Catherine The Great Personality

Eloquent, brilliant, unorthodox, poise, and loyal – all of these unique characteristics allowed Dashkova to gain the highest regard among the members of the elite society and more importantly, to earn the respect of Catherine the Great. Dashkova is a peculiar female character. She’s fully narcissistic, but at the same time, rejects her recognition and claims herself as unworthy of the credits Catherine II had given her. In her autobiography The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova, Dashkova justifies her role as a noble woman, her early-life contribution in helping Catherine rise to the throne, and the frugal life she bore as a widow and a mother of two. Dashkova voiced her significance in a society where

Empress Catherine the Great ruled Russia for approximately thirty years from 1762 to 1796 when she died. She was known throughout the world as an unusual ruler, having taken over the throne after the brutal death of her husband Peter the third. There she was made Empress of all Russia, this was unusual because instead of being made regent for her son they circumnavigated the rules and she was made Empress Regnant. During her time on the throne she made many radical and life changing decisions. She was a voracious reader and writer, often helping to translate others works into Russian. She herself was inspired by Voltaire, Diderot, and Montesquieu. All of which culminated in her greatest work “Great Instruction”, which was the beginning of basically all her future endeavors. Catherine the Great was an enlightened ruler who tried to bring about a new way of life in Russia, by allowing certain freedoms and educating the public.

Catherine, II, the Great was born in Stettin, a German city on April 21, 1729 to Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerost and Princess Johanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Catherine, whose original name was Sophie Friederike-Auguste married in 1762 to the czarevitch Peter of Russia, but soon disposed of him and seized control of the government. Catherine made many great changes during her reign and made many opportunities available to the people living in her country during the time. Although she was a woman in a country in a time when men had control over everything, she rose above, saw what she wanted, and took over what she wanted. She knew what she wanted and she went for it, she was an amazing ruler of her time period.

The woman who was to become Catherine the Great was born Sophie Augusta Fredericka. During her teen years Sophie blossomed into a beautiful young woman and had excellent health. She later went on to marry Peter III the future emperor and grandson of Peter the Great. During her reign as empress Catherine encountered many conflicts, which she surpassed so successfully that even now so many years after her death she is still remembered. Even though she was known to have many lovers during her lifetime and had three illegitimate children two of who survived, her strong spirit, willingness to make Russia a better place, and her political victories made her one of the greatest empress ever.

It was left to Peter’s successor, Catherine II, to take advantage of this. She waged the first major Russo-Turkish war from 1768 to 1774, and its conclusion with the Treaty of

Catherine was one of Russia's greatest Rulers. She built numerous buildings, wrote the “Nakaz”, brought the arts, religious tolerance to Russia; she conquered huge amounts of land, won numerous wars and took a throne she had no right to. She ruled for 34 years, all the time making Russia a better place, she was no power hungry dictator, but an enlightened despot that only worked to help Russia. Many people say and want to believe Catherine the Great was just a power hungry dictator because of things like a lowered a serf status, for taking her husband's throne or for being a woman with a reputation with men. She was a woman who wasn't power hungry; if she was wouldn't she have tried to conquer all of Europe.

Catherine read some philosophes’ works and exchanged many letters with Voltaire. She made a command to review Russia's’ laws in 1767 and based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria she had a few goals which sadly never were accomplished. Some

34. Catherine the Great of Russia did what? built a strong alliance with the nobility

Peter the Great’s reforms had a profound impact on Russia, it introduced an era of change that he became known for. From Peter’s childhood he became known for his infatuation with ideas about the military and navy, enjoying pastimes like shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with toy armies. This strong influence left a lasting impression throughout Peter’s life, exemplified through his reforms and relations with Europe. This impacted Russia as Peter’s keen interest in Europe was a key inspiration for his reforms as his desire for knowledge and advancement was reflected in his personality and his rule. Peter’s interest in Europe also impacted Russia as it corresponded with a growing westernisation of typical Russian values and

Catherine de' Medici was a French lady who was married into the royal family at the age of fourteen in the sixteenth century. She was different than other women during this time period, and she enjoyed studying astrology and the arts. She was also the one who ordered the Tuileries to be built. She formed a very close relationship with the King and her father-in-law, King Francis I, and even named one of her children after him. However, her husband and the King's son, Henry, despised Catherine, and openly had an affair with another mistress named Diane. Despite this, he and Catherine still tried to have children, yet failed the first few years of their marriage. Catherine was shamed by the people for not having children at this point, and some

She was the shining light in nearly four decades of disappointing rulers. Her Rise to power after overthrowing Peter III, she initially reversed all his decrees that he administered in his short reign. Catherine reestablished the autocratic rule in Russia. She believed that there should be one ruler, even denying the Senates offer of helping her in her rule. Catherine followed many of the practices that Peter the Great had done during his time as emperor. For instance, Catherine became the first leader since Peter to tour the Russian Empire, which became known as the Imperial Tour. Her reason for the tour was to issue a uniform rule in Russia. One thing Catherine attempted to administer was her Bolshoi Nakaz otherwise known as “The Great Instruction.” The Great Instruction was a compilation of various text that Catherine brought together to set up how law and Russia should be. “She went beyond Peter the Great by maintaining that government should be constrained by certain fundamental principles” (Moss, 270). Unfortunately, this was never administered. Catherine created the Charter of the Nobility which gave nobility a clear separate title along with complete control over serfs and other perks as

Peter’s clever and cunning personality helped him assume command over the Russian people. Peter took a trip to Europe to understand the European culture and way of life. While there, he disguised himself as a regular soldier. He

She threw herself into Russian culture and soon became a great socialite. In addition, she made connections with the smartest and most influential leaders in Russia. Emperor Peter III and Catherine II came to power after the death of Empress Elizabeth. Unfortunately, Peter was unable to handle ruling the Russian Empire. He lacked common sense and alienated the Russian Court. Peter III further compounded his mistakes by withdrawing from the war with Prussia in 1762. According to most historians he was pro-Prussian and was mentally immature. This, coupled with the seizure of Church lands and disowning his son Paul, resulted in Catherine’s coup on June 28th, 1762 . Peter III was sent to prison where he died at the hands of his captives, Catherine’s lover Gregory Orlov and his family. Catherine took the throne as Empress after the conspiracy. Her reign saw the high point of Russian nobility.

Starting with a little bit about Catherine she came from a noble family in Florence Italy. Her parents were Lorenzo and Madeleine. Both of her parents died right after her birth, leaving her with all the

Catherine the Great was the German wife of Peter III. She corresponded actively with Voltaire and other prominent eighteenth-century thinkers, and paid lip service to their liberal ideas; but she did little to reform or modernize Russia. She introduced such western ideas as pleased her, at the same time increasing Russian autocracy and military power. In addition, she extended Russia's boundaries southward and westward. Catherine joined with Austria and Prussia in three partitions that completely eliminated independent Poland.