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

The future empress's father, the Duke of Zerbst, served the Prussian king, but her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, had a very rich pedigree; she was the future Peter III's cousin. Despite the nobility, the family did not live very richly; Sophia grew up as an ordinary girl who received her education at home, enjoyed playing with her peers, was active, lively, brave, and loved to play mischief.

A new milestone in her biography was opened in 1744 - when the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna invited her and her mother to Russia. There Sofia 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 at baptism received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna. 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 had little interest in his young wife; each of them lived his own life. Catherine not only had fun with horse riding, hunting, and masquerades, but also read a lot and was actively engaged in self-education. In 1754, her son Pavel was born ( future emperor Pavel I), whom Elizaveta Petrovna immediately took from her mother. Catherine's husband was extremely dissatisfied when in 1758 she gave birth to a daughter, Anna, being unsure of her paternity.

Catherine had been thinking about how to prevent her husband from sitting on the throne of the emperor since 1756, counting on the support of the guard, 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 place was taken by her son, who became Peter III. This event made the gap between the spouses even deeper. The emperor began to live openly with his mistress. In turn, his wife, evicted to the other end of the Winter Palace, became pregnant and secretly gave birth to a son from Count Orlov.

Taking advantage of the fact that her husband-emperor was taking unpopular measures, in particular, he was moving towards rapprochement with Prussia, did not have the best reputation, and had turned the officers against himself, Catherine carried out a coup with the support of the latter: July 9 (June 28, O.S.) 1762 In St. Petersburg, guards units gave her an oath of allegiance. The next day, seeing no point in resisting Peter III abdicated the throne and then died under circumstances that remain 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 big amount reforms, in particular in the system of government and the structure of the empire. Under her tutelage, a whole galaxy of famous “Catherine’s eagles” emerged - Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, Orlov, Kutuzov, etc. The increased power of the army and navy made it possible to successfully carry out the imperial foreign policy the annexation of new lands, in particular the Crimea, the Black Sea region, the Kuban region, part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, etc. A new era began in the cultural and scientific life of the country. The implementation of the principles of the enlightened monarchy contributed to the discovery large quantities libraries, printing houses, various kinds educational institutions. Catherine II corresponded with Voltaire and encyclopedists, collected artistic canvases, and left behind a rich literary heritage, including on the topics of history, philosophy, economics, and pedagogy.

On the other hand, its internal policy was characterized by an increased privileged position of the noble class, an even greater restriction of the freedom and rights of the peasantry, and a harsh suppression of dissent, especially after the Pugachev uprising (1773-1775).

Catherine was in 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.

On February 14, 1744, an event occurred that was extremely important for the subsequent history of Russia. Arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanied by her mother Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst. The 14-year-old girl was entrusted with a high mission - she was to become the wife of the heir to the Russian throne, bear sons to her husband and thereby strengthen the ruling dynasty.

Court leapfrog

The middle of the 18th century in Russia went down in history as the “era palace coups" In 1722 Peter I issued a decree on succession to the throne, according to which the emperor himself could appoint a successor. This decree played a cruel joke on Peter himself, who did not have time to express his will before his death.

There was no obvious and unconditional candidate: Peter's sons had died by that time, and all other candidates did not find universal support.

To the Most Serene Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov succeeded in enthroning the wife of Peter I Ekaterina, who became empress under the name Catherine I. Her reign lasted only two years, and after her death, the grandson of Peter the Great, the son of the prince, ascended the throne Alexei Peter II.

The struggle for influence over the young king ended with the unfortunate teenager catching a cold during one of the many hunts and dying on the eve of his own wedding.

The nobles, who were again faced with the problem of choosing a monarch, gave preference to the dowager Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, daughters Ivan V, brother of Peter the Great.

Anna Ioannovna did not have children who could legally occupy the Russian throne, and appointed her nephew as heir Ioann Antonovich, who was less than six months old at the time of his accession to the throne.

In 1741, another coup took place in Russia, as a result of which the daughter of Peter the Great ascended the throne Elizabeth.

Looking for an heir

Elizaveta Petrovna, 1756. Artist Toke Louis (1696-1772)

Elizabeth Petrovna, who by that time was already 32 years old, ascended the throne, immediately faced the question of an heir. The Russian elite did not want a repeat of the Troubles and sought stability.

The problem was that the officially unmarried Elizaveta Petrovna, like Anna Ioannovna, could not give the empire, so to speak, a natural heir.

Elizabeth had many favorites, with one of whom, Alexey Razumovsky, she, according to one version, even entered into secret marriage. Moreover, the empress may even have given birth to his children.

But in any case, they could not become heirs to the throne.

Therefore, Elizaveta Petrovna and her entourage began to look for a suitable heir. The choice fell on the 13-year-old Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, son of Elizaveta Petrovna's sister Anna And Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich.

Elizabeth’s nephew had a difficult childhood: his mother died of a cold, which she got during a fireworks display in honor of the birth of her son. The father did not pay much attention to raising his son, and the appointed teachers of all pedagogical methods they preferred rods. Things got really bad for the boy when, at the age of 11, his father died and distant relatives took him in.

At the same time, Karl Peter Ulrich was a great-nephew Charles XII and was a contender for the Swedish throne.

Nevertheless, the Russian envoys managed to get the boy to move to St. Petersburg.

What didn't work out for Elizabeth and Catherine?

Pyotr Fedorovich when he was Grand Duke. Portrait Georg Christopher Groth (1716-1749)

Elizaveta Petrovna, who saw her nephew alive for the first time, was in a slight shock - a thin, sickly-looking teenager with a wild look, could hardly speak French, had no manners, and was generally not burdened with knowledge.

The Empress rather arrogantly decided that in Russia the guy would quickly be re-educated. To begin with, the heir was converted to Orthodoxy and named Petr Fedorovich and assigned him teachers. But the teachers wasted their time with Petrusha - until the end of his days, Pyotr Fedorovich never mastered the Russian language, and in general he was one of the least educated Russian monarchs.

After the heir was found, it was necessary to find a bride for him. Elizaveta Petrovna generally had far-reaching plans: she was going to get offspring from Peter Fedorovich and his wife, and then independently raise her grandson from birth so that he would become the empress’s successor. However, in the end this plan was not destined to come true.

It is curious that Catherine the Great would subsequently try to carry out a similar maneuver, preparing her grandson as heir. Alexander Pavlovich, and will also fail.

Princess as Cinderella

However, let's return to our story. The main “fair for royal brides” in the 18th century was Germany. One State there was none, but there were many principalities and duchies, small and insignificant, but with an overabundance of well-born, but poor young girls.

Considering the candidates, Elizaveta Petrovna remembered the Holstein prince, whom in her youth was predicted to be her husband. The prince's sister Johannes Elisabeth, daughter was growing up - Sofia Augusta Frederica. The girl's father was Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, representative of an ancient princely family. However, to big name large incomes were not attached, because Christian Augustus was in the service of the Prussian king. And although the prince ended his career with the rank of Prussian field marshal, he and his family spent most of his life in poverty.

Sophia Augusta Frederica was educated at home solely because her father could not afford to hire expensive tutors. The girl even had to darn her own stockings, so there was no need to talk about the princess being spoiled.

At the same time, Fike, as Sophia Augusta Frederica was called at home, was distinguished by her curiosity, thirst for study, as well as for street games. Fike was a real daredevil and took part in boyish amusements, which did not make her mother too happy.

The Tsar's Bride and the Would-be Conspirator

The news that the Russian Empress was considering Fike as the bride of the heir to the Russian throne struck the girl’s parents. For them it was a real gift of fate. Fike herself, who had a sharp mind since her youth, understood that this was her chance to escape from her poor parental home into another, brilliant and vibrant life.

Catherine after her arrival in Russia, portrait by Louis Caravaque.

After the shameful reign of Emperor Peter 3, Russian throne occupied by Empress Catherine 2 the Great. Her reign lasted 34 (thirty-four) years, during which Russia managed to restore order within the country and strengthen the position of the fatherland in the international arena.

The reign of Catherine 2 began in 1762. From the moment she came to power, the young empress was distinguished by her intelligence and desire to do everything possible to bring order to the country after long palace coups. For these purposes, Empress Catherine 2 the Great carried out the so-called policy of enlightened absolutism in the country. The essence of this policy was to educate the country, give peasants minimal rights, promote the opening of new enterprises, annex church lands to state lands, and much more. In 1767, the empress assembled a Legislative Commission in the Kremlin, which was supposed to develop a new, fair set of laws for the country.

While studying internal affairs state, Catherine 2 had to constantly look back at her neighbors. In 1768, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. Each side pursued different goals in this war. The Russians entered the war hoping to secure access to the Black Sea. The Ottoman Empire hoped to expand the borders of its possessions at the expense of the Russian Black Sea lands. The first years of the war did not bring success to either side. However, in 1770, General Rumyantsev defeated the Turkish army at the Larga River. In 1772, the young commander Suvorov A.V. was involved in the war, transferred to the Turkish front from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The commander immediately, in 1773, took possession important fortress Turtukai and crossed the Danube. As a result, the Turks offered peace, signed in 1774 at Kuçyur-Kaynarci. Under this treaty, Russia received the territory between southern But and the Dnieper, as well as the fortresses of Yenikale and Kerch.

Empress Catherine II the Great was in a hurry to end the war with the Turks, since by 1773 popular unrest began to arise for the first time in the south of the country. These unrest resulted in a peasant war led by E. Pugachev. Pugachev, posing as the miraculously saved Peter 3, raised the peasants to war with the empress. Russia has never known such bloody uprisings. It was completed only in 1775. Pugachev was quartered.

In the period from 1787 to 1791, Russia was again forced to fight. This time we had to fight on two fronts: in the south with the Turks, in the north with the Swedes. The Turkish company became the benefit of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. The Russian commander glorified himself by winning great victories for Russia. In this war, under the command of Suvorov, his student, Kutuzov M.I., began to win his first victories. The war with Sweden was not as fierce as with Turkey. The main events took place in Finland. Decisive Battle happened in the Vyborg naval battle in June 1790. The Swedes were defeated. A peace treaty was signed, preserving the existing borders of the state. On the Turkish front, Potemkin and Suvorov won one victory after another. As a result, Türkiye was again forced to ask for peace. According to the results of which in 1791 the border between Russia and Ottoman Empire the Dniester River became.

Empress Catherine the Great did not forget about the western borders of the state. Together with Austria and Prussia, Russia took part in three sections of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a result of these divisions, Poland ceased to exist, and Russia regained most of the original Russian lands.

The Golden Age, the Age of Catherine, the Great Reign, the heyday of absolutism in Russia - this is how historians have designated and continue to designate the time of the reign of Russia by Empress Catherine II (1729-1796)

“Her reign was successful. As a conscientious German, Catherine worked diligently for the country that gave her such a good and profitable position. She naturally saw the happiness of Russia in the greatest possible expansion of the boundaries of the Russian state. By nature she was smart and cunning, well versed in the intrigues of European diplomacy. Cunning and flexibility were the basis of what in Europe, depending on the circumstances, was called the policy of Northern Semiramis or the crimes of Moscow Messalina.” (M. Aldanov “Devil's Bridge”)

Years of reign of Russia by Catherine the Great 1762-1796

Catherine the Second's real name was Sophia Augusta Frederika of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was the daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, the commandant of the city of Stettin, which was located in Pomerania, a region subject to the Kingdom of Prussia (today the Polish city of Szczecin), who represented “a side line of one of the eight branches of the house of Anhalst.”

“In 1742, the Prussian king Frederick II, wanting to annoy the Saxon court, which hoped to marry his princess Maria Anna to the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Karl-Ulrich of Holstein, who suddenly became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, began hastily looking for another bride for the Grand Duke.

The Prussian king had three in mind for this purpose: german princesses: two Hesse-Darmstadt and one Zerbst. The latter was the most suitable in age, but Friedrich knew nothing about the fifteen-year-old bride herself. They only said that her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, led a very frivolous lifestyle and that it is unlikely that little Fike was really the daughter of the Zerbst prince Christian Augustus, who served as governor in Stetin.”

How long, short, but in the end the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna chose little Fike as a wife for her nephew Karl-Ulrich, who became Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich in Russia, the future Emperor Peter III.

Biography of Catherine II. Briefly

• 1729, April 21 (Old style) - Catherine the Second was born
• 1742, December 27 - on the advice of Frederick II, the mother of Princess Ficken (Fike) sent a letter to Elizabeth with New Year congratulations
• 1743, January - kind reply letter
• 1743, December 21 - Johanna Elisabeth and Ficken received a letter from Brumner, the teacher of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, with an invitation to come to Russia

“Your Grace,” Brummer wrote meaningfully, “are too enlightened not to understand the true meaning of the impatience with which Her Imperial Majesty wishes to see you here as soon as possible, as well as your princess daughter, about whom rumor has told us so many good things.”

• 1743, December 21 - on the same day a letter from Frederick II was received in Zerbst. The Prussian king... persistently advised to go and keep the trip strictly secret (so that the Saxons would not find out ahead of time)
• 1744, February 3 - German princesses arrived in St. Petersburg
• 1744, February 9 - the future Catherine the Great and her mother arrived in Moscow, where the court was located at that moment
• 1744, February 18 - Johanna Elisabeth sent a letter to her husband with the news that their daughter was the bride of the future Russian Tsar
• 1745, June 28 - Sofia Augusta Frederica converted to Orthodoxy and new name Catherine
• 1745, August 21 - marriage of Catherine
• 1754, September 20 - Catherine gave birth to a son, heir to the throne Paul
• 1757, December 9 - Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died 3 months later
• 1761, December 25 - Elizaveta Petrovna died. Peter the Third became Tsar

“Peter the Third was the son of the daughter of Peter I and the grandson of the sister of Charles XII. Elizabeth, having ascended the Russian throne and wanting to secure it behind her father’s line, sent Major Korf with instructions to take her nephew from Kiel and deliver him to St. Petersburg at all costs. Here the Holstein Duke Karl-Peter-Ulrich was transformed into Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich and forced to study the Russian language and the Orthodox catechism. But nature was not as favorable to him as fate... He was born and grew up as a frail child, with meager endowed with abilities. Having become an orphan at an early age, Peter in Holstein received a worthless upbringing under the guidance of an ignorant courtier.

Humiliated and embarrassed in everything, he acquired bad tastes and habits, became irritable, cantankerous, stubborn and false, acquired a sad inclination to lie..., and in Russia he also learned to get drunk. In Holstein he was taught so poorly that he came to Russia as a 14-year-old complete ignoramus and even amazed Empress Elizabeth with his ignorance. The rapid change of circumstances and educational programs completely confused his already fragile head. Forced to learn this and that without connection and order, Peter ended up learning nothing, and the dissimilarity of the Holstein and Russian situations, the meaninglessness of the Kiel and St. Petersburg impressions completely weaned him from understanding his surroundings. ...He was fascinated by the military glory and strategic genius of Frederick II...” (V. O. Klyuchevsky “Course of Russian History”)

• 1761, April 13 - Peter made peace with Frederick. All lands seized by Russia from Prussia during the course were returned to the Germans
• 1761, May 29 - alliance treaty Prussia and Russia. Russian troops were transferred to the disposal of Frederick, which caused sharp discontent among the guards

(The flag of the guard) “became the empress. The emperor lived badly with his wife, threatened to divorce her and even imprison her in a monastery, and in her place put a person close to him, the niece of Chancellor Count Vorontsov. Catherine stayed aloof for a long time, patiently enduring her situation and not entering into direct relations with the dissatisfied.” (Klyuchevsky)

• 1761, June 9 - at the ceremonial dinner on the occasion of the confirmation of this peace treaty, the emperor proposed a toast to the imperial family. Catherine drank her glass while sitting. When Peter asked why she did not stand up, she replied that she did not consider it necessary, since the imperial family consists entirely of the emperor, herself and their son, the heir to the throne. “And my uncles, the Holstein princes?” - Peter objected and ordered Adjutant General Gudovich, who was standing behind his chair, to approach Catherine and say a swear word to her. But, fearing that Gudovich might soften this uncivil word during the transfer, Peter himself shouted it across the table for all to hear.

  The Empress burst into tears. That same evening it was ordered to arrest her, which, however, was not carried out at the request of one of Peter’s uncles, the unwitting culprits of this scene. From that time on, Catherine began to listen more attentively to the proposals of her friends, which were made to her, starting from the very death of Elizabeth. The enterprise was sympathized with by many people from high society in St. Petersburg, most of whom were personally offended by Peter

• 1761, June 28 - . Catherine is proclaimed empress
• 1761, June 29 - Peter the Third abdicated the throne
• 1761, July 6 - killed in prison
• 1761, September 2 - Coronation of Catherine II in Moscow
• 1787, January 2-July 1 -
• 1796, November 6 - death of Catherine the Great

Domestic policy of Catherine II

- Changes in central government: in 1763, the structure and powers of the Senate were streamlined
- Liquidation of the autonomy of Ukraine: liquidation of the hetmanate (1764), liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich (1775), serfdom of the peasantry (1783)
- Further subordination of the church to the state: secularization of church and monastic lands, 900 thousand church serfs became state serfs (1764)
- Improving legislation: a decree on tolerance for schismatics (1764), the right of landowners to send peasants to hard labor (1765), the introduction of a noble monopoly on distilling (1765), a ban on peasants filing complaints against landowners (1768), the creation of separate courts for nobles, townspeople and peasants (1775), etc.
- Improving the administrative system of Russia: dividing Russia into 50 provinces instead of 20, dividing provinces into districts, dividing power in provinces by function (administrative, judicial, financial) (1775);
- Strengthening the position of the nobility (1785):

• confirmation of all class rights and privileges of the nobility: exemption from compulsory service, from poll tax, corporal punishment; the right to unlimited disposal of estate and land together with the peasants;
• the creation of noble estate institutions: district and provincial noble assemblies, which met once every three years and elected district and provincial leaders of the nobility;
• assigning the title of “noble” to the nobility.

“Catherine the Second well understood that she could stay on the throne only by pleasing the nobility and officers in every possible way - in order to prevent or at least reduce the danger of a new palace conspiracy. This is what Catherine did. Her entire internal policy boiled down to ensuring that the life of officers at her court and in guards units was possibly more profitable and enjoyable"

- Economic innovations: establishment of a financial commission to unify money; establishment of a commission on commerce (1763); manifesto on the general demarcation to fix land plots; establishment of Volny economic society to help noble enterprise (1765); financial reform: introduction paper money- banknotes (1769), creation of two banknote banks (1768), issue of the first Russian external loan (1769); establishment of the postal department (1781); permission for private individuals to open a printing house (1783)

Foreign policy of Catherine II

• 1764 - Treaty with Prussia
• 1768-1774 — Russian-Turkish War
• 1778 - Restoration of the alliance with Prussia
• 1780 - union of Russia and Denmark. and Sweden for the purpose of protecting navigation during the American Revolutionary War
• 1780 - Defensive Alliance of Russia and Austria
• 1783, April 8 -
• 1783, August 4 - establishment of a Russian protectorate over Georgia
• 1787-1791 —
• 1786, December 31 - trade agreement with France
• 1788 June - August - war with Sweden
• 1792 - severance of relations with France
• 1793, March 14 - Treaty of Friendship with England
• 1772, 1193, 1795 - participation together with Prussia and Austria in the partitions of Poland
• 1796 - war in Persia in response to the Persian invasion of Georgia

Personal life of Catherine II. Briefly

“Catherine, by nature, was neither evil nor cruel... and overly power-hungry: all her life she was invariably under the influence of successive favorites, to whom she gladly ceded her power, interfering in their disposal of the country only when they very clearly showed their inexperience, inability or stupidity: she was smarter and more experienced in business than all her lovers, with the exception of Prince Potemkin.
There was nothing excessive in Catherine’s nature, except for a strange mixture of the coarsest sensuality that grew stronger over the years with purely German, practical sentimentality. At sixty-five years old, she, as a girl, fell in love with twenty-year-old officers and sincerely believed that they were also in love with her. In her seventh decade, she cried bitter tears when it seemed to her that Platon Zubov was more restrained with her than usual.”(Mark Aldanov)

Reign of Catherine II (briefly)

Reign of Catherine II (briefly)

On April 21, 1729, Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerpt, who in the future would be known as Catherine the Great, was born. At the same time, her family was very strapped for money and therefore she was able to receive only home education, which influenced the girl’s personality.

In 1744, an event took place that became significant not only for the princess, but for the whole of history. Russian Empire. It is she who is chosen by Elizaveta Petrovna as the bride of Peter the Third. Arriving at the court, Sophia began to educate herself with great pleasure, studying the history, culture and language of her new homeland. At baptism she receives the name Ekaterina Alekseevna.

The wedding ceremony with Peter takes place on the twenty-first of August 1745, but this marriage brought only misfortune to the woman, since Peter did not pay attention to her at all. For quite a long period, balls and hunts became the only entertainment for the empress. And on September 20, 1754, he gives birth to a son, Pavel, who is immediately taken away from her. The spouses themselves did not hesitate to have lovers.

After the birth of her daughter, Empress Elizabeth falls ill. In addition, the correspondence of Catherine the Second with the Austrian ambassador is revealed. Soon after the death of Elizabeth, Peter ascends to the throne.

Researchers claim that the empress began planning a conspiracy against her husband long before this, together with her favorites. In 1761, she secretly gives birth to a son from one of them (Orlov).

As a result of competently carried out propaganda in the guards units, on June twenty-eighth, 1762, the units took the oath to Catherine, and Peter renounced the throne.

In domestic policy Catherine the Second adhered to the ideas of the Enlightenment. It was the enlightened absolutism of the empress that contributed to the strengthening of the autocracy, the strengthening of the bureaucratic apparatus and the unification of the management system. Thanks to the active work of the Legislative Commission, it became possible to carry out many innovative reforms.

The foreign policy of Empress Catherine was more successful and active. A particularly important task was to secure the southern borders of the state. At the same time, the Turkish campaigns were of great importance. The interests of Russia, France and England collided in them. Also, during the reign of Catherine, great importance was given to the annexation of Belarus and Ukraine to Russia.