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Age of the Enlightenment
Catherine was born during the enlightenment. The enlightenment was a period of time where society began to look through the lens of reason rather than commonly believed facts based upon superstition and cultural beliefs. The enlightenment is also referred to as the “Age of Reason” due to this new established value that caused society to question all aspects of their lives. -
Catherine is born into a royal family
Catherine II was born Sophia Augusta Frederica in the German city of Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland), on April 21, 1729. She was the daughter of Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. -
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Catherine the Great Timeline
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Early Childhood
Princess Sophia August Frederika spent most of her childhood with her governess Babette, who acted as a mother and instructor for her. She was by far a very intellegent girl who seemed to be able to pick up on things much past her age. She spent a great deal of time reading enlightenment philosphies and novels that helped shape the ruler she would eventually become. -
Marriage
When Catherine was fifteen, she went to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth to meet the heir to the throne, the Grand Duke Peter. Soon after Catherine converted to the Russian Orthodox faith, she and the young Grand Duke were married in 1745. The marriage turned out to be an unhappy one in which there was little evidence of love or even affection. Peter was soon unfaithful to Catherine, and after a time she became unfaithful to him. -
Death of Empress Elizabeth
After the death of the empress, Peter took the role of emperor while Catherine became the new empress. Only a few months after coming to the throne, Peter had created many enemies within the government, the military, and the church. Through the rallying of troops at St. Petersburg, Catherine was able to take control of Russia and declare herself the sole ruler. Peter was arrested and eventually killed. -
Catherine Crowned
Catherine went immediately to work on restructing her country. She took the lessons from enlightenment philosphers and stepped away from traditional absolutism beliefs by using reason. She believed it was her duty to serve the people and not the people’s duty to serve her. The term enlightened absolutism describes her style of rule. Aside from changing laws, she also worked on developing arts, music and education. -
Expansion of Borders (1768-1774)
Catherine made it her Innitiative to expand the borders of Russia. Her most memorable events were the successful wars agaisnt the Ottoman Empire that spanned from 1768-1774 and 1787 to 1792. She took Crimea from the Turks in 1783. Her purpose was to take control of the Black Sea. Aside from temporary control, she used the strategy of overpopulating the place in favor of supporters for the Russian cause. -
Death of Catherine the Great
As she grew older, Catherine became greatly troubled because her heir, Paul, was becoming mentally unstable and she doubted his ability to rule. She considered naming Paul's oldest son, Alexander, as her successor. Before she was able to change her original decision, however, she died of a stroke on November 6, 1796.
