Sophie recalled in her memoirs that as soon as she arrived in Russia, she fell ill with a pleuritis that almost killed her. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. The answer is misogyny. 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. Catherine de' Medici, also called Catherine de Mdicis, Italian Caterina de' Medici, (born April 13, 1519, Florence [Italy]died January 5, 1589, Blois, France), queen consort of Henry II of France (reigned 1547-59) and subsequently regent of France (1560-74), who was one of the most influential personalities of the Catholic-Huguenot wars. 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. For all her achievements, Catherine is often remembered for the multitude of salacious and slanderous rumours attached to her name, none more famous than the one surrounding her death. [109][110], In an attempt to assimilate the Jews into Russia's economy, Catherine included them under the rights and laws of the Charter of the Towns of 1782. Over this tunic she wore a red velvet dolman with very short sleeves. Catherine became a great patron of Russian opera. So far, she's the woman who's ruled Russia the longest 34 years on the throne. Though not stupid, he was totally lacking in common sense, argues Isabel de Madariaga in Catherine the Great: A Short History. She found that piecemeal reform worked poorly because there was no overall view of a comprehensive state budget. According to History, sexual deviancy has often been tagged to women either in power or who are seeking to change society, among them Cleopatra, Anne Boleyn,and Catherine the Great, among others.Catherine took the throne following the death of Peter and in lieu of their son, Paul, who was only 8 at the time. Sergei Saltykov was used to make Peter jealous, and relations with Saltykov were platonic. [44] Another source of tension was the wave of Dzungar Mongol fugitives from the Chinese state who took refuge with the Russians. Princess Sophie's father, a devout German Lutheran, opposed his daughter's conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy. Terms of Use Cookie Settings, Photo illustration by Meilan Solly / Photos via Hulu and Getty Images, Photo by Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images, Ad Meskens via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0, Godot13 via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 3.0. While the state did not technically allow them to own possessions, some serfs were able to accumulate enough wealth to pay for their freedom. Old Believers were allowed to hold elected municipal positions after the Urban Charter of 1785, and she promised religious freedom to those who wished to settle in Russia. Catherine and her new husband had a rocky marriage from the start. She was given the last rites and died the following evening around 9:45. Potemkin quickly gained positions and awards. The cause of death was confirmed by autopsy. In 1783, storms drove a Japanese sea captain, Daikokuya Kday, ashore in the Aleutian Islands, at that time Russian territory. Based on her writings, she found Peter detestable upon meeting him. After holding more than 200 sittings, the so-called Commission dissolved without getting beyond the realm of theory. Catherine separated the Jews from Orthodox society, restricting them to the Pale of Settlement. Peter, however, supported Frederick II, eroding much of his support among the nobility. On a personal level, Pugachevs success challenged many of Catherines Enlightenment beliefs, leaving her with memories that haunted her for the rest of her life, according to Massie. 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. Her many military campaigns, on the other hand, represent a less palatable aspect of her legacy. 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). The event was glorified by the court poet Derzhavin in his famous ode; he later commented bitterly on Zubov's inglorious return from the expedition in another remarkable poem. Her reign was called Russia . [38], By mid-June 1796, Zubov's troops overran without any resistance most of the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan, including three principal citiesBaku, Shemakha, and Ganja. The imperial couple moved into the new Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By November, they were stationed at the confluence of the Araks and Kura Rivers, poised to attack mainland Iran. Biography 27 (2004), 51734. At the same time, she recognized the damage the killing had inflicted on her legacy: My glory is spoilt, she reportedly said. The palace of the Crimean Khanate passed into the hands of the Russians. This rumor was widely circulated by satirical British and French publications at the time of her death. In the east Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. [95], From 1768 to 1774, no progress was made in setting up a national school system. From there, they governed the duchy (which occupied less than a third of the current German state of Schleswig-Holstein, even including that part of Schleswig occupied by Denmark) to obtain experience to govern Russia. [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. [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). "The circumstances and cause of death, and the intentions and degree of responsibility of those involved can never be known," wrote Robert K. Massie in his seminal biography, Catherine the Great . Several years into her reign, Catherine embarked on an ambitious legal endeavor inspired byand partially plagiarized fromthe writings of leading thinkers. [88] Through him, she collected information from Russia and other countries about educational institutions. Peter also intervened in a dispute between his Duchy of Holstein and Denmark over the province of Schleswig (see Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff). [71] She ordered the planting of the first "English garden" at Tsarskoye Selo in May 1770. Vaizemski's Office of State Revenue took centralised control and by 1781, the government possessed its first approximation of a state budget. She acquired his collection of books from his heirs, and placed them in the National Library of Russia. Born in 1729, and known as Catherine the Great because she served as Russia's longest-reigning female ruler, she was empress from 1762 until her death in 1796. Catherineflanked by Orlov and her growing cadre of supportersarrived at the Winter Palace to make her official debut as Catherine II, sole ruler of Russia. [46], Nicholas I, her grandson, evaluated the foreign policy of Catherine the Great as a dishonest one. Nobles in each district elected a Marshal of the Nobility, who spoke on their behalf to the monarch on issues of concern to them, mainly economic ones. She is often included in the ranks of the enlightened despots. [100] Two years after the implementation of Catherine's program, a member of the National Commission inspected the institutions established. The belief at the time was that women were inferior to men, whose role was to be subordinate to their husbands. [11] Despite Joanna's interference, Empress Elizabeth took a strong liking to Sophie, and Sophie and Peter eventually married in 1745. [102], However, in accord with her anti-Ottoman policy, Catherine promoted the protection and fostering of Christians under Turkish rule. [74][75], Catherine enlisted Voltaire to her cause, and corresponded with him for 15 years, from her accession to his death in 1778. His period of rule proved disappointing after repeated effort to prop up his regime through military force and monetary aid. In addition, some governors listened to the complaints of serfs and punished nobles, but this was by no means universal. After Peter took a mistress, Catherine became involved with other prominent court figures. They disliked the power she wielded over them as few other women in the world at that time could claim to have such authority. the official cause of death was given as haemorrhoids and Catherine never . The official cause of death was advertised as hemorrhoidal colican absurd diagnosis that soon became a popular euphemism for assassination, according to Montefiore. After the death of the Empress Elizabeth on 5 January 1762 (OS: 25 December 1761), Peter succeeded to the throne as Emperor Peter III, and Catherine became empress consort. In 1768, she formally became the protector of political rights of dissidents and peasants of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-Russian uprising in Poland, the Confederation of Bar (17681772), supported by France. Catherine did indeed like horses, so much so that a portrait was painted of her on horseback. 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. And though Catherine is characterized by modern viewers as very flighty and superficial, Hartley notes that she was a genuine bluestocking, waking up at 5 or 6 a.m. each morning, brewing her own pot of coffee to avoid troubling her servants, and sitting down to begin the days work. [17] She became friends with Princess Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, the sister of her husband's official mistress. 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. Wrens: The history of the Women's Royal Naval Service, The life of Noor Inayat Khan: An unsung hero of WWII. Apply organic citrus and avocado . She . Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres; along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe. [153], Empress Catherine's correspondence with Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Wrttemberg, (the father of Catherine's daughter-in-law Maria Feodorovna) written between 1768 and 1795, is preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart (Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart) in Stuttgart, Germany.[154]. She called together at Moscow a Grand Commission almost a consultative parliament composed of 652 members of all classes (officials, nobles, burghers, and peasants) and of various nationalities. [9], Sophie first met her future husband, who would become Peter III of Russia, at the age of 10. [12] She disparaged her husband for his devotion to reading on the one hand "Lutheran prayer-books, the other the history of and trial of some highway robbers who had been hanged or broken on the wheel". Peter III was extremely capricious, adds Hartley. Catherine waged a new war against Persia in 1796 after they, under the new king Agha Mohammad Khan, had again invaded Georgia and established rule in 1795 and had expelled the newly established Russian garrisons in the Caucasus. [115], Catherine, throughout her long reign, took many lovers, often elevating them to high positions for as long as they held her interest and then pensioning them off with gifts of serfs and large estates. Later uprisings in Poland led to the third partition in 1795. [114] Endowments from the government replaced income from privately held lands. She worked with Voltaire, Diderot, and d'Alembert all French encyclopedists who later cemented her reputation in their writings. The use of these notes continued until 1849. Peter also still played with toy soldiers. [40], In 1764, Catherine placed Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, her former lover, on the Polish throne. She worked as a maid for most of her childhood and remained illiterate throughout her life. It was instituted by the Fundamental Law of 7 November 1775. This meant developing individuals both intellectually and morally, providing them knowledge and skills, and fostering a sense of civic responsibility. 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. I am very fond of the arts, especially painting. Non-Russian opinion of Catherine is less favourable. Catherine died quietly in her bed on Nov. 17, 1796, at the age of 67 after suffering a stroke. Sette, Alessandro. Larry Frederick died: It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Larry Frederick on Thursday, March 2, 2023. [131], Catherine's life and reign included many personal successes, but they ended in two failures. Her foreign policy lacked a long-term strategy and from the very start was characterised by a series of mistakes. The ultimate goal for the Russian government, however, was to topple the anti-Russian shah (king), and to replace him with a half-brother, Morteza Qoli Khan, who had defected to Russia and was therefore pro-Russian. Paul ascended to the throne and was known as Emperor Paul I. Catherine's will was discovered in . From 1788 to 1790, Russia fought a war against Sweden, a conflict instigated by Catherine's cousin, King Gustav III of Sweden, who expected to overrun the Russian armies still engaged in war against the Ottoman Turks, and hoped to strike Saint Petersburg directly. Russia and Prussia had fought each other during the Seven Years' War (17561763), and Russian troops had occupied Berlin in 1761. 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. [115] She closed 569 of 954 monasteries, of which only 161 received government money. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt. Her Swedish cousin (once removed), King Gustav IV Adolf, visited her in September 1796, the empress's intention being that her granddaughter Alexandra should become queen of Sweden by marriage. In 1767, Catherine decreed that after seven years in one rank, civil servants automatically would be promoted regardless of office or merit. She called Potemkin for help mostly military and he became devoted to her. On 25 November, the coffin, richly decorated in gold fabric, was placed atop an elevated platform at the Grand Gallery's chamber of mourning, designed and decorated by Antonio Rinaldi. She addressed me immediately in a voice full of sweetness, if a little throaty: "I am delighted to welcome you here, Madame, your reputation runs before you. "Despot" is not derogatory in this context. 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 peasants were discontented because of many other factors as well, including crop failure, and epidemics, especially a major epidemic in 1771. The commission had to consider the needs of the Russian Empire and the means of satisfying them. This raised her in the empress's esteem. But when he arrived at his palace and found it abandoned, he realized what had occurred. A description of the empress's funeral is written in Madame Vige Le Brun's memoirs. The monarch was succeeded by her son,. [72], Catherine shared in the general European craze for all things Chinese, and made a point of collecting Chinese art and buying porcelain in the popular Chinoiserie style. Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (24 October 1712 - 30 May 1760) was a member of the German House of Holstein-Gottorp, a princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst by marriage, and the regent of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1747 to 1752 on behalf of her minor son, Frederick Augustus.She is best known as the mother of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. In 1775, the empress decreed a Statute for the Administration of the Provinces of the Russian Empire. McNamara tells the Sydney Morning Herald that this apocryphal anecdote helped inspire The Great., It seemed like her life had been reduced to a salacious headline about having sex with a horse, the writer says. In 1762 called on the army to upgrade its medical services. Peter supposedly was assassinated, but it is unknown how he died. [57] Catherine gave them this new right, but in exchange they could no longer appeal directly to her. Much like how his previous film, The Favourite, reimagined the life of Britains Queen Anne as a bawdy period comedy, The Great revels in the absurd, veering from the historical record to gleefully present a royal drama tailor-made for modern audiences. But across Europe, Catherine was generally blamed nonetheless. Catherine then sought to have inoculations throughout her empire and stated: "My objective was, through my example, to save from death the multitude of my subjects who, not knowing the value of this technique, and frightened of it, were left in danger". . [91] This work emphasised the fostering of the creation of a 'new kind of people' raised in isolation from the damaging influence of a backward Russian environment. ", Madame Vige Le Brun also describes the empress at a gala:[85]. Her mother's opposition to this practice brought her the empress's disfavour. Personal life narratives. One urban legend even claimed that Catherine had an erotic cabinet created for one of her palaces. Elite acceptance of a female ruler was more of an issue in Western Europe than in Russia. [103], Catherine took many different approaches to Islam during her reign. [52], Catherine paid a great deal of attention to financial reform, and relied heavily on the advice of Prince A. In the south the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Bar Confederation and Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. However, if the empress' policies were too extreme or too disliked, she was not considered the true empress. Decent Essays. Inspired by Byzantine design, the crown was constructed of two half spheres, one gold and one silver, representing the eastern and western Roman empires, divided by a foliate garland and fastened with a low hoop. [69] With all this discontent in mind, Catherine did rule for 10 years before the anger of the serfs boiled over into a rebellion as extensive as Pugachev's. [56] The understanding of law in Imperial Russia by all sections of society was often weak, confused, or nonexistent, particularly in the provinces where most serfs lived. This enormous collection ultimately formed the basis of the Hermitage Museum. However, Catherine died from a stroke on 17 November 1796 before she could make the change. Catherine named ahin Giray, a Crimean Tatar leader, to head the Crimean state and maintain friendly relations with Russia. Under her leadership, she completed what Peter III had started. Along the way, she became a very passionate, knowledgeable proponent of painting, sculpture, books, architecture, opera, theater and literature. They often became trusted advisors who she then promoted into positions of authority. She launched the Moscow Foundling Home and lying-in hospital, 1764, and Paul's Hospital, 1763. Catherine promised more serfs of all religions, as well as amnesty for convicts, if Muslims chose to convert to Orthodoxy. [133] The court physician diagnosed a stroke[133][134] and despite attempts to revive her, she fell into a coma. I think the title card reads an occasionally true story, McNamara tells the Sydney Morning Heralds Michael Idato. Those who opposed her were men. Running and games were forbidden, and the building was kept particularly cold because too much warmth was believed to be harmful to the developing body, as was excessive play. At the time of Catherine's reign, the landowning noble class owned the serfs, who were bound to the land they tilled. In private, says Jaques, she balanced a constant craving for affection with a ruthless determination to paint Russia as a truly European country. For example, she took action to limit the number of new serfs; she eliminated many ways for people to become serfs, culminating in the manifesto of 17 March 1775, which prohibited a serf who had once been freed from becoming a serf again.[61]. Jaques cites a Vigilius Ericksen portrait of the empress as emblematic of Catherines many contradictions. May 14, 2020. Letters exchanged by the couple testify to the ardent nature of their relationship: In one missive, Catherine declared, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, you are so handsome, clever, jovial and funny; when I am with you I attach no importance to the world. She recruited the scientists Leonhard Euler and Peter Simon Pallas from Berlin and Anders Johan Lexell from Sweden to the Russian capital. Publicly, Catherine evinced an air of charm, wit and self-deprecation. The most widely known story of Catherine the Great involves her death at age 67 in 1796. The most famous of these rumors is that she died after having sex with her horse. She did not allow dissenters to build chapels, and she suppressed religious dissent after the onset of the French Revolution. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russias next ruler. In the second partition, in 1793, Russia received the most land, from west of Minsk almost to Kiev and down the river Dnieper, leaving some spaces of steppe down south in front of Ochakov, on the Black Sea. Army officer Grigory Potemkin was arguably the greatest love of Catherines life, though her relationship with Grigory Orlov, who helped the empress overthrow Peter III, technically lasted longer.
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