Catherine's Rise To Power

The last Tsar Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894 and was faced with a country that was trying to free itself from its autocratic regime. The serfs had recently been emancipated, the industry and economy was just starting to develop and opposition to the Tsar was building up. Russia was still behind Europe in terms of the political regime, the social conditions and the economy. Nicholas II who was a weak and very influenced by his mother and his wife had to deal with Russia’s troubles during his reign. In order to ascertain how successfully Russia dealt with its problems by 1914, this essay will examine the October Manifesto and the split of the opposition, how the Tsar became more reactionary after the 1905 revolution, Stolypin’s

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.

During the late seventeenth century under the leadership of Peter the Great, Russia underwent a period of modernization and westernization due to Peter’s reforms. However, without the reforms he instituted, Russia would have remained the most culturally unevolved country in Europe for quite a long time.

Though it may sound heartless and selfish, the needs and aims of countries usually are the primary factor controlling their foreign relations. During the period of the czars, from 1547 to 1917, Russia’s need for land and modernization shaped its relationships with Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire, causing Russia’s leaders to respect and imitate Western Europe while competing with the European powers to fill the power vacuum of the failing Ottoman Empire.

In Russia, Westernization was nothing new as the late nineteenth century had rolled around, for they had already been immersed in political conflicts of Western Europe by the earlier parts of the century. Russia’s Westernization had even been started by Peter the Great. Being so well adapted to the politics of the West, the conservative Russian nobility had feared revolutions by the liberal West. Russia then had attempted to

Despite all the work Alexander II did toward reforming Russia, the “Era of Great Reforms” left one crucial aspect unaltered: the power of the emperor. The intentional neglect of this was what kept the reforms from realizing their true potential. This led to dissatisfaction, which encouraged repression, terror, and most importantly: revolution. The first was the Polish Rebellion, caused by the failure of Russian authorities to suppress Polish nationalism. Although the Poles failed, other minorities sprung up for their voice

Russian princes, having gained back their territory from the Mongols, consolidated their power and restored the Russian state in 1462 under Ivan the Great. The underlying cultural aspects that existed in Russia from 1480-1800 like the Eastern Orthodox Church and the westernization of the boyars certainly helped Russia advance as a world power. The political constants in Russia, such as the serf and boyar control as well as expansion, also helped Russia to approach countries in the West in terms of influence.

How does Lady Catherine’s attitude towards the Collins and their guests change once Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam are visiting?

Leading into the start of Peter the Greats Reign, Russia was beginning to experience change. By the time that Peter took the throne, Russia’s saw a dramatic change that had never seen before. Peter’s experiences from his childhood influenced his reforms and policies as a ruler. His style of leadership allowed him to make dramatic domestic and foreign changes for Russia. His legacy as ruler had made it nearly impossible to emulate for his successors. His successors would attempt to make their own stamp on Russia. However, none of these improvements may have happened without the leadership of Peter the Great. Peter’s reforms and policies would become the backbone of what Russia would become. His work would be expanded

In the short story of proposals for a new code of law talks about how Catherine the II came to power in Russia. She came to power following a coup when her husband Peter III, was assassinated. “After death of her husband” (201). With the support of the army and the nobles, Catherine took power made her husband sign a document of abdication. Leaving no one to dispute her coming to power. Under her rule, Russia was modernized and she also became the longest ruling female leader of Russia. With the country growing and becoming stronger than ever, Russia was recognized as one of the powerful nations of Europe. During her reign, Russia was able to accomplish many achievements and she added about 200,000 square miles of land into the country. Not only did she added more land to the country, but she also modernized the monarchy and tried to improve the lives of her citizens. Inspired by

Besides my personal struggles in assimilating and divulging myself into Russian culture, I also took part in many conversations with my dear Nicholas, consisting of him mostly explaining new policies and advances, and me listening in admiration of my husband’s intelligence and pride for his country and his people. I remember him explaining his new installment of railroads and graciously providing money to local business, as a way to level out the Motherland with the other Western countries so that our citizens and the people of the world can look upon Russia with pride and envy of it development. Even then, however, I knew that there was still turmoil in my dear country, Russia was still behind in industrialization and many had began to question the rule and decisions of your father. Nevertheless, I believed that as long as the autocracy remained intact and with my husband, Nicholas II, leading it, Russia would prosper and all would be merry. If only I could have known just how wrong, I

From the time she took office as the new leader of Russia, Catherine the Great had many challenges she had to face. While her colleagues before her had helped to set her up with a stronger and more modernized country, she still had enemies with which she must tend to in order to secure the austerity of her country. Her predecessors of ruler of Russia had for the most part dealt with the problem of the Sweedes at Russia’s northern border, there was still much head way to be done with the Poles and the Turks on Russia’s western and southern boarders.

There were many reasons for the fall of Tsarism, such as the backwardness of Russian society, the failure of the Tsar personally, and the autocratic system of government which caused grievances amongst the people. The Russian public desired political change, whether towards a more democratic society like 20th century Britain, or towards a more socialist revolution in which power was returned to the people. When assessing the reasons as to why Tsarism collapsed, it is crucial to look at the setting of early 19th century Russia, which inevitably led to the Tsar’s weaknesses in his control of the government.

The rule of the enlightened despot Catherine II was defined by her call for a unified Russia around rationality, education, and the romanticization of western values. As an enlightened despot, Catherine II desired to transform the empire using the theories of the European Enlightenment Era. Theories authored by philosophes like John Locke, Montesquieu and Voltaire, contested previous perceptions of an individual’s role within

This assignment aims to establish the foundation for the understanding of how history has played a role in defining and redefining the Russian society. By looking at the general history and the political systems of the past, this assignment will highlight events that influenced the emergence of these systems and the current government systems instated. This assignment will examine the way in which the Russian government operates and will therefore highlight the political ideologies of the country in order to provide a basis for educated recommendations to be formulated. The benefit of being aware of the above mentioned topic is that it allows for a better understanding of our world history thus broadening and expanding