Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin
(Of all of history's great romances, few can compare with ...)
Of all of history's great romances, few can compare with that of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin. Their turbulent and complicated relationship shocked their contemporaries and continues to intrigue observers of Russia centuries later.
Catherine the Great (Yekaterina Alekseyevna, Catherine II of Russia) was the Russian empress during the second part of the 18th century (1762-1796). Although she was born in Prussia, she married into Russian Royal family and claimed the throne after the abdication of her husband Peter III. She is the longest ruling and most reputable female leader of Russia, known for turning the country into one of the biggest powers of Europe.
Background
Ethnicity:
Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt, but held the rank of a Prussian general in his capacity as Governor of the city of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland). Two of her first cousins became Kings of Sweden: Gustav III and Charles XIII.
Catherine the Great was born as Sophie Friederike Auguste in a small municipality Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg in Prussia (today's Poland). While she really was a princess, she origins from a family of a rather obscure and poverty-struck German dukedom. Her father was Christian August, known for his military successes in the Prussian Army, while her mother was Johanna Elisabeth. Sophie didn't have any known connections to Russia until she married Russian Emperor Peter III.
Education
Not much is known about the early years of the Catherine the Great's life. She was born as a princess of a small German duchy in a province called Anhait-Zebst. Her father was a general in the Prussian army so he was often absent and her mother put much more effort into raising Catherine's brother, Wilhelm Christian, who unfortunately died at the age of 12. Governess Babette was the one in charge of raising little Sophie, which was Catherine's name at the time.
Once her brother died, Sophie was seen as a way for her mother to make her way up the social ladder. She was actively seeking a suitor for her daughter, which is why she often took her on trips with her. This worked well for Sophie, because she wanted to escape from her mother, and marriage was the perfect way to do that.
Catherine was educated by tutors. She had religious studies with a military chaplain, but she wasn't convinced in what he taught her. Aside from German, Catherine was speaking Russian and French. In 1944, her mother managed to get an invitation from Empress Elizabeth to Saint Petersburg. Catherine was deemed suitable for Peter III, Elizabeth's heir, and in 1745, the two of them got married.
Sophie grabbed this opportunity with both hands and started doing whatever was needed to qualify for the Russian crown. She mastered the Russian language, changed her name to Catherine, and converted to Orthodoxy. Her charm enabled her to form and cultivate relationships with the influential people in Russia. Unlike her, Peter III often angered the nobles because of his affection for Prussia.
When Empress Elizabeth died in 1762, Catherine used her good relations with people at high positions to create a plot and remove Peter from the throne. After this coup d'etat, Catherine, who had no Russian blood or legal right to claim the throne, was proclaimed the new Empress of Russia. Just a couple of days after that, Peter was killed, but her role in this death remained unclear.
Career
When she was given the crown in 1762, first thing that Catherine wanted to do was to secure her reign in the years to come. This is why the property of Orthodox Church that Peter took was returned to the Church. Catherine also recalled the troops that were sent by Peter to fight Denmark, but made sure to honor the Romanov family. She very well understood the importance of public image, which is why she tried to dress in a way that will remember people of Peter the Great, whose footsteps she claimed to follow in. She even made a sculpture to honor him - the Bronze Horseman.
Catherine was a supporter of absolute rule, but she did conduct some political and social reforms. The document called "Nakaz" that was her creation, predicted how the legal system of Russian should function, and that torture and capital punishment should be outlawed. She also wanted every man to be equal, so she addressed the problem of serfs, workers owned for life by landowners. However, the Senate protested and refused to make any changes to the feudal system. Catherine decided to bring together delegates from various economic and social classes that would make a Legislative Commission. This commission first met in 1767 and was known as the first time that people from all around the empire had the opportunity to express their opinions of the country's problems. Not much has come out of this, since Catherine will soon realize she is not strong enough to change the whole system. As for the Nakaz, it became more famous for its ideas than the influence it had once it was finalized.
Catherine the Great continued to nurture good relations with France, Prussia and Austria. In 1764, she specified the borders of Poland and put one of her lovers as the King of Poland. Later on she agreed to give parts of Poland to Austria and Prussia, while keeping the eastern region where many Orthodox Russians had lived. Russia's activity in Poland led to a was with Turkey, where Russia had several victories and presented herself to the world as a big power. Peace treaty that was signed in 1774 brought her new lands and a foothold in the Black Sea. Gregory Potemkin, one of the heroes of that war, was turned into Catherine's advisor and soon became her lover.
However, Catherine was facing a problem at home, the biggest uprising before the one Russia saw in 1917. Cossack troops started the uprising in 1773 and only a year later were prepared to go for Moscow. Luckily for her, Catherine had a good year in 1774, winning the war with Turkey and ultimately crushing the rebellion. She learned a lot from this experience, and was now aware that she needed to have more control. She also realized that liberating the serfs would anger their owners, whom she depended largely on. This is why Catherine decided to strengthen the system that already existed, the very one she said was inhuman.
After being encouraged by Potemkin, Catherine decided to take over the peninsula of Crimea in 1783, which led to strengthening Russia's position in the Black Sea. This led to another war with Ottoman Empire, from 1787 to 1792, and Catherine managed to emerge victorious once again. these new lands acquired by Catherine were used to start building the Russian Navy.
It didn't seem that the years were getting to her, up until 1796, when one night in November she was found unconscious in the bathroom. She suffered a stroke and died the next night. She's buried in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Saint Petersburg, next to her husband Peter III.
(Of all of history's great romances, few can compare with ...)
Religion
She was born in Prussia but when she married into Russian Royal family, Catherine decided to convert to Orthodox faith. When she took up her reign, she even returned the Church property that her husband Peter took, but soon changed her mind and started looking for the ways how to decrease the influence of the Russian Church.
Politics
Catherine was a ruler in the absolute monarchy of Russia but she wasn't a great supporter of this system at first. In fact, she tried to make big reforms and free the serfs, servants for life and the majority of the population in Russia. However, Catherine quickly realized that she didn't have the support needed for such a major overhaul of the system and had to make peace with the system already present in Russia.
Views
Catherine was a great supporter of the western philosophers and the philosophical movement The Enlightenment, which dominated in the Western Europe during the 18th century. She wanted to be considered an enlightened ruler but when she claimed the throne Russia was largely considered a provincial wilderness by many Europeans. Catherine understood the need to change this image that her country had and wanted to create a modern and powerful country. She became a patron and invested a lot into science, literature, education and the arts. Catherine knew that success in these fields will bring Russia at the center of attention of the Western world. She founded opening many academies, elementary schools and libraries, bringing foreign architects, scientists and artists to St Petersburg in order to improve the city's cultural life and its appearance. In 1765, Catherine the Great laid the foundation stone for the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. This astonishing neoclassical building became alma mater for numerous Russian, sculptors, painters and architects.
She maintained contact with Diderot and Voltaire, French Enlightenment philosophers. Catherine bought Voltaire's book collection when he died and when she heard that Diderot was having some issues, she purchased his complete library but left it in his possession until he died. The Empress' charm and the fact she was good with people enabled her many important acquaintances and helped improve her and the image of Russia. Imperial library was expanded to 38,000 volumes.
Catherine was also a huge fan of art. She was known for spending much money on masterpieces of art. She had works of Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens and many others in her collection, which was thought to be the biggest in Europe. This collection served as the basis when one of the world's most beautiful museums was opened - the Hermitage.
She also often organized extravagant balls and different diplomatic receptions on a regular level. She very well understood that this was another thing that will bring her and her country better stature in the eyes of the West.
Personality
Catherine's greatest trait was communication. She knew how to create and cultivate relationships with people on high positions, knew how to give them what they wanted and earn their respect and support.
She was also known for having many lovers, although the number is often exaggerated. It is believed that she had no more than 12 relationships throughout her life, the most famous with Grigory Potemkin and Grigory Orlov. Once the relationship would be over, Catherine would award them with a high position.
Physical Characteristics:
She nurtured the style expected from an Empress. Furthermore, Catherine tried to resemble Peter the Great in order to get bigger support from the people in Russia.
Quotes from others about the person
"She is the Star of the North", Voltaire
Interests
art, philosophy
Philosophers & Thinkers
Diderot, Voltaire
Politicians
Grigory Potemkin
Writers
Voltaire
Artists
Raphael, Rubens
Music & Bands
opera
Connections
Catherine the Great didn't get along with her husband Peter III. Although they married in 1745, it was only in 1754 when Catherine produced their first heir - Paul. It was rumored that Peter was not his real father but they had great resemblance leading them to believe that the emperor in in fact Paul's father. Catherine also had three other children from her relationships with lovers.