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How Did Catherine The Great Change Russia

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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 …show more content…

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

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She knew that she needed to firmly plant her then fragile position and take charge in changing Russia for the better. Catherine began by working towards fixing the country, which was to first and most importantly increase the wealth of the country. She had begun moving Russia toward a more modern society by creating jobs and bringing in new technology from the western world. Catherine had created economic reforms to help Russia with its current financial situation and to bring more wealth to the country. Russia had a large abundance of land and Catherine had made that her primary focus, she encouraged farmers to do more, she also contributed to more machinery to help with the efficiency of farming.

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Cathrine II is the most renowned and longest ruling female monarch of Russia. She began her rule in 1762 when her husband, Emperor Peter III, was overthrown. She ruled until her death in 1796. Cathrine made various new cities and towns, along with reforming the administration of Russia guberniyas, a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire. She also believed in the policies of Westernization, causing her to modernize Russia.

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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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In her reign, many thought that she was not able to rule the country because she was a female, but she proved her abilities at the throne. Although most absolute monarchs are looked on as 'bad rulers', Catherine the Great initiated many improvements that helped Russia. She modernized Russia, and made it a great European power. She also launched ameliorations in agriculture and learning. Not to mention that she was the longest running female ruler in the history of Russia.

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Catherine the Great, originally named Sophia Augusta Fredericka, left an unforgettable and lasting impact on the historical records with her extraordinary rule as one of the most formidable and influential leaders of Russia. A princess of German origin, she became intertwined with the Russian realm through her marriage to Tsar Peter III, whose strict adherence to German traditions caused a split within the Russian aristocracy. This fragmentation set the stage for Catherine's rise to authority, a position further cemented following Peter's removal from power and subsequent passing. Embracing the Russian culture wholeheartedly, Catherine governed with unwavering strength and profound wisdom over the course of an extensive reign spanning thirty-four

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2. What government changes did Catherine make as a result of the Pugachev Rebellion? As a response to the Pugachev Uprising Catherine's decided to reorganize Russia's provincial administration. In 1775, she divided Russia into provinces and districts

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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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It proposed a system providing equal protection under the law for all persons and emphasised prevention of criminal acts rather than harsh punishment for them. In addition, Catherine successfully implemented the first effective local government. She made sure the local government started building local schools and hospitals. This set out to be the longest of Catherine’s reforms as there were no major serf revolts.

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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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What would you ask in an interview with Catherine II the

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The Revolution encouraged other countries to seek their own freedom and helped democracy spread around the world. Slavery was the main factor that didn't alter. Although "all men are created equal," as stated in the Declaration of Independence, slavery persisted for decades after the revolution. Due to their delayed suffrage, women's rights also remained restricted. A tiny number of elites continued to hold the majority of the money and power, and social and economic inequality

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Another instance of Catherine prioritizing support over her own opinions was the issue of serfdom. Catherine, who did not agree with serfdom, still gifted “thousands of serfs to her supporters,” (pg 307). Some would argue that Catherine’s ruling style was not shaped by her hardships, but by observing that of others or enlightenment teachings. However, none of these things could make an impact before Catherine’s childhood; that’s where she started to learn how to handle herself around

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Catherine built new educational buildings for her people. Catherine was interested in education. and built new schools (Grey 204). Catherine the Great wrote many books that spoke of improving Russia’s education system (Maranzani). Near the end of her reign, it was said that “by the end of the eighteenth century Russia had won respect and even fear as a great power …”

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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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Put yourself in a position where you felt unconditional love for a certain individual and you wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of your life with them along with your children together. Imagine yourself in twenty years, rocking on a porch surrounded by a white picket fence, sipping tea out of a mug your child made for you, being surrounded by people you couldn’t live without, and feeling nothing but pure happiness. This is what it means to be a family. In the past, the word “family” had primarily been associated to a heterosexual married couple with a few children and whoever else was related them by blood. While this could be what some people believe to be the true meaning of the word, “family” can also be connected to a group of

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