She restored what her husband had destroyed before westernizing the Russian ways. Catherine became an enlightened despot, which was when “absolute monarchs pursued legal, social, and educational reforms inspired by the Enlightenment”. Enlightened despots typically institute administrative reform, religious toleration, and economic development but did not propose reforms that would undermine their sovereignty or disrupt the social order. Catherine continued Peter the Great’s reforms that he applied to the Russian state as well as further increasing central control over the provinces. Catherine’s goal was to rationalise and reform the administrations of the Russian Empire. During one of the most prosperous periods or Russia, Catherine undertook