18th century Russia was remarkably different than western Europe. Russia was still quite like the medieval times. There was little to no advancements or modernized ideas when Catherine the Great came into power. But, that was quickly changed. Using the ideas of the enlightenment, Catherine the Great transformed Russia for the better. Despite some negative impacts, Catherine the Great played a crucial role in the modernization and expansion of Russia. April twenty-first, 1729, Sophia Augusta, otherwise known as Catherine the Great was born in Szczecin, Poland. She was born to Christian August and Johanna Elizabeth. Her high class life resulted in her goal to gain the crown. Catherine the Great lived a very privileged and high class life. She had private tutors and grew to love art, music, literature, history, and especially politics. Her love for politics led her to discover her background and relation to various royal families. This discovery made her want the crown from a young age. “This idea of crown began running in my head like a tune, and has been running a lot in it ever since” (Britannica Academic).
Catherine's love for politics had an immense
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But. her rule did cause a lot of suffering among the lower class. Higher class Russians had slaves or “serfs”. Catherine the great wanted to end the serfdom of russian people. So, she imposed serfdom on the people of the conquered Ukraine. This led to many previously free Ukrainians becoming serfs. Her hope was that higher class slave owners would free the Russian serfs and instead enslave the Ukrainian serfs. This attempt failed and ultimately caused 95% of her conquered population to become serfs. Rather than end serfdom, she systemized and strengthened the serfdom setup and actually worsened the conditions of the serfs. While Catherine the Great's rule did cause a lot of hardships, her positive impact greatly outweighs the