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Catherine The Great's Influence On Russia

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The central 18th century Russian ruler, Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great, has retained a place in the pages of history as one of the brightest and most influential women of not only her time, but of more recent history altogether. Catherine the Great’s accomplishments had effectively transformed Russia and led to its so-called golden age, touching upon nearly every aspect of Russian society. This resulted in praise and admiration from many central figures of the time, including renowned philosophe Voltaire, who had once described her as the “first of all women, who is putting so many men to shame,” (Dixon 196). However, why is it that Catherine’s accomplishments and reforms have seemingly failed to make a lasting impact on Russia …show more content…

She had corresponded with enlightened philosophes such as Diderot, wishing to get their opinions and their feedback regarding the Nakaz: the statement of legal principles conceived by Catherine. “On the trip home from Russia, Diderot began to make comments on a copy of the Nakaz that Catherine had given him.” (Clure 889). These actions reflect how much importance the principles of the enlightenment were to Catherine II during her rule. They guided her and inspired her, assisting her in transforming Russia. Unfortunately, Catherine’s successor and son, Paul I, did not share many of these views. His personal relationship with Catherine was poor. “-the difficult relationship with Catherine II, his disgust with the inefficiency and corruption of Catherine 's court,” are several main aspects behind Paul’s motivations and beliefs as a ruler (Mcgrew 770). As Catherine the Great looked towards the future as a basis for building her nation, being guided by enlightened principles, Paul I was quite the opposite. His governing approach had, inadvertently, overridden that of Catherine’s. “Paul emerges from the book as an early example of an 'anti-modernist ' ruler whose authoritarian, military and hierarchical values shaped much of Russia 's system of government during the nineteenth century.” (Mcgrew 770). Where Catherine had been modernist, Paul had been

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Much like Peter she was bent on establishing naval bases for the Russian navy and was able to once again secure ports as Russia annexed Crimea and land along the Black Sea from the Ottoman Empire. An excellent example of this was Catherine the Great as she sought to emulate the West, by releasing statements in support of Western ideals of human rights. But in reality she also expanded serfdom and violently crushed peasant revolutions. This shows, that although Catherine may have wanted to emulate western culture, she also wanted to maintain her power and would crush these uprisings at the cost of these values.

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While she was there, the old Jewish woman’s words finally gained some meaning. She realized that she didn’t have to be at her home to be herself, she would always be Catherine. This made Catherine more mature, she changed by knowing that she was, and would always be, herself. She says, “I am like the Jews in our hall, driven from England, from one life to another, and yet for them exile was no exile.” (Cushman 202).

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As an absolute monarch, Catherine the Great changed Russia in many positive ways; multiple historians even consider her to be one of the most enlightened rulers of her time. Catherine was the longest reigning female monarch of Russia and accomplished many things during her 34 years in the crown. She dreamed of establishing a reign of order and justice, of spreading education and of developing a national culture. By writing several books, pamphlets and educational materials, she improved Russia’s schooling system. Looking to improve the education of her people, Catherine studied the systems created by other countries.

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Major continuities and changes regarding various views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 include both the continuation of disdain towards women and the emergence of the idea that women are equal to men. Women were often thought to be of less value than men, an idea that originated early in history and progressed throughout this time period. Some men and women began to speak out against inequality and, whether directly or indirectly, influenced new ideas causing others to believe in the power of women. Many views of women in the years between 1450 and 1700 continued to show the age old idea of women being seen as the inferior gender. James Sprenger and Henry Kramer wrote that women are more likely to be attacked by the devil because they are more naive than men (1).

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Perhaps one of the most influential leaders in Russian history, Catherine the great’s 34 year long reign was characterized by her incredible foresight and transformational leadership which modernized Russia. Despite being of German descent, Catherine was able to assume supreme power as empress of Russia by winning the support of her subjects. During her reign, Russia was transformed from a remote, underpopulated land with poor education, and little patronage for the arts to a political superpower. Immediately upon arriving in Russia, Catherine began learning Russian so that she could better pursue her dream of expanding the Russian empire. In order to do this, she attempted several reforms to support education, and extended the political rights of poor people.

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Her account is also pretty selfish, as she thinks of no one but herself. However, by the second quote, it is obvious that Catherine has changed. She compares herself to the Jews that stopped by her manor, meaning that she is also thinking of others. By the end of Catherine’s narration of her year, she has grown more thoughtful,

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Peter the Great accomplished a lot during his reign, yet there were incidents where he used terror to get his way with the empire. As for Catherine, she let her personal relationships impact her political decisions. “She had sent troops to help the Polish king Stanislas (a former lover) in suppressing a nationalist revolt aimed at reducing Russia's influence in Poland.” Conspiring with her lovers on official empress business, makes Catherine appear to be an unqualified ruler by letting her opinions be altered by her intimate relationships. Having secrets behind their actual official ruling leads both Catherine and Peters reputation came off as bad regardless of how they were as rulers.

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She is described as “extremely beautiful” (Voltaire. 5) and is repeatedly referred to as “the fair Cunegonde.” (39). She is the typical damsel-in-distress: a woman who is completely reliant on male protection and often

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She is also very sensitive because she get angry and sad really quickly. When Jason’s mother yelled at her, she said she had to use all of her strength to not cry. If a strong person was in her position I believe this person would not even be close to crying. All in all, I think that Catherine was a great character made by Cynthia Lord. I hope to see more of these type of stories from Cynthia Lord.

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“Catherine was an intelligent woman familiar with the works of the philosophes. She claimed that she wished to reform Russia along the lines of Enlightenment ideas, but she was always shrewd enough to realize that her success depended on the support of the palace guard and the gentry class from which it stemmed.” (18-1c) She supported the establishment of cultural institutions, such as the Hermitage Museum, and encouraged the development of the arts and literature in Russia. Catherine's reign saw a flourishing of cultural activity, with many artists and intellectuals seeking refuge in Russia during the Enlightenment period.

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