] Judaism was a small, if not non-existent, religion in Russia until 1772. 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.. For Latin Empress, see, Partitions of PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. Catherines contributions to Russias cultural landscape were far more successful than her failed socioeconomic reforms. Before her death she recognized Peter II, the grandson of Peter I and Eudoxia, as her successor. Her reign was called Russia . She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russias next ruler. [73] Between 1762 and 1766, she had built the "Chinese Palace" at Oranienbaum which reflected the chinoiserie style of architecture and gardening. However, usually, if the serfs did not like the policies of the empress, they saw the nobles as corrupt and evil, preventing the people of Russia from communicating with the well-intentioned empress and misinterpreting her decrees. Catherine the Great, Russian Yekaterina Velikaya, also called Catherine II, Russian in full Yekaterina Alekseyevna, original name Sophie Friederike Auguste, Prinzessin von Anhalt-Zerbst, (born April 21 [May 2, New Style], 1729, Stettin, Prussia [now Szczecin, Poland]died November 6 [November 17], 1796, Tsarskoye Selo [now Pushkin], near St. Petersburg, Russia), German-born empress of Russia . When the frail Grand Duchess died on 8 March 1759, she was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery with Catherine and Elizabeth present. 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. 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). The emergence of these assignation roubles was necessary due to large government spending on military needs, which led to a shortage of silver in the treasury (transactions, especially in foreign trade, were conducted almost exclusively in silver and gold coins). 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. Catherine the Great was Russia's longest-serving female leader. It opened in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1769. Briefwechsel mit der Kaiserin Katharina", "Alexander the Great vs Ivan the Terrible", "The Ambiguous Legal Status of Russian Jewry in the Reign of Catherine II", "Catherine II and the Serfs: A Reconsideration of Some Problems", Bibliography of Russian history (16131917), Some of the code of laws mentioned above, along with other information, Manifesto of the Empress Catherine II, inviting foreign immigration, Biography of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, Family tree of the ancestors of Catherine the Great, Diaries and Letters: Catherine II German Princess Who Came to Rule Russia, Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lneburg, Catherine Alexeievna (Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst), Natalia Alexeievna (Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt), Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Wrttemberg), Anna Feodorovna (Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia), Elena Pavlovna (Charlotte of Wrttemberg), Alexandra Iosifovna (Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg), Maria Pavlovna (Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), Elizabeth Feodorovna (Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine), Alexandra Georgievna (Alexandra of Greece and Denmark), Elizaveta Mavrikievna (Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg), Anastasia Nikolaevna (Anastasia of Montenegro), Militza Nikolaevna of Montenegro (Milica of Montenegro), Maria Georgievna (Maria of Greece and Denmark), Viktoria Feodorovna (Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catherine_the_Great&oldid=1142635143, 18th-century people from the Russian Empire, 18th-century women from the Russian Empire, Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Lutheranism, Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Mistresses of Stanisaw August Poniatowski, People of the War of the Bavarian Succession, Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree, Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland), Articles containing Russian-language text, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2020, Articles lacking reliable references from November 2018, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles lacking in-text citations from July 2022, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2008, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2009, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles needing additional references from April 2022, Articles needing additional references from December 2022, Articles with Russian-language sources (ru), Articles with self-published sources from November 2021, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the New International Encyclopedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, According to court gossip, this lost pregnancy was attributed to. She was especially impressed with his argument that people do not act for their professed idealistic reasons, and instead she learned to look for the "hidden and interested motives". Subsequently, in 1792, the Russian government dispatched a trade mission to Japan, led by Adam Laxman. Further compounding these unpopular decisions were his attempted repudiation of his wife in favor of his mistress and his seizure of church lands under the guise of secularization. ", Madame Vige Le Brun also describes the empress at a gala:[85]. Assessment and legacy [ edit] She did not allow dissenters to build chapels, and she suppressed religious dissent after the onset of the French Revolution. Petersburg." No. [82], During Catherine's reign, Russians imported and studied the classical and European influences that inspired the Russian Enlightenment. Although the idea of partitioning Poland came from the King Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine took a leading role in carrying it out in the 1790s. They refused to comply, and in 1764, she deported over 20,000 Old Believers to Siberia on the grounds of their faith. Longest ruling Russian empress, 17621796, "Catherine II" redirects here. [49], Catherine imposed a comprehensive system of state regulation of merchants' activities. Obviously he never wanted to take part in the death of Catherine, because she was the perfect woman to him. Catherine the Great is a monarch mired in misconception. Catherine The Great's Infamous Death Vigilius Eriksen/Grand Peterhof Palace Equestrian portrait of Catherine the Great in uniform of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, one of the oldest Imperial Russian guard units, circa 1762. By 1759, he and Catherine had become lovers; no one told Catherine's husband, the Grand Duke Peter. Both women kissed the child on her forehead following the Russian Orthodox rites. Catherine's death is well documented. Catherine's eldest sonand heirmay have been illegitimate. Cartoons drawn by foreign press perpetuated them, consistently degrading Catherine and exaggerating her apparent promiscuity. Though Russia never officially adopted the Nakaz, the widely distributed 526-article treatise still managed to cement the empress reputation as an enlightened European ruler. Always in search of romantic intimacy, she once admitted, The trouble is that my heart is loath to remain even one hour without love.. The most widely known story of Catherine the Great involves her death at age 67 in 1796. Jerzy Lojek, "Catherine II's Armed Intervention in Poland: Origins of the Political Decisions at the Russian Court in 1791 and 1792. 2, part 2, Chapter 3, V]. The Hermitage Museum, which now[update] occupies the whole Winter Palace, began as Catherine's personal collection. The death of Catherine shocks him, and as the intentions of Heathcliff never mean to hurt that much her to cause her dead. Peter also still played with toy soldiers. After defeating Polish loyalist forces in the PolishRussian War of 1792 and in the Kociuszko Uprising (1794), Russia completed the partitioning of Poland, dividing all of the remaining Commonwealth territory with Prussia and Austria (1795). [8] 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. The belief at the time was that women were inferior to men, whose role was to be subordinate to their husbands. Legends abound about Catherine the Greatthe good kind and the bad kind. In July 1765, Dumaresq wrote to Dr. John Brown about the commission's problems and received a long reply containing very general and sweeping suggestions for education and social reforms in Russia. She succeeded her husband as empress regnant, following the precedent established when Catherine I succeeded her husband Peter the Great in 1725. [47] Catherine failed to reach any of the initial goals she had put forward. In reality, Catherine the Great died of a stroke and she was discovered collapsed on the floor in her washroom. All of this meant that the target on Catherines back was even greater. One urban legend even claimed that Catherine had an erotic cabinet created for one of her palaces. His period of rule proved disappointing after repeated effort to prop up his regime through military force and monetary aid. Although German soldiers allegedly saw the cabinet during WWII, no visible proof of the furniture exists leading many historians to believe it's just another salacious fabrication. [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. Mourning dress is to be worn for six months, and no longer: the shorter the better. Her sexual independence led to many of the legends about her.[127]. Russian economic development was well below the standards in western Europe. After the decisive defeat of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Svensksund in 1790, the parties signed the Treaty of Vrl (14 August 1790), returning all conquered territories to their respective owners and confirming the Treaty of bo. [4] 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. Peter supposedly was assassinated, but it is unknown how he died. Catherine never even mentioned her daughter's death in her memoirs. Yet shed done an enormous amount of amazing things, had been a kid whod come to a country that wasnt her own and taken it over.. [102], However, in accord with her anti-Ottoman policy, Catherine promoted the protection and fostering of Christians under Turkish rule. [64] However, they were already suspicious of Catherine upon her accession because she had annulled an act by Peter III that essentially freed the serfs belonging to the Orthodox Church.
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