Catherine the Great

Catherine II, empress of Russia (born 2 May 1729)

A few weeks ago, we noted the birth of the first Catherine to rule Russia as its empress--today we note the birth of the second, the Catherine known as "the Great," who ruled as empress from 9 July 1762 until her death, 17 November 1796.

Catherine about the time of her marriage,
1745, in a portrait by Louis Caravaque

Born Sophia Augusta Fredericka, the daughter of the impoverished German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, the young princess met her future husband, who would become Peter III, when she was just a child--neither the girl nor her future husband was impressed.

Despite their mutual dislike, the match was made; Sophia Augusta Fredericka's mother wanted a marriage between the two, and the Empress Elizabeth of Russia, Peter's aunt, liked the girl, who arrived in Russia in 1744.

Once in Russia, Sophia Augusta Fredericka was determined to do whatever she needed to do in order to become empress of Russia--she devoted herself to the study of Russian, and she converted from Lutheranism to the Eastern Orthodox faith. That's when Sophia Augusta Fredericka became Catherine (or, in Russian, Ekaterina). No matter how little she like her proposed bridegroom, she married him when she was sixteen, on 20 August 1745. Now husband and wife, both took lovers. 

Nevertheless, Catherine gave birth to several children, including a son, Paul, in 1754; three other children, two daughters who did not survive infancy, and a son who did, either were or might have been fathered by various lovers. (There were many pretenders to the Russian throne during and after Catherine's life--the dynastic situation was complicated by, among other things, Catherine's supposed illegitimate children.)

Catherine as "legislator" in 

The Temple of the Goddess of Justice, 1783,

by Dmytry Levytsky

Empress Elizabeth of Russia died on 5 January 1762--by 9 July, Peter III had been removed from the throne in a coup d'etat, his empress consort, Catherine, proclaimed as his successor. Eight days later, on 17 July, Peter was assassinated. Catherine's coronation as empress regnant followed two months later, on 12 September 1762.

Catherine would remain on the throne for more than thirty years--she died at the age of sixty-seven.

Her accomplishments as ruler of Russia were many--for some, her reign represents a "golden age": the country succeeded in territorial expansion to the south and the west; Catherine developed the economy of Russia, particularly in the area of banking; arts and education flourished.

There is a vast literature about Catherine the Great, who is one of the most well-known figures in history, and my own knowledge about her is very limited--but Robert Massie's Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman is very well reviewed and has been highly recommended to me. You might be interested in the BBC In Our Time podcast on Catherine the Great--it's a very good introduction. 

Less well known than her political life is her literary life. Catherine found the time to write a huge number of letters; she wrote plays, both comedy and tragedy; she began (but didn't finish) a reply to a French astronomer's less-than-complimentary book, the Voyage en Sibérie, about his travels in Russia; and she completed a work of political theory, The Instruction of Catherine the Great. But you might want to start with her Memoirs, available in a very affordable Modern Library edition.

Catherine of Russia: Rags to Riches

Catherine I, empress of Russia (born 15 April 1684)

She's not the Catherine who is known as "the Great," but Catherine I of Russia is pretty damn great as well. Born to a peasant father, Marta Skowrońska was taken into the home of an educated Lutheran pastor and scholar after she was orphaned--the pastor might also have adopted her--though he offered her no education and she remained illiterate throughout her storied life.

At age seventeen, she was married off to a Swedish dragoon, left behind eight days later when Russian troops overran the town of Marienburg, and taken to Russia, where she worked as either a laundress or as someone's mistress; eventually, having passed through the hands of a number of Russian military men, she wound up in the household of Prince Alexander Menshikov--who might have been her lover and who might have bought her. 

Catherine of Russia,
a portrait from 1717

Those might-haves aside, through Prince Menshikov the young woman met Peter the Great. Born to a Roman Catholic family and raised by a Lutheran pastor, Marta Helena Skowrońska converted to the Greek Orthodox faith, took the name Catherine Alexeyevna, and married the Russian tsar secretly in 1707. (They were married formally in 1712.)

Catherine proved to be a loving and soothing partner for the volatile Peter, a "successful" wife, providing her husband with twelve children (though all but two died in infancy or childhood). She was also a "successful" tsarina--she didn't meddle in governmental affairs. When Peter elevated himself from tsar to emperor in 1724, Catherine became empress consort of Russia. 

After Peter's death in 1725, various political factions decided that it was in their best interest to have Catherine remain on the imperial throne. She was duly named empress in her own right, becoming the first woman to rule Russia. She died after sixteen months as empress, in 1727, just forty-three years old.

While Catherine's powers may have been limited, she set a precedent for female rule in Russia. In 1730, Anna, Peter the Great's niece, reigned as empress of Russia until her death in 1740. She was succeeded by Ivan IV, but the infant was overthrown less than a year later by Catherine's daughter Elizabeth, who became empress of Russia, ruling until until her death in 1762. Empress Elizabeth was succeeded by Peter III--and after six months, he was replaced by his wife, Catherine II, Catherine the Great, who ruled from 1762 until her death in 1796--we'll meet her again, later this year.

Given her improbably successful life, it's surprising that there is no full-length biography of Catherine I of Russia, though there are, of course, biographies of her husband. There is an intriguing group portrait of three Russian empresses, however, Philip Longworth's 1973 The Three Empresses: Catherine I, Anne, and Elizabeth of Russia; the book is out of print, but used copies are readily available.