Female leader: Empress Catherine the Great
Catherine the Great
Many people see Catherine the Great as an extraordinary leader but many people don’t know how she got there. While she did a lot to help Russia expand, it is highly thought that she killed her husband to become the empress. She also wasn’t Russian and she didn't have a claim to the throne. Her accomplishments are often overlooked by rumors about her scandalous personal life. Even though she isn’t always thought of as legit, she did a lot to modernize Russia. She demonstrated that the smallpox vaccination was effective, she repaired tensions with Poland, she even framed a constitution.
Background
Catherine the Great wasn't always known as Catherine. Her actual name is Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt Zerbst. She changed her name when she converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1745. Catherine was born on May 2, 1729 in Stettin, Prussia (modern day Poland). Her father was an impoverished prince while her mother was a German regent. As she was growing up her mother tried very hard to make her a proper lady. She was taught French, German and the proper etiquette of a lady. She also learned about Lutheran theology. When she was 14 she was sent off to Russia when Czarina Elizabeth invited her to meet her nephew and heir to the throne, Grand Duke Peter, her second cousin. Even though Peter and Catherine did not get along she still decided to integrate herself in their culture. She began learning Russian and she started working with the Imperial Court. Overall she played nice to get the favor of the people. In the book Catherine the Great: Love, Sex and Power by Virginia Roundling, Catherine states, “I tried to be as charming as possible to everyone and studied every opportunity to win the affection of those whom I suspected of being in the slightest degree ill-disposed towards me; I never showed any preference to any side, never interfere in anything; always looked serene. It pleased me when I realized that I was daily winning the affection of the public.” This worked well for her and the people began to like her more than Peter partially owing to the fact that she knew Russian better than Peter. When she was 16, she married Peter III and became known as Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. Catherine didn't like Peter and they didn’t get along. Peter was described by Catherine as boring, cruel, and a drunk. She claimed he forced her to watch as he hung and executed a rat he found in their apartments. He also, according to Biography.com, abandoned her on their wedding night to party with his friends. Because of this Peter and Catherine both had a lot of affairs and their children were thought to be illegitimate. Catherine had many lovers and the most famous two were Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Her lovers were always treated well. One of these lovers, Poniatowski, was made the king of Poland. Her true love was said to be Grigory Potemkin even though her relationship with Grigory Orlov lasted longer. Grigory Orlov was the man who helped Catherine dethrone and was highly thought to have killed Peter at Catherine’s command. In letters sent to Orlov, Catherine states “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. I have never been so happy.” In 1762, Catherine, with the help of Orlov, seized power from Peter, who would later die. Catherine’s first major reform for Russia was changing Russia’s legal system. It was meant to be a guide for those who would actually write the new system. She worked on this for about 2 years. This system proposed equal rights for everyone and changed the punishment extremes of crimes. Unfortunately it didn't work out and her delegates could not decide on the new laws. She called it off in 1768 and began to worry about wars and revolts. Catherine had sent troops to help the Polish king (a former lover) who was having trouble with revolts over the amount of control Russia had over Poland. The Polish rebels went to the Turkish Sultan for help. The Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia seeing an opportunity to take out the Russian Army. He miscalculated the strength of the Russian army and they annihilated his forces. For two years the two leaders held negotiations for peace. During these two years, Catherine was dealing with another crisis. A cossak, named Yemelyan Pugachev, claimed that he was Peter III. He convinced many serfs and peasants to help him take his rightful throne, in return he would end their suffering. His defeat took 3 expeditions from the Imperial Guard. Meanwhile, Catherine believed that she could take Constantinople from Turkey if Austria would help. When Turkey redeclared war on Russia she took a large part of the Balck Sea coast and the Crimean peninsula. She was not able to take Constantinople because Austria had withdrawn their already shaky support. Catherine’s next dilemma was who would be her heir. Her first born son named Paul was becoming unstable and having violent fits of anger. She did not think that he was fit to rule. She was about to name her second son Alexis the next heir when she died of a stroke on Nov 6, 1769.
Analysis
One of the things that could have invigorated Catherine, was her love for the arts. She was a big supporter of Voltaire and others. She wanted to make Russia prestigious and she did so by creating an impressive art collection. She even tried to compose opera. Another thing she did was write fairy tales that are still told today. Another reason she might have tried so hard to rule was her family's poor situation at home. Her parents didn’t have a lot of money but they did have social connections which allowed for her to be married off to a wealthier family. She might have wanted to prove to people that she was worthy of ruling. The last thing that could have fueled her craving for power could have been her dislike of Peter III. She saw Peter as immature and not very bright. She saw him as an incompetent ruler and unfit to rule. In the article on smithsonianmag.com it says “The couple’s loveless marriage left Catherine lots of time to pursue her interests, by reading the work of Enlightenment thinkers and perfecting her Russian. “She trained herself,” biographer Virginia Rounding told Time’s Olivia B. Waxman last October, “learning and beginning to form the idea that she could do better than her husband.” This shows that if she had a different husband she might not have tried so hard to rule Russia.
Synthesis
One of Catherine’s greatest critics was closer to home and harder to ignore. It was the Russian Orthodox Church. To the church her policy regarding Islam religion was considered betrayal. Catherine did not punish those with other religious beliefs and the Church did not like this. This was just one of the ways that Catherirne the Great was a social reformist. On the website abc.net.au it states “perhaps it is the lessons to be learned from her policy of religious toleration, which grounded state authority in a mutual respect for religion, that is the most valuable inheritance for our age, a policy that allowed a regime to govern a potentially explosive situation with less violence and more cooperation than might have otherwise been the case.” This shows that she probably had a reason for doing what she did and it could have been a much messier ruling if she did not allow this.
Evaluation
Even though Catherine the Great did a lot of good for Russia she didn't always succeed in her goals. During the time of her reign serfdom was a big problem. According to tax records in the late 18th century, over 50% of Russia's population were serfs. Their population at that time was 40 million people. In the book “A Source Book for Russian History' volume two by G. Vernadsky he says, “And should it so happen that even after the publication of the present decree of Her Imperial Majesty any serfs and peasants should cease to give the proper obedience to their landlords ... and should make bold to submit unlawful petitions complaining of their landlords, and especially to petition Her Imperial Majesty personally, then both those who make the complaints and those who write up the petitions shall be punished by the knout (whip) and forthwith deported to Nerchinsk to penal servitude for life…” This means she decreed that anyone who spoke out against their landlords would be punished. This would come back to haunt her during peasant revolts. She also was a medical pioneer. She tested the vaccination for Smallpox knowing very well that she could have died.
Application
In January of 1787, Catherine took a six month long trip to inspect Russia and its newly gained territory. The trip was arranged by her ex lover Gregory Potemkim. It is rumored that Potemkin built fake villages to impress the empress. This trip can be related to the citizens of North Korea. The North Korean government builds false store’s where nothing can actually be bought. They do this to try and trick the people into believing that their country is wealthy and prosperous and a similar trick was used on Catherine to make her believe Russia was wealthy and prosperous, when in reality it wasn't as prosperous as they made it out to be.
As Empress, Catherine the Great westernized Russia and significantly expanded the Russian Empire. She reorganized Russian law and revamped the Russian education system. She created museums and monuments. She greatly influenced the Russian Empire and showed that women can be leaders.
Works Cited
- “Catherine the Great.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.combiographyCatherine-the-Great.
- “Catherine the Great.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.orgwikiCatherine_the_Great.
- “Catherine the Great and Russia's Muslims.” Radio National, 4 Aug. 2015, www.abc.net.auradionationalprogramsarchivedspiritofthingscatherine-the-great-and-russia’s-muslims6670460.
- “Crimean Journey of Catherine the Great.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.orgwikiCrimean_journey_of_Catherine_the_Great.
- “Discover the Life and Reign of Catherine the Great of Russia.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.comvideo179966Overview-life-Catherine-II-reign.
- “Empress Catherine II ‘The Great’ of Russia.” Catherine the Great, departments.kings.eduwomens_historycatherine2.html.
- Jarus, Owen. “Catherine the Great: Biography, Accomplishments
