Additional information about Catherine 2. The daily routine of the Empress

On May 2 (April 21, O.S.), 1729, in the Prussian city of Stettin (now Poland), Sophia Augusta Frederick of Anhalt-Zerbst was born, who became famous as Catherine II the Great, the Russian Empress. The period of her reign, which brought Russia to the world stage as a world power, is called the "golden age of Catherine."

The father of the future empress, the Duke of Zerbst, served the Prussian king, but her mother, Johann Elizabeth, had a very rich pedigree, she was a cousin of the future Peter III. Despite the nobility, the family did not live very richly, Sophia grew up as an ordinary girl who was educated at home, played with her peers with pleasure, was active, agile, courageous, loved to play pranks.

A new milestone in her biography was opened in 1744 - when the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna invited her to Russia with her mother. There, Sophia was to marry Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, heir to the throne, who was her second cousin. Upon arrival in a foreign country, which was to become her second home, she began to actively learn the language, history, and customs. Young Sophia converted to Orthodoxy on July 9 (June 28, O.S.), 1744, and received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna at baptism. The next day she was betrothed to Pyotr Fedorovich, and on September 1 (August 21, O.S.), 1745, they were married.

Seventeen-year-old Peter was little interested in his young wife, each of them lived his own life. Catherine not only enjoyed horseback riding, hunting, masquerades, but also read a lot, was actively engaged in self-education. In 1754, her son Pavel (future Emperor Paul I) was born to her, whom Elizaveta Petrovna immediately took away from her mother. Catherine's husband was extremely unhappy when, in 1758, she gave birth to a daughter, Anna, being unsure of her paternity.

Since 1756, Catherine had been thinking about how to prevent her husband from sitting on the throne of the emperor, counting on the support of the guards, Chancellor Bestuzhev and the commander-in-chief of the army Apraksin. Only the timely destruction of Bestuzhev's correspondence with Ekaterina saved the latter from being exposed by Elizaveta Petrovna. On January 5, 1762 (December 25, 1761, O.S.), the Russian Empress died, and her son, who became Peter III, took her place. This event made the gulf between the spouses even deeper. The emperor openly began to live with his mistress. In turn, his wife, evicted to the other end of the Winter, became pregnant and secretly gave birth to a son from Count Orlov.

Taking advantage of the fact that the husband-emperor took unpopular measures, in particular, went for rapprochement with Prussia, had not the best reputation, restored the officers against herself, Catherine made a coup with the support of the latter: July 9 (June 28 according to O.S.) 1762 in St. Petersburg, the guards gave her an oath of allegiance. The next day, Peter III, who did not see the point in resistance, abdicated the throne, and then died under circumstances that remained unclear. On October 3 (September 22, O.S.), 1762, the coronation of Catherine II took place in Moscow.

The period of her reign was marked by a large number of reforms, in particular, in the system of state administration and the structure of the empire. Under her tutelage, a whole galaxy of famous "Catherine eagles" advanced - Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, Orlov, Kutuzov and others. The increased power of the army and navy made it possible to successfully pursue the imperial foreign policy of annexing new lands, in particular, Crimea, the Black Sea region, the Kuban region, part of Rech Commonwealth and others. A new era began in the cultural and scientific life of the country. The implementation of the principles of an enlightened monarchy contributed to the opening of a large number of libraries, printing houses, and various educational institutions. Catherine II was in correspondence with Voltaire and the encyclopedists, collected artistic canvases, left behind a rich literary heritage, including on the topic of history, philosophy, economics, and pedagogy.

On the other hand, its domestic policy was characterized by an increase in the privileged position of the nobility, an even greater restriction of the freedom and rights of the peasantry, and the harshness of suppressing dissent, especially after the Pugachev uprising (1773-1775).

Catherine was in the Winter Palace when she had a stroke. The next day, November 17 (November 6, O.S.), 1796, the great empress passed away. Her last refuge was the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Or the "Golden Age of the Russian nobility." The Russian Empire, under her hand, grew territories, won victories over external enemies, but the growth of internal problems had already begun to rock the imperial throne. We will try to briefly characterize the period of the reign of the great empress on the throne of the Russian Empire, which lasted from 1762 to 1796.

Presentation

Brief description of the reign of Catherine II the Great

The era of enlightened absolutism

The empress was not inclined to idleness, but the pomp of outfits, architectural delights and the style of the Russian court of those times had already begun to gain strength. Fashion, obeying the tastes of Catherine II, changed from baroque to classicism.

Despite the fact that the ideas of the "Enlightenment" postulated the equality and freedom of all people, the Empress contributed to the strengthening of the serfdom of the peasant class, which at that time accounted for about 90% of the total population of the country. Nevertheless, its contribution to the development of education, healthcare and science systems can hardly be called insignificant.

We have prepared a separate article with an analysis of the period of the reign of Catherine II the Great in the concept of enlightened absolutism.

Political life in Russia
during the reign of Catherine the Great

Foreign policy -
intrigue and war

The army and navy received sufficient funding to significantly increase the number and quality of equipment, which had a positive effect on the success of military campaigns.

The most significant events were the three divisions of the Commonwealth, the wars with Turkey in 1768-1774 and 1787-1791, the successful repulsion of the aggression of Sweden and Persia (under the Treaty of St. George). The result of these activities was the annexation of the Crimea, Little Russia, Novorossia, Belarus, Ochakov and other territories. A large number of cities have been founded on the Black Sea coast, and the construction of the future Black Sea Fleet has begun in ports.

The elimination of the threat from the Crimean Khanate was one of the significant achievements of foreign policy.

In addition, the Russian state has finally established itself in the status of a world power - acting as a mediator in resolving the "war for the Bavarian inheritance" and the conclusion of various alliances (the union of the "three black eagles", the convention "on armed neutrality") are a clear confirmation of this.

A successful foreign policy not only consolidated the status of the Russian Empire as an influential player in the geopolitical field, but also raised the authority of the aristocracy of that time, which took an active part in the hostilities. Two victorious Turkish companies, sections of the Commonwealth, repelled the aggression of the Swedes and Persians, all these events had their heroes and generals, whose names are still known and mentioned with respect - Suvorov, Potemkin, Rumyantsev, Yermolov.

Some projects of the empress were not destined to come true - the Greek project (the purpose of which was to restore the Holy Roman Empire with the emperor-protege of Catherine II) was never implemented.

Domestic policy -
Russia's development

Having seized power as a result of the coup d'état of 1762, Catherine II began to carry out administrative and economic reforms - reforming the Senate, secularizing church property and issuing paper money - banknotes.

As a result of the exploitation of the peasant class, national politics and the general exhaustion of the state by the Russian-Polish and Russian-Turkish wars, the Pugachev uprising of 1773-1775 broke out. After the suppression of the rebellion, and the repressions that followed, Catherine II urgently carried out a number of administrative and police reforms, trying to prevent possible uprisings in the future - provincial, police and city reforms. Realizing the unreliability of the Cossack military formations (some of the Cossacks joined the Pugachev uprising), the empress abolishes the Zaporozhian Sich. To reduce social tension in the lower classes, the abolition of taxes and fees for various artisans and earners is announced.
The crown of her own lawmaking, Catherine II called the "commended letters" issued in 1785.

The nobility could rightfully consider the era of Catherine II's reign as the period of its heyday. The noble estates received confirmation of the existing privileges and new rights, including to the detriment of the peasants - the "charter to the nobles" provided support for the empress among the court. Now the nobles were not even required to carry out military service. And they had almost unlimited power over the peasants.

"Charter to the cities" - made it possible to delimit the rights and obligations of urban residents, at the same time there was a legal formation of such a class of society as the merchant class.

Economic development of Russia in the second half of the 18th century

The economy during the reign of Catherine II suffered from the slave labor of serfs, even the reforms carried out could not completely solve this problem. Nevertheless, the country has become a leader in the export of such resources as timber and grain, as well as primary processed products (cast iron and canvas). Many monopolies for the extraction and sale of various raw materials were canceled, and tax duties were adjusted. As part of the financial reform, the first paper money, banknotes, was introduced. The release of the manifesto "on freedom of enterprise" allowed anyone who wished to open their own handicraft production.

The administrative reforms carried out helped to systematize taxation, and the secularization of church lands and property, at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, made it possible to use the peasants and land that had previously fed the clergy for the interests of the empress.

Base

In the social and cultural sphere:

Streamlining and systematization of the functions of administrative and judicial institutions. The division of the territory is not by volume, but by population. Separation of responsibilities of managerial positions.

Laying the foundation of a public educational system and women's education.

The consolidation of the previously granted privileges for the nobles and the final enslavement of the peasants - complaints against the owners were prohibited, the landowners were allowed to exile the peasants to hard labor.

Delimitation of estates, their duties and rights. The emergence of the estates of "townspeople".

Development of the healthcare system, culture and art.

Resettlement of Germans on the territory of the Russian Empire with the provision of privileges.

In the economic sphere:

Issue of the first paper money - banknotes.

Free enterprise for all except serfs.

Dependence of the Church on the state.

The volume of exports increased from 13.9 million rubles. in 1760 to 39.6 in 1790

Significant reduction in trade duties.

Corruption and favoritism.

An increase in the "drinking collection" by six times.

The total amount of state debts after the death of Catherine II is 205 million rubles.

In the geopolitical sphere:

A significant expansion of the influence of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus, the Black Sea coast and Europe - as a result of successful Turkish campaigns and the divisions of Poland, Crimea, Ochakov, Belarus, Novorossia, Little Russia and other regions were annexed.

144 cities founded.

The Black Sea Fleet was founded.

Increasing the size and quality of the army and navy.

Strengthening of potential opponents due to the divisions of the Commonwealth

Consolidation of the "Norman theory" of the emergence of Russian statehood

The Russian Empress Catherine II the Great was born on May 2 (Old Style April 21), 1729 in the city of Stettin in Prussia (now the city of Szczecin in Poland), died on November 17 (Old Style November 6), 1796 in St. Petersburg (Russia). The reign of Catherine II lasted more than three and a half decades, from 1762 to 1796. It was filled with many events in internal and external affairs, the implementation of plans that continued what was being done during. The period of her reign is often called the "golden age" of the Russian Empire.

By her own admission, Catherine II, she did not have a creative mind, but she was good at capturing any sensible thought and using it for her own purposes. She skillfully selected her assistants, not being afraid of bright and talented people. That is why Catherine's time was marked by the appearance of a whole galaxy of outstanding statesmen, generals, writers, artists, and musicians. Among them are the great Russian commander, Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, satirist writer Denis Fonvizin, outstanding Russian poet, Pushkin's predecessor Gavriil Derzhavin, Russian historiographer, writer, creator of the "History of the Russian State" Nikolai Karamzin, writer, philosopher, poet Alexander Radishchev , an outstanding Russian violinist and composer, the founder of Russian violin culture Ivan Khandoshkin, conductor, teacher, violinist, singer, one of the founders of the Russian national opera Vasily Pashkevich, composer of secular and church music, conductor, teacher Dmitry Bortyansky.

In her memoirs, Catherine II characterized the state of Russia at the beginning of her reign as follows:

Finances were depleted. The army did not receive a salary for 3 months. Trade was in decline, because many of its branches were given over to a monopoly. There was no correct system in the state economy. The War Department was plunged into debt; the marine was barely holding on, being in utter neglect. The clergy were dissatisfied with the taking away of his lands. Justice was sold at a bargain, and the laws were governed only in cases where they favored the strong person.

The Empress formulated the tasks facing the Russian monarch as follows:

“We need to educate the nation that we have to govern.

- It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, to support society and force it to comply with the laws.

- It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police in the state.

- It is necessary to promote the flowering of the state and make it abundant.

“We need to make the state formidable in itself and inspire respect for its neighbors.

Based on the tasks set, Catherine II carried out active reformatory activities. Her reforms affected almost all spheres of life.

Convinced of the unsuitable system of government, Catherine II in 1763 carried out a Senate reform. The Senate was divided into 6 departments, losing the importance of the body that manages the state apparatus, and became the highest administrative and judicial institution.

Faced with financial difficulties, Catherine II in 1763-1764 carried out the secularization (conversion to secular property) of church lands. 500 monasteries were abolished, 1 million souls of peasants passed to the treasury. Due to this, the state treasury was significantly replenished. This made it possible to ease the financial crisis in the country, to pay off the army, which had not received a salary for a long time. The influence of the Church on the life of society has been significantly reduced.

From the very beginning of her reign, Catherine II began to strive to achieve the internal order of the state. She believed that injustices in the state could be eradicated with the help of good laws. And she decided to adopt new legislation instead of the Cathedral Code of Alexei Mikhailovich of 1649, which would take into account the interests of all classes. For this purpose, in 1767, the Legislative Commission was convened. 572 deputies represented the nobility, merchants, Cossacks. In the new legislation, Catherine tried to carry out the ideas of Western European thinkers about a just society. Having reworked their works, she compiled the famous "Order of Empress Catherine" for the Commission. "Instruction" consisted of 20 chapters, divided into 526 articles. It is about the need for a strong autocratic power in Russia and the class structure of Russian society, about legality, about the relationship between law and morality, about the dangers of torture and corporal punishment. The commission worked for more than two years, but its work was not crowned with success, since the nobility and the deputies themselves from other classes stood guard only for their rights and privileges.

In 1775, Catherine II carried out a clearer territorial division of the empire. The territory began to be divided into administrative units with a certain number of taxable (who paid taxes) population. The country was divided into 50 provinces with a population of 300-400 thousand in each, provinces into counties of 20-30 thousand inhabitants. The city was an independent administrative unit. Elected courts and "judicial chambers" were introduced to deal with criminal and civil cases. Finally, "conscientious" courts for minors and the sick.

In 1785, the "Letter of Letters to the Cities" was published. It determined the rights and obligations of the urban population, the system of governance in cities. Residents of the city every 3 years elected a self-government body - the General City Duma, the mayor and judges.

Since the time of Peter the Great, when all the nobility was obliged to lifelong service to the state, and the peasantry to the same service to the nobility, gradual changes have taken place. Catherine the Great, among other reforms, also wanted to bring harmony into the life of the estates. In 1785, the Letter of Complaint to the Nobility was published, which was a set, a collection of noble privileges, formalized by law. From now on, the nobility was sharply separated from other classes. The freedom of the nobility from paying taxes, from compulsory service was confirmed. Nobles could only be judged by a noble court. Only nobles had the right to own land and serfs. Catherine forbade subjecting nobles to corporal punishment. She believed that this would help the Russian nobility to get rid of the slave psychology and acquire personal dignity.

These letters streamlined the social structure of Russian society, divided into five classes: the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, the bourgeoisie ("the middle class of people") and the serfs.

As a result of the education reform in Russia during the reign of Catherine II, a system of secondary education was created. In Russia, closed schools, educational homes, institutes for girls, nobles, townspeople were created, in which experienced teachers were engaged in the education and upbringing of boys and girls. A network of non-estate two-class schools in the counties and four-class schools in provincial towns was created in the provinces. A classroom lesson system was introduced in schools (single dates for the beginning and end of classes), methods of teaching disciplines and educational literature were developed, and uniform curricula were created. By the end of the XVIII century in Russia there were 550 educational institutions with a total of 60-70 thousand people.

Under Catherine, the systematic development of women's education began, in 1764 the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, the Educational Society for Noble Maidens were opened. The Academy of Sciences has become one of the leading scientific bases in Europe. An observatory, a physics office, an anatomical theater, a botanical garden, instrumental workshops, a printing house, a library, and an archive were founded. The Russian Academy was founded in 1783.

Under Catherine II, the population of Russia increased significantly, hundreds of new cities were built, the treasury quadrupled, industry and agriculture developed rapidly - Russia began to export bread for the first time.

Under her, paper money was introduced for the first time in Russia. On her initiative, the first vaccination against smallpox was carried out in Russia (she herself set an example, became the first to be vaccinated).

Under Catherine II, as a result of the Russo-Turkish wars (1768-1774, 1787-1791), Russia finally gained a foothold in the Black Sea, the lands were annexed, called Novorossia: the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, the Kuban region. She took Eastern Georgia under Russian citizenship (1783). During the reign of Catherine II, as a result of the so-called partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, 1795), Russia returned the Western Russian lands torn away by the Poles.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Doctor of Historical Sciences M. RAKHMATULLIN.

During the long decades of the Soviet era, the history of the reign of Catherine II was presented with a clear bias, and the image of the Empress herself was deliberately distorted. From the pages of a few publications, a cunning and conceited German princess appears, who treacherously seized the Russian throne and is most concerned with satisfying her sensual desires. Such judgments are based either on a frankly politicized motive, or purely emotional memories of her contemporaries, or, finally, the tendentious intent of her enemies (especially from among foreign opponents), who tried to discredit the empress's tough and consistent upholding of Russia's national interests. But Voltaire, in one of his letters to Catherine II, called her "Northern Babylon", likening the heroine of Greek mythology, whose name is associated with the creation of one of the seven wonders of the world - hanging gardens. Thus, the great philosopher expressed his admiration for the activities of the Empress in the transformation of Russia, her wise rule. In the proposed essay, an attempt was made to impartially tell about the affairs and personality of Catherine II. "I did my job pretty well"

Crowned Catherine II in all the splendor of her coronation attire. The coronation traditionally took place in Moscow on September 22, 1762.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who reigned from 1741 to 1761. Portrait of the middle of the XVIII century.

Peter I married his eldest daughter Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna to the Duke of Holstein Karl-Friedrich. Their son became the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Fedorovich.

Catherine II's mother, Johanna-Elizabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst, who secretly tried to intrigue in favor of the Prussian king, secretly from Russia.

The Prussian king Frederick II, whom the young Russian heir tried to imitate in everything.

Science and life // Illustrations

Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna and Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich. Their marriage turned out to be extremely unsuccessful.

Count Grigory Orlov is one of the active organizers and executors of the palace coup that elevated Catherine to the throne.

The most ardent part in the coup of June 1762 was taken by the still very young Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova.

Family portrait of the royal couple, made shortly after the accession to the throne of Peter III. Next to his parents is the young heir Pavel in oriental costume.

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, where dignitaries and nobles took the oath to Empress Catherine II.

The future Russian Empress Catherine II Alekseevna, nee Sophia Frederick Augusta, Princess of Anhaltzerbst, was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in Stettin (Prussia), which was provincial at that time. Her father, the unremarkable Prince Christian-August, made a good career by devoted service to the Prussian king: regiment commander, commandant of Stettin, governor. In 1727 (he was then 42 years old) he married the 16-year-old Holstein-Gottorp princess Johanna-Elisabeth.

The somewhat eccentric princess, who had an irrepressible addiction to entertainment and short trips to numerous and, unlike her, rich relatives, put family concerns in the first place. Among the five children, the first-born daughter Fikkhen (that was the name of all the family Sophia Frederic) was not her favorite - they were waiting for a son. “My birth was not particularly joyfully welcomed,” Catherine later wrote in her Notes. The power-hungry and strict parent, out of a desire to "knock out her pride," often rewarded her daughter with slaps in the face for innocent childish pranks and for unchildish stubbornness of character. Little Fikkhen found comfort in a good-natured father. Constantly employed in the service and practically not interfering in the upbringing of children, he nevertheless became for them an example of conscientious service in the state field. “I have never met a more honest person, both in terms of principles and in relation to actions,” Catherine will say about her father at a time when she already knew people well.

Lack of material resources prevented parents from hiring expensive, experienced teachers and governesses. And here fate generously smiled on Sophia Frederica. After the change of several careless governesses, the French emigrant Elisabeth Kardel (nicknamed Babet) became her good mentor. As Catherine II later wrote about her, she "knew almost everything, having learned nothing; she knew all comedies and tragedies like the back of her hand and was very funny." The heartfelt response of the pupil draws Babet "an example of virtue and prudence - she had a naturally elevated soul, a developed mind, an excellent heart; she was patient, meek, cheerful, fair, constant."

Perhaps the main merit of the clever Kardel, who had an exceptionally balanced character, can be called the fact that she attracted the stubborn and secretive at first (the fruits of her previous upbringing) Fikkhen to reading, in which the capricious and wayward princess found true pleasure. A natural consequence of this passion is the soon-to-be developed interest of a girl developed beyond her years in serious works of a philosophical content. It is no coincidence that already in 1744 one of the enlightened friends of the family, the Swedish Count Gyllenborg, jokingly, but not without reason, called Fikchen "a fifteen-year-old philosopher." It is curious that Catherine II herself admitted that the acquisition of "intelligence and virtues" was greatly facilitated by the conviction inspired by her mother, "as if I were completely ugly," which kept the princess from empty social entertainment. Meanwhile, one of her contemporaries recalls: “She was perfectly built, from infancy she was distinguished by a noble posture and was taller than her years. Her expression was not beautiful, but very pleasant, and her open look and kind smile made her whole figure very attractive.”

However, the further fate of Sophia (as well as many later German princesses) was determined not by her personal merits, but by the dynastic situation in Russia. The childless Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, immediately after her accession, began to look for an heir worthy of the Russian throne. The choice fell on the only direct successor of the family of Peter the Great, his grandson - Karl Peter Ulrich. The son of the eldest daughter of Peter I Anna and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Karl Friedrich, was left an orphan at the age of 11. The upbringing of the prince was carried out by pedantic German teachers, led by the pathologically cruel Chamber Marshal Count Otto von Brummer. The ducal offspring, frail from birth, was sometimes kept half-starved, and for any offense they were forced to kneel on peas for hours, often and painfully flogged. “I order you to be whipped so,” Brummer shouted, “that the dogs will lick the blood.” The boy found an outlet in his passion for music, addicted to the pathetically sounding violin. Another passion of his was the game of tin soldiers.

The humiliations to which he was subjected from day to day gave their results: the prince, as contemporaries note, became "hot-tempered, false, loved to brag, learned to lie." He grew up a cowardly, secretive, capricious beyond measure and thought a lot about himself. Here is a laconic portrait of Peter Ulrich, drawn by our brilliant historian V. O. Klyuchevsky: “His way of thinking and acting gave the impression of something surprisingly unfinished and unfinished. He looked at serious things with a childish look, and treated children’s undertakings with the seriousness of a mature husband. He was like a child who imagined himself to be an adult; in fact, he was an adult who forever remained a child.

Such a "worthy" heir to the Russian throne in January 1742 was hastily (so that he would not be intercepted by the Swedes, whose king he could also become by his pedigree) was taken to St. Petersburg. In November of the same year, against his will, the prince was converted to Orthodoxy and named Peter Fedorovich. But in his heart he always remained a devout German Lutheran, who did not show any desire to master the language of his new homeland tolerably to any extent. In addition, the heir was not lucky with his studies and education in St. Petersburg either. His main mentor, Academician Yakov Shtelin, completely lacked any pedagogical talents, and he, seeing the amazing inability and indifference of the student, preferred to cater to the constant whims of the underage, and not teach him properly the mind-reason.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Pyotr Fedorovich has already found a bride. What became decisive in the choice of Princess Sophia by the Russian court? The Saxon resident Petzold wrote about this: being, although "from a noble, but such a small family," she would be an obedient wife without any pretensions to participate in big politics. At the same time, Elizabeth Petrovna's elegiac memories of her failed marriage to Sophia's mother's older brother, Karl August (shortly before the wedding, he died of smallpox), and the portraits of the pretty princess delivered to the empress, who even then everyone "liked at first sight" (so Catherine II writes in her Notes without false modesty).

At the end of 1743, Princess Sophia was invited (with Russian money) to Petersburg, where she arrived accompanied by her mother in February of the following year. From there they went to Moscow, where at that time the royal court was located, and on the eve of the birthday (February 9) of Peter Fedorovich, the pretty and dressed up (for the same money) bride appeared before the empress and the grand duke. J. Shtelin writes about the sincere delight of Elizabeth Petrovna at the sight of Sophia. And the mature beauty, stature and greatness of the Russian Tsaritsa made an indelible impression on the young provincial princess. As if they liked each other and the betrothed. In any case, the mother of the future bride wrote to her husband that "the Grand Duke loves her." Fikkhen herself assessed more and more soberly: “To tell the truth, I liked the Russian crown more than him (the groom. - M.R.) person".

Indeed, the idyll, if it arose at first, did not last long. Further communication between the Grand Duke and the princess showed a complete dissimilarity in both characters and interests, and outwardly they were strikingly different from each other: the lanky, narrow-shouldered and frail groom lost even more against the background of an unusually attractive bride. When the Grand Duke suffered smallpox, his face was so disfigured by fresh scars that Sophia, seeing the heir, could not restrain herself and was frankly horrified. However, the main thing was different: the amazing infantilism of Pyotr Fedorovich was opposed by the active, purposeful, ambitious nature of the self-aware Princess Sophia Frederica, named in Russia in honor of the mother of Empress Elizabeth Catherine (Alekseevna). This happened with her adoption of Orthodoxy on June 28, 1744. The Empress made noble gifts to the newly converted - a diamond cufflink and a necklace worth 150 thousand rubles. The next day, the official betrothal took place, bringing Catherine the titles of Grand Duchess and Imperial Highness.

Assessing later the situation that arose in the spring of 1744, when Empress Elizabeth, having learned about the frivolous attempts of Sophia's mother, Princess Johanna Elizabeth, prone to intrigues, to act (secretly from the Russian court) in the interests of the Prussian King Frederick II, almost sent her and her daughter back , “to his home” (which the bridegroom, as the bride sensitively caught, would perhaps be glad), Catherine expressed her feelings as follows: “He was almost indifferent to me, but the Russian crown was not indifferent to me.”

On August 21, 1745, the wedding ceremonies began, lasting ten days. Lush balls, masquerades, fireworks, a sea of ​​wine and mountains of treats for the common people on St. Petersburg's Admiralteiskaya Square exceeded all expectations. However, the family life of the newlyweds began with disappointments. As Catherine herself writes, her husband, who had had a hearty supper that evening, "lay down beside me, dozed off and slept safely until morning." And so it went on night after night, month after month, year after year. Pyotr Fedorovich, as before the wedding, selflessly played with dolls, trained (or rather, tortured) a pack of his dogs, arranged daily parades for an amusing company of court cavaliers of his own age, and at night with passion taught his wife "gun exercise", bringing her to complete exhaustion. It was then that he first discovered an excessive addiction to wine and tobacco.

It is not surprising that Catherine began to feel a physical disgust for her nominal husband, finding solace in reading a wide variety of serious books on the subject and in horseback riding (it used to be that she spent up to 13 hours a day on horseback). She recalled that the famous "Annals" of Tacitus had a strong influence on the formation of her personality, and the latest work of the French educator Charles Louis Montesquieu "On the Spirit of Laws" became a reference book for her. She was absorbed in the study of the works of French encyclopedists and already at that time intellectually outgrew everyone around her.

Meanwhile, the aging Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was waiting for the heir and blamed Catherine for the fact that he did not appear. In the end, the empress, at the prompting of trusted persons, arranged a medical examination of the married couple, the results of which we learn from the reports of foreign diplomats: "The Grand Duke was unable to have children from an obstacle removed from the Eastern peoples by circumcision, but which he considered incurable." The news of this plunged Elizabeth Petrovna into shock. "Amazed by this news, like a thunderbolt," writes one of the eyewitnesses, "Elizabeth seemed numb, could not utter a word for a long time, and finally began to sob."

However, the tears did not prevent the empress from agreeing to an immediate operation, and in case of her failure, she ordered to find a suitable "cavalier" for the role of the father of the unborn child. They became the "handsome Serge", 26-year-old chamberlain Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov. After two miscarriages (in 1752 and 1753), on September 20, 1754, Catherine gave birth to the heir to the throne, named Pavel Petrovich. True, evil tongues at the court almost said aloud that the child should have been called Sergeevich. Pyotr Fedorovich, who had successfully got rid of the illness by that time, also doubted his paternity: “God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from, I don’t really know if this is my child and should I take it personally?”

Time, meanwhile, showed the unfounded suspicions. Pavel inherited not only the specific features of the appearance of Pyotr Fedorovich, but, more importantly, the features of his character - including mental imbalance, irritability, a tendency to unpredictable actions and an irrepressible love for the senseless drill of soldiers.

Immediately after birth, the heir was excommunicated from his mother and placed under the care of nannies, and Sergei Saltykov was sent from Catherine in love with him to Sweden with an invented diplomatic mission. As for the grand ducal couple, Elizabeth Petrovna, having received the long-awaited heir, lost her former interest in her. With her nephew, because of his obnoxious antics * and foolish antics, she could not stay "even a quarter of an hour, so as not to feel disgust, anger or grief." For example, he drilled holes in the wall of the room where the aunt-empress received her favorite Alexei Razumovsky, and not only watched what was happening there, but invited "friends" from his entourage to look through the peephole. One can imagine the strength of the anger of Elizabeth Petrovna, who learned about the trick. Aunt Empress from now on in her hearts often calls him either a fool, or a freak, or even a "cursed nephew." In such a situation, Ekaterina Alekseevna, who provided the heir to the throne, could calmly reflect on her future fate.

On August 30, 1756, the twenty-year-old Grand Duchess informs the English ambassador to Russia, Sir Charles Herbert Williams, with whom she was in secret correspondence, that she decided to "die or reign." The vital attitudes of the young Catherine in Russia are simple: to please the Grand Duke, to please the Empress, to please the people. Recalling this time, she wrote: “Truly, I did not neglect anything in order to achieve this: obsequiousness, humility, respect, desire to please, desire to do what is right, sincere affection - everything on my part was constantly used to that from 1744 to 1761. I confess that when I lost hope of success in the first paragraph, I redoubled my efforts to fulfill the last two, it seemed to me that more than once I had time in the second, and the third succeeded me in its entirety, without any limitation of any time, and, therefore, I think I have fulfilled my task quite well."

The methods by which Ekaterina obtained the “power of attorney of the Russians” did not contain anything original and, in their simplicity, corresponded in the best possible way to the mental mood and the level of enlightenment of the St. Petersburg high society. Let's listen to her herself: "Attribute this to a deep mind and a long study of my position. Not at all! I owe this to Russian old women<...>And in solemn meetings, and at simple gatherings and parties, I approached the old women, sat down beside them, asked about their health, advised them what remedies to use in case of illness, patiently listened to their endless stories about their young years, about the current boredom, about windiness of young people; she herself asked their advice in various matters and then sincerely thanked them. I knew the names of their pugs, lapdogs, parrots, fools; knew when which of these ladies had a birthday. On this day, my valet came to her, congratulated her on my behalf and brought flowers and fruits from the Oranienbaum greenhouses. In less than two years, the most ardent praise of my mind and heart was heard from all sides and spread throughout Russia. In the simplest and most innocent way, I made myself a loud glory, and when it came to taking the Russian throne, a significant majority ended up on my side.

On December 25, 1761, after a long illness, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna passed away. Senator Trubetskoy, who announced this long-awaited news, immediately proclaimed the accession to the throne of Emperor Peter III. As the remarkable historian S. M. Solovyov writes, “the answer was sobs and groans for the whole palace<...>The majority greeted the new reign gloomily: they knew the character of the new sovereign and did not expect anything good from him. "Ekaterina, if she had the intention, as she herself recalls," to save the state from that death, the danger of which was forced to foresee all the moral and physical qualities of this sovereign " , then, being at that time in the fifth month of pregnancy, she practically could not actively intervene in the course of events.

Perhaps this was for the best for her - for six months of his reign, Peter III managed to turn the capital's society and the nobility as a whole against himself to such an extent that he practically opened the road to power for his wife. Moreover, the attitude towards him did not change either the abolition of the hated Secret Chancellery, which caused universal rejoicing, with its dungeons filled with prisoners at the sole infamous cry: "The sovereign's word and deed!" compulsory civil service and giving them the freedom to choose their place of residence, employment and the right to travel abroad. The last act aroused such a fit of enthusiasm among the nobility that the Senate even set out to erect a monument of pure gold to the benefactor tsar. However, the euphoria did not last long - everything was outweighed by the extremely unpopular actions of the emperor in society, which greatly offended the national dignity of the Russian people.

The adoration of the Prussian king Frederick II, deliberately advertised by Peter III, was subjected to angry condemnation. He loudly proclaimed himself his vassal, for which he received the nickname "Frederick's monkey" among the people. The degree of public discontent jumped especially sharply when Peter III made peace with Prussia and returned to her without any compensation the lands conquered by the blood of Russian soldiers. This step practically nullified all the successes of the Seven Years' War for Russia.

Peter III managed to turn the clergy against himself, because, according to his decree of March 21, 1762, they began to hastily implement the decision made under Elizabeth Petrovna on the secularization of church lands: the treasury, devastated by many years of war, demanded replenishment. Moreover, the new tsar threatened to deprive the clergy of their customary lush vestments, replacing them with black pastoral cassocks, and to shave off the beards of the priests.

Did not add glory to the new emperor and addiction to wine. It did not go unnoticed how extremely cynical he behaved during the days of mournful farewell to the late empress, allowing obscene antics, jokes, loud laughter at her coffin ... According to contemporaries, Peter III did not have "a more cruel enemy" these days than himself, because he neglects nothing that might harm him." This is confirmed by Catherine: her husband "in the whole empire had no more fierce enemy than himself." As you can see, Peter III thoroughly prepared the ground for a coup.

It is difficult to say exactly when the concrete outlines of the conspiracy appeared. With a high degree of probability, its occurrence can be attributed to April 1762, when Catherine, after giving birth, received a physical opportunity for real action. The final decision on the conspiracy, apparently, was approved after a family scandal that happened in early June. At one of the gala dinners, Peter III, in the presence of foreign ambassadors and about 500 guests, publicly called his wife a fool several times in a row. This was followed by an order to the adjutant to arrest his wife. And only the persistent persuasion of Prince George Ludwig of Holstein (he was the uncle of the imperial couple) extinguished the conflict. But they did not change the intention of Peter III to free himself from his wife by any means and to fulfill his long-standing desire - to marry the favorite, Elizabeth Romanovna Vorontsova. According to the reviews of persons close to Peter, she "cursed like a soldier, mowed, smelled bad and spat when talking." Pockmarked, fat, with an exorbitant bust, she was just the type of woman that Pyotr Fyodorovich liked, during drinking parties he loudly called his girlfriend none other than "Romanova." Catherine, on the other hand, was threatened with inevitable tonsure as a nun.

There was no time left to organize a classic conspiracy with lengthy preparation and thinking through all the details. Everything was decided according to the situation, almost at the level of improvisation, however, compensated by the decisive actions of Ekaterina Alekseevna's supporters. Among them was her secret admirer, the Ukrainian hetman K. G. Razumovsky, at the same time the commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, a favorite of the guards. Ober-prosecutor A. I. Glebov, general feldzeugmeister A. N. Vilboa, police director Baron N. A. Korf, and general-in-chief M. N. close to Peter III showed her obvious sympathy. The 18-year-old Princess E. R. Dashkova, unusually energetic and girlishly faithful to Catherine’s friendship with Catherine (the favorite of Peter III was her sister), also participated in the preparation of the coup, who had extensive connections in society due to her proximity to N. I. Panin and the fact that Chancellor M. I. Vorontsov was her own uncle.

It was through the sister of the favorite, who did not arouse any suspicion, that the officers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment - P. B. Passek, S. A. Bredikhin, brothers Alexander and Nikolai Roslavlevs, were attracted to participate in the coup. Through other reliable channels, contacts were established with other energetic young guard officers. All of them paved Catherine a relatively easy path to the throne. Among them, the most active and active - "standing out from the crowd of comrades with beauty, strength, youthfulness, sociability" 27-year-old Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (who had long been in a love affair with Catherine - the boy born to her in April 1762 was their son Alexei). Ekaterina's favorite was supported in everything by his two equally valiant guard brothers - Alexei and Fedor. It was the three Orlov brothers who were actually the mainspring of the conspiracy.

In the Horse Guards "everything was directed prudently, boldly and actively" the future favorite of Catherine II, 22-year-old non-commissioned officer G. A. Potemkin and his peers F. A. Khitrovo. By the end of June, according to Catherine, her "accomplices" in the guard were up to 40 officers and about 10 thousand privates. One of the main inspirers of the conspiracy was the tutor of Tsarevich Pavel N. I. Panin. True, he pursued goals different from those of Catherine: the removal of Pyotr Fedorovich from power and the establishment of a regency under his pupil, the infant Tsar Pavel Petrovich. Catherine knows about this, and although such a plan is absolutely unacceptable for her, she, not wanting a fragmentation of forces, when talking with Panin, is limited to a non-committal phrase: "I'm more pleased to be a mother than the wife of a ruler."

The case hastened the fall of Peter III: a reckless decision to start a war with Denmark (with a completely empty treasury) and command the troops himself, although the emperor's inability to military affairs was a byword. His interests here were limited to a love of colorful uniforms, to endless drill and the assimilation of rough soldierly manners, which he considered a sign of masculinity. Even the urgent advice of his idol Frederick II - before the coronation not to go to the theater of operations - had no effect on Peter. And now the guards, spoiled under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna by a free capital life, and now, at the whim of the tsar, dressed up in hated Prussian-style uniforms, receive an order to urgently prepare for a campaign that did not at all meet the interests of Russia.

The immediate signal for the beginning of the actions of the conspirators was the accidental arrest on the evening of June 27 of one of the conspirators - Captain Passek. The danger was great. On the night of June 28, Alexei Orlov and Guards Lieutenant Vasily Bibikov hurriedly galloped to Peterhof, where Catherine was. The brothers Grigory and Fyodor, who remained in St. Petersburg, prepared everything for a proper "royal" meeting of her in the capital. At six o'clock in the morning on June 28, Alexei Orlov woke Ekaterina with the words: "It's time to get up: everything is ready for your proclamation." "Like what?" - Ekaterina says awake. "Passek has been arrested," was A. Orlov's reply.

And now the hesitation is discarded, Catherine with the chamber-maid of honor sit in the carriage in which Orlov arrived. V. I. Bibikov and the footman Shkurin are arranged on the backs, Alexei Orlov is on the goats next to the coachman. Grigory Orlov meets them about five miles from the capital. Ekaterina moves into his carriage with fresh horses. In front of the barracks of the Izmailovsky Regiment, the guards enthusiastically take the oath to the new empress. Then the carriage with Catherine and a crowd of soldiers, led by a priest with a cross, are sent to the Semenovsky regiment, which greeted Catherine with a thunderous "Hurrah!" Accompanied by troops, she goes to the Kazan Cathedral, where a prayer service immediately begins and at litanies "the autocratic Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna and the heir to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich were proclaimed." From the cathedral, Catherine, already empress, goes to the Winter Palace. Here, a little late and terribly upset by this, the guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky regiment joined the two regiments of the guard. By noon, the army units also pulled up.

Meanwhile, members of the Senate and the Synod, other top officials of the state, are already crowding in the Winter Palace. Without any delay, they took the oath to the Empress according to the text hastily drawn up by the future Secretary of State of Catherine II, G. N. Teplov. The Manifesto on the accession to the throne of Catherine "at the request of all our subjects" was also published. Residents of the northern capital rejoice, the river flows at public expense wine from the cellars of private wine merchants. Excited by the drunk, the common people rejoice from the bottom of their hearts and expect good deeds from the new queen. But she is not up to them yet. Under the exclamations of "Hurrah!" canceled Danish campaign. To attract the fleet to his side, a reliable person was sent to Kronstadt - Admiral I. L. Talyzin. Decrees on the change of power were prudently sent to the part of the Russian army stationed in Pomerania.

And what about Peter III? Did he suspect the threat of a coup and what happened in his inner circle on the ill-fated day of June 28? The surviving documentary evidence clearly shows that he did not even think about the possibility of a coup, confident in the love of his subjects. Hence his disregard for the previously received, albeit vague, warnings.

After spending a late dinner the day before, Peter arrives at Peterhof by noon on June 28 to celebrate his upcoming name day. And he discovers that Catherine is not in Monplaisir - she unexpectedly left for St. Petersburg. Messengers were urgently sent to the city - N. Yu. Trubetskoy and A. I. Shuvalov (one - Colonel of the Semenovsky, the other - of the Preobrazhensky Regiment). However, neither one nor the other returned, swearing allegiance to Catherine without hesitation. But the disappearance of the messengers did not give decisiveness to Peter, who from the very beginning was morally crushed by the complete, in his opinion, hopelessness of the situation. Finally, a decision was made to move to Kronstadt: according to the report of the commandant of the fortress, P. A. Devier, they were supposedly ready to receive the emperor. But while Peter and his people sailed to Kronstadt, Talyzin had already managed to arrive there and, to the delight of the garrison, took everyone to the oath of allegiance to Empress Catherine II. Therefore, the flotilla of the deposed emperor (one galley and one yacht), which approached the fortress at the first hour of the night, was forced to turn back to Oranienbaum. Peter did not accept the advice of the elderly Count B. Kh. Munnich, returned to him from exile, to act "royally", without delaying an hour, go to the troops in Revel and move with them to Petersburg.

Meanwhile, Catherine once again demonstrates her determination by ordering up to 14 thousand troops with artillery to be pulled to Peterhof. The task of the conspirators who seized the throne is complex and at the same time simple: to achieve the "voluntary" decent abdication of Peter from the throne. And on June 29, General M. L. Izmailov delivers to Catherine a pitiful message from Peter III asking for forgiveness and renouncing his rights to the throne. He also expressed his readiness (if allowed), together with E. R. Vorontsova, adjutant A. V. Gudovich, violin and beloved pug, to go to live in Holstein, if only he was allocated a boarding house sufficient for a comfortable existence. They demanded from Peter "a written and handwritten certificate" of renunciation of the throne "voluntarily and naturally." Peter agreed to everything and dutifully declared in writing "solemnly to the whole world": "I renounce the government of the Russian state for the rest of my life."

By noon, Peter was taken under arrest, taken to Peterhof, and then transferred to Ropsha, a small country palace 27 miles from St. Petersburg. Here he was put "under a strong guard" allegedly until the premises in Shlisselburg were ready. Aleksey Orlov was appointed the main guard. So, the whole coup, which did not shed a single drop of blood, took less than two days - June 28 and 29. Frederick II later, in a conversation with the French envoy in St. Petersburg, Count L.-F. Segurome gave such a review of the events in Russia: "The lack of courage in Peter III ruined him: he allowed himself to be dethroned like a child sent to sleep".

In the current situation, the physical elimination of Peter was the most correct and hassle-free solution to the problem. As ordered, that's exactly what happened. On the seventh day after the coup, under circumstances that have not yet been fully elucidated, Peter III was put to death. The people were officially announced that Pyotr Fedorovich died of hemorrhoidal colic, which happened "by the will of divine Providence."

Naturally, contemporaries, as later historians, were keenly interested in the question of Catherine's involvement in this tragedy. There are different opinions on this matter, but they are all based on conjectures and assumptions, and there are simply no facts that incriminate Catherine in this crime. Apparently, the French envoy Beranger was right when, in the hot pursuit of events, he wrote: “I do not suspect in this princess such a terrible soul as to think that she participated in the death of the king, but since the deepest secret will probably always be hidden from the general information of the real author of this terrible murder, suspicion and vileness will remain on the empress.

A. I. Herzen spoke more specifically: "It is very likely that Catherine did not give orders to kill Peter III. We know from Shakespeare how these orders are given - with a look, a hint, silence." It is important to note here that all the participants in the "accidental" (as A. Orlov explained in his penitential note to the Empress) murder of the deposed emperor not only did not suffer any punishment, but were later superbly awarded with money and serf souls. Thus, Catherine, voluntarily or involuntarily, took this grave sin upon herself. Perhaps that is why the empress showed no less mercy towards her recent enemies: practically none of them was not only sent into exile, according to the established Russian tradition, but was not punished at all. Even Petr's master Elizaveta Vorontsova was only quietly placed in her father's house. Moreover, later Catherine II became the godmother of her first child. Truly, generosity and forgivingness are the true weapons of the strong, always bringing them glory and loyal admirers.

On July 6, 1762, the Manifesto signed by Catherine on her accession to the throne was announced in the Senate. On September 22, a solemn coronation took place in Moscow, which met her coolly. Thus began the 34-year reign of Catherine II.

Starting to characterize the long reign of Catherine II and her personality, let's pay attention to one paradoxical fact: the illegality of Catherine's accession to the throne had its undoubted advantages, especially in the first years of her reign, when she "had to work hard, great services and donations to atone for what what legitimate kings have without difficulty. This very necessity was partly the spring of her great and brilliant deeds. Not only the well-known writer and memoirist N. I. Grech, who owns the above judgment, thought so. In this case, he only reflected the opinion of the educated part of society. V. O. Klyuchevsky, speaking about the tasks facing Catherine, who took, and did not receive power by law, and noting the extreme complexity of the situation in Russia after the coup, emphasized the same point: "Power seized always has the character of a bill, according to which waiting for payment, and according to the mood of Russian society, Catherine had to justify various and discordant expectations. Looking ahead, let's say that this bill was repaid by her on time.

In the historical literature, the main contradiction of Catherine's "age of Enlightenment" has long been noted (although not shared by all experts): the empress "wanted so much enlightenment and such light so as not to be afraid of its" inevitable consequence. "In other words, Catherine II found herself in an explosive dilemma: education or slavery? And since she never solved this problem, leaving serfdom intact, she seems to have given rise to subsequent bewilderment about why she did not. But the above formula ("enlightenment - slavery") causes natural questions: were there at that time in Russia the appropriate conditions for the abolition of "slavery" and did the then society realize the need for a radical change in social relations in the country?Let's try to answer them.

Determining the course of her domestic policy, Catherine relied primarily on the book knowledge she had acquired. But not only. The transforming ardor of the empress at first was fueled by her initial assessment of Russia as "a country that has not yet been plowed up", where it is best to carry out all sorts of reforms. That is why on August 8, 1762, just in the sixth week of her reign, Catherine II by a special decree confirmed the March decree of Peter III banning the purchase of serfs by industrialists. From now on, the owners of factories and mines must be content with the work of civilian workers paid according to the contract. It seems that she generally had the intention of abolishing forced labor and doing so in order to rid the country of the "shame of slavery", as required by the spirit of Montesquieu's teachings. But this intention was not yet strong enough in her to decide on such a revolutionary step. In addition, Catherine did not yet have any complete idea of ​​\u200b\u200bRussian reality. On the other hand, as one of the smartest people of the Pushkin era, Prince P. A. Vyazemsky, noted, when the deeds of Catherine II had not yet become "a tradition of deep antiquity", she "loved reforms, but gradual ones, transformations, but not abrupt ones", without breaking.

By 1765, Catherine II came to the conclusion that it was necessary to convene the Legislative Commission in order to bring "in a better order" the existing legislation and in order to reliably find out "the needs and sensitive shortcomings of our people." Recall that attempts to convene the current legislative body - the Legislative Commission - have been made more than once before, but all of them, for various reasons, ended in failure. With this in mind, Catherine, endowed with a remarkable mind, resorted to an act unprecedented in the history of Russia: she personally compiled a special "Instruction", which is a detailed program of the Commission's actions.

As follows from a letter to Voltaire, she believed that the Russian people are "excellent soil in which good seed grows rapidly; but we also need axioms that are undeniably recognized as true." And these axioms are well known - the ideas of the Enlightenment, which she put as the basis of the new Russian legislation. Even V. O. Klyuchevsky specifically singled out the main condition for the implementation of Catherine’s reform plans, which she briefly stated in the “Instruction”: “Russia is a European power; Peter I, introducing European customs and customs among the European people, found such conveniences as I did not expect it myself. The conclusion followed by itself: the axioms, which are the last and best fruit of European thought, will find the same comforts in this people.

In the literature on the "Instruction" for a long time there has been an opinion about the purely compiling nature of this main Catherine's political work. Justifying such judgments, they usually refer to her own words spoken to the French philosopher and educator d'Alembert: "You will see how there I robbed President Montesquieu for the benefit of my empire, without naming him. " Indeed, from 526 articles of the "Instruction", divided into 20 chapters, 294 go back to the work of the famous French educator Montesquieu "On the Spirit of Laws", and 108 - to the work of the Italian legal scholar Cesare Beccaria "On Crimes and Punishments". Catherine also widely used the works of other European thinkers. However, it was not a simple arrangement of the works of eminent authors into the Russian style, but their creative rethinking, an attempt to apply the ideas embedded in them to Russian reality.

(To be continued.)

Once upon a time in the eighteenth century, no one dared to imagine that a girl born on the territory of modern Germany would become a great Russian empress.

The father of Catherine II was a German by birth. When his daughter was born, she was named Sophia Frederica. Sophia Frederica's mother was not interested, and for this reason the girl grew up as an orphan with living parents. She was engaged in a governess, as well as visiting teachers. The girl probably wanted her mother to pay at least a modicum of attention to her.
This dream came true in 1744. This is the period of life when the mother takes her young daughter Sophia to Russia. Here, on our land, a year later the girl was engaged to Peter. And she was baptized and in baptism became Catherine. Soon the young people got married.

For nine years the family lives without heirs, and only in the tenth year the Lord gives Catherine and Peter a son. The boy becomes the subject of court gossip because everyone is puzzled as to who his father really is. This fact does not sadden Catherine at all. She does not deal with her Son. The baby is raised by Empress Elizabeth.

At the end of 1761, Peter 3 became king, and his wife Catherine became empress by status. But the affairs of state are not at all interesting to her.

In marriage, Catherine is also not happy. The husband is inattentive and cruel towards his wife. Then, from idleness and inattention to her person on the part of her husband, she enters into a relationship with the military Orlov. Gregory helps Catherine overthrow her husband from the throne. She is completely successful in this endeavor.

Now Catherine is the Empress. She does everything so that power belongs only to her and the people and the environment do not oppose her. It is worth noting that Catherine is trying to change the way of life in Russia. And, I must say, in some way she succeeds in doing this.

With regard to the church, Catherine takes a radical decision of its kind - to make it part of the state.
From the side of foreign policy, it increases the area of ​​the country of Russia, especially towards modern Poland.
The year 1774 was marked by the receipt of the Russian access to the Black Sea. And this historic event happened thanks to Potemkin, Catherine's favorite at that time in her life. Thanks to his eloquence and the gift of persuasion, Crimea was also annexed.

If we talk about education, it was under Catherine that free schools and boarding schools for girls were created, as they say boarding houses for noble maidens. In cultural terms, the breakthrough is also huge - the personal collection of the Empress is exhibited in the Hermitage. She favors writers and poets. Therefore, creative people work very fruitfully during the reign of Catherine.

Many myths and legends are still circulating about the intimate side of Catherine's life. It is proved that she had countless lovers. But the status occupied in the state did not allow her to remarry.

Catherine until the last days did not lose her clarity of mind and strength in memory. But we are all mortal. In the tenth month of 1796, the Empress was found unconscious in her private quarters. She lived another night and the next day this amazing woman was no more.

Her son ordered that the ashes of the mother be placed next to the ashes of her husband. They are both buried in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

3, 4 grade for children

Biography of Catherine II about the main thing

A wonderful ruler, the great Russian Empress Catherine II managed to raise and stabilize not only the political life, but also the culture of her people to the level of Europe.

At the time when little Catherine was just born, she was given a completely different name - Sophia Frederick Augusta. Her father's name was Christian August, who was the prince of one of the small principalities of Germany. He managed to achieve fame and universal recognition only in the war. The mother devoted very little time to raising her own daughter, which is why the girl was raised and brought up by a governess.

Numerous tutors took an active part in the education of the future great empress, among whom was the chaplain who taught the girl the lessons of religion. But, one way or another, Sofia had her own questions for some questions. In addition, she easily mastered 3 foreign languages ​​​​and was fluent in them - German, Russian and French.

In 1744, she and her mother went to Russia, where she studied with one of the greatest princes, Prince Peter. Here Sophia accepts Orthodoxy and at the time of baptism receives a new name - Catherine.

On August 21, 1745, she becomes the wife of one heir to the Russian throne, and as a result, a crown prince. But her married life was far from ideal.

For many years, she and her husband could not have children, and now, finally, an heir is born. On September 20, 1754, the childish laughter of their son Pavel appears in their family. Quite unexpectedly, strong disputes begin - who really is the boy's father. Catherine practically did not see her son, since immediately after the boy was born, Empress Elizabeth takes him to her.

Catherine could not constantly endure the tyranny and cruelty of her husband and did everything possible to overthrow him from the throne and take his place. She succeeds.

By 1796, the great ruler had absolute power over the empire for several decades.

In mid-November 1796, the body of the Empress was found in the bathroom. Everyone thought she had a stroke. The very next night, November 17 of the same year, Catherine II died.

Catherine II briefly about the main

Catherine the Great, the Russian Empress, was an extraordinary person. She was a brilliant organizer. She carried out many reforms related to different areas of the country's life. True, not all of them were accepted by the common people.

Catherine the Great was born on May 2, 1729 in Poland in a city on the border with Germany. Her full name is Sophia Augusta Frederick, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst.

Sophia was home-educated. She liked to study: geography and history. In addition to her native language, she was fluent in English and French. From childhood, she showed her independent character, was persistent and inquisitive, was a playful and agile child.

In 1744, Sophia, having arrived with her mother in Russia, was baptized according to the Orthodox custom and took the name Ekaterina Alekseevna. And she became the bride of the future emperor, Peter Fedorovich. Her marriage proved to be long-suffering, from the very beginning. Peter and Catherine were still very young, her husband did not want to know her. Therefore, the poor girl was lonely, but not bored: she read a lot, learned the language, studied the history of the country that became her new homeland.

After five years, the young wife, tired of her husband ignoring her, found herself a favorite. In the autumn of 1754 she gave birth to a son. The birth of a child became the subject of rumors at court. The debate about the origin of Paul is still ongoing. Some are convinced that the boy's father was not her husband Peter, but a lover. Others recognize the paternity of Peter. The heir, immediately after birth, was selected by the ruling empress, considering Catherine not worthy to raise her son. After the birth of the heir, the relationship of the spouses deteriorated completely. Peter openly took mistresses, even lived openly with them and moved his wife to the other end of the palace, this was already after the coronation.

In the winter of 57, the princess gave birth to a daughter. What caused the indignation of the husband, he stated that he was not sure if this was his child.

At the beginning of 1760 she gave birth to a third child - the son of Alexei. She hid her pregnancy. Since there was no married life with her husband, and everyone knew about it. During childbirth, her faithful valet deliberately set fire to his house. The emperor adored such spectacles, and went to look at the fire. The Empress calmly gave birth to a boy, who was named Alexei, he was given a different surname. Catherine did not recognize all the accusations made against her by her husband that all the children were not his. She steadfastly endured the persecution of her husband. Of course, his attacks led her to fear for her life. But she never showed her fears to anyone. Even before the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, she began to make plans to overthrow her husband from the throne. She even shared plans with her favorite, asking for a loan for bribery, promising to act in the interests of the English crown from the English king.

After the death of his mother, Peter 3 ruled the state for six months. The guardsmen negatively treated him for his unreasonable actions. He entered into an unfavorable alliance, returned the lands conquered in the recent war. He took away from the church all the property, land and was going to reform the church rites. He was accused of dementia and betrayal of the Motherland. The people did not consider Peter 3 capable of governing the state.

The attitude towards Catherine the Great, her husband, was not just bad, he simply hated her, for the fact that she simply is. It was not difficult to organize a rebellion, she gathered like-minded people around her who helped to carry out her plan. It was not difficult, this woman was an unsurpassed organizer, with a lively mind.

Peter 3 was overthrown. The truth about his death is still unknown. There is speculation that he suffered from an illness. Allegedly, there are facts that Catherine ordered an autopsy to dispel suspicions of poisoning. According to the empress in the letter, it is indicated that the body is clean, there are no signs of poisoning. One of the historians claims that the murder is proven. Presenting evidence in copies of the letter, there were no originals, Orlov to the Great Empress. She claims that she knew about the impending murder, and even a few days before Peter 3 died, she sent a doctor who was supposed to perform an autopsy. But this is not complete proof. The deposed sovereign, according to some reports, suffered greatly from pain before his death. Perhaps, as an option, when the ruler found out about the pains that tormented him and sent a doctor, suggesting poisoning. And so that she would not be accused, she ordered to make sure that there was no poison. Why not? After all, she wanted to get the throne and the power that accompanies it.

Having risen as the Empress, she wrote an appeal in which she indicated the reason for the overthrow of her husband and her self-nomination. This is an attempt to betray the state religion and betrayal of the Motherland, by Peter. And to assert the rights to the throne, she pointed to the general request of the people.

The empress was similar in opinion with Peter 1 that Russia should take a dominant position in the world, pursuing an active, or rather aggressive policy. She broke off the alliance with Prussia, which her husband concluded. This was one of the first steps of the empress after the coronation.

Foreign policy was built on the erection of their protégés as heads of state. Thanks to her, Duke E. I. Biron became the ruler of Lithuania, and in 1763 her protege, Stanislav August Poniatowski, ascended the throne in Poland. Some states began to fear the increase in the influence of the Russian state. They began to set the old enemy of the Russian state - Turkey. The war between Russia and Turkey, which lasted more than one year, was successful for Russia. But the internal political situation did not develop very well, forcing us to look for new allies. All that remained was to renew peace with Austria. Peace was achieved at the cost of Polish territories.

The signing of a peace treaty with Turkey guaranteed the sovereignty of Crimea. In the following years, the strengthening of imperial influence continued. As a result of these actions, Crimea became part of the Russian Empire. Later, a pact was signed; it ensured the presence of the Russian army on Georgian soil. Later they became part of the Russian Empire. At the end of the 18th century, new foreign policy regimes began to be created - the so-called Greek project. Foreign policy actions returned the country's authority, which was strengthened after Russia's performance as an accomplice at the congress between Prussia and Austria.

Most of the innovations carried out in Russia were ambiguous and illogical, like the personality of the empress. During her reign, the privileges of the nobility were increased, and serfdom was fully consolidated. Serfs were deprived of all rights, and most importantly freedom. It was forbidden for the peasant to file a complaint against the master. For any disobedience they were sent into exile, to hard labor. Moreover, the landlord set the deadline. Although the monastic peasants had an easier life, they were charged a fee for their faults.

Bribing favorites with gifts, Catherine the Great herself led to the prosperity of corruption in the country.

Catherine described her personal qualities in her diaries. Historians, having studied her diaries, claim that she was remarkably versed in people, she really felt their essence, and used people as she wanted. I surrounded myself with gifted, brilliant people.

Tactful, restrained and patient, she listened carefully to the speaker, paying attention to constructive thoughts, and used them.

These years were the heyday of the Russian nobility. No one, over the years, from the aristocrats was sent into exile, not to mention execution.

She was distinguished by vanity, she valued the power she won.

To maintain power, she could do anything, even at the cost of her convictions.

From the portraits of the Empress, it is clear that she was pretty. No wonder she had so many lovers.

She did not want to marry a second time. Indeed, in this case, everything: title, position, power would be lost. Although there were rumors that she entered into a secret marriage, and maybe more than one.

Like all women, she wanted love, so she surrounded herself with lovers. Her debauchery had a negative impact on the morality of the court.

In the Catherine era, education, culture and science, trade relations and diplomacy developed. Thanks to her, banks appeared, medicine developed, they were obliged to inoculate against smallpox, psychiatric hospitals and shelters were opened. Attention was also paid to education, especially women's education, schools, colleges, institutes, the Institute of Noble Maidens were built. The import of raw materials and the export of manufactured goods improved.

But, the hardships of the common people led to an uprising. The provincial reforms were the authorities' responses to the Pugachev uprising. Which showed the weakness of power, and the inability to cope with the peasant revolt.

She was strong in character and spirit. Otherwise, it would not have been possible to achieve power and hold it for more than 30 years.

Such people take life into their own hands and build it themselves. They retreat only when they realize that they are really wrong. Catherine was a strong, wise woman who did not allow herself to be afraid of anything, and if she overcame fear, she did not show it to anyone, she acted to eliminate the causes of her fear.

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