Are the concepts of patriotism and citizenship the same? Patriotism and citizenship as a social and pedagogical phenomenon. The difference between citizenship and patriotism

Catherine II Alekseevna the Great (nee Sophie Auguste Frederick of Anhalt-Zerbst, German Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, in Orthodoxy Ekaterina Alekseevna; April 21 (May 2), 1729, Stettin, Prussia - November 6 (17), 1796, Winter Palace, Petersburg) - Empress of All Russia from 1762 to 1796.

The daughter of Prince Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine came to power in a palace coup that dethroned her unpopular husband, Peter III.

The Catherine era was marked by the maximum enslavement of the peasants and the comprehensive expansion of the privileges of the nobility.

Under Catherine the Great, the borders of the Russian Empire were significantly moved to the west (sections of the Commonwealth) and to the south (annexation of Novorossia).

The system of state administration under Catherine II was reformed for the first time since.

In cultural terms, Russia finally became one of the great European powers, which was greatly facilitated by the empress herself, who was fond of literary activity, collected masterpieces of painting and was in correspondence with the French enlighteners.

In general, Catherine's policy and her reforms fit into the mainstream of enlightened absolutism of the 18th century.

Catherine II the Great (documentary)

Sophia Frederick Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was born on April 21 (May 2, according to a new style) in 1729 in the then German city of Stettin, the capital of Pomerania (Pomerania). Now the city is called Szczecin, among other territories, it was voluntarily transferred by the Soviet Union, following the results of World War II, to Poland and is the capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland.

Father, Christian August Anhalt-Zerbst, came from the Zerbst-Dorneburg line of the House of Anhalt and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, where the future empress was born, ran for the Dukes of Courland, but unsuccessfully , finished his service as a Prussian field marshal. Mother - Johanna Elizabeth, from the Gottorp ruling house, was the cousin of the future Peter III. The family tree of Johann Elisabeth goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and the founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.

Maternal uncle Adolf-Friedrich was in 1743 elected heir to the Swedish throne, which he entered in 1751 under the name of Adolf-Fredrik. Another uncle, Karl Eytinsky, according to the plan of Catherine I, was to become the husband of her daughter Elizabeth, but died on the eve of the wedding celebrations.

Catherine was educated at home in the family of the Duke of Zerbst. She studied English, French and Italian, dances, music, the basics of history, geography, theology. She grew up a frisky, inquisitive, playful girl, she loved to flaunt her courage in front of the boys, with whom she easily played on the Stettin streets. Parents were unhappy with the "boyish" behavior of their daughter, but they were happy that Frederica took care of her younger sister Augusta. Her mother called her as a child Fike or Fikhen (German Figchen - comes from the name Frederica, that is, "little Frederica").

In 1743, the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, while choosing a bride for her heir Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Russian Emperor, remembered that on her deathbed her mother bequeathed her to become the wife of the Holstein prince, brother of Johann Elizabeth. Perhaps it was this circumstance that tipped the scales in Frederica's favor; earlier, Elizabeth had vigorously supported her uncle's election to the Swedish throne and had exchanged portraits with her mother. In 1744, the Zerbst princess, together with her mother, was invited to Russia to marry Peter Fedorovich, who was her second cousin. For the first time she saw her future husband in Eitinsky Castle in 1739.

Immediately after her arrival in Russia, she began to study the Russian language, history, Orthodoxy, Russian traditions, as she sought to get to know Russia as fully as possible, which she perceived as a new homeland. Among her teachers are the famous preacher Simon Todorsky (Orthodoxy teacher), the author of the first Russian grammar Vasily Adadurov (Russian language teacher) and choreographer Lange (dance teacher).

In an effort to learn Russian as quickly as possible, the future empress studied at night, sitting at an open window in the frosty air. She soon fell ill with pneumonia, and her condition was so severe that her mother offered to bring a Lutheran pastor. Sophia, however, refused and sent for Simon Todorsky. This circumstance added to her popularity at the Russian court. June 28 (July 9), 1744 Sophia Frederick Augusta converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy and received the name Catherine Alekseevna (the same name and patronymic as Elizabeth's mother, Catherine I), and the next day she was betrothed to the future emperor.

The appearance of Sophia with her mother in St. Petersburg was accompanied by political intrigue, in which her mother, Princess Zerbstskaya, was involved. She was a fan of King Frederick II of Prussia, and the latter decided to use her stay at the Russian imperial court to establish his influence on Russian foreign policy. To do this, it was planned, through intrigue and influence on Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, to remove Chancellor Bestuzhev, who pursued an anti-Prussian policy, from the affairs and replace him with another nobleman who sympathized with Prussia. However, Bestuzhev managed to intercept the letters of Princess Zerbst Frederick II and present them to Elizabeth Petrovna. After the latter found out about the “ugly role of a Prussian spy” played by her mother Sophia at her court, she immediately changed her attitude towards her and disgraced her. However, this did not affect the position of Sophia herself, who did not take part in this intrigue.

On August 21, 1745, at the age of sixteen, Catherine was married to Peter Fedorovich, who was 17 years old and who was her second cousin. For the first years of their life together, Peter was not at all interested in his wife, and there was no marital relationship between them.

Finally, after two failed pregnancies, On September 20, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, Pavel. The birth was difficult, the baby was immediately taken away from her mother at the behest of the reigning Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and Catherine was deprived of the opportunity to raise, allowing only occasionally to see Paul. So the Grand Duchess saw her son for the first time only 40 days after the birth. A number of sources claim that the true father of Paul was Catherine's lover S. V. Saltykov (there is no direct statement about this in the "Notes" of Catherine II, but they are often interpreted this way). Others - that such rumors are unfounded, and that Peter underwent an operation that eliminated a defect that made conception impossible. The issue of paternity aroused public interest as well.

After the birth of Pavel, relations with Peter and Elizaveta Petrovna finally deteriorated. Peter called his wife “reserve madam” and openly made mistresses, however, without preventing Catherine from doing this, who during this period, thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Sir Charles Henbury Williams, had a connection with Stanislav Poniatowski, the future king of Poland. On December 9, 1757, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, which caused great displeasure of Peter, who said at the news of a new pregnancy: “God knows why my wife became pregnant again! I am not at all sure whether this child is from me and whether I should take it personally.

The English ambassador Williams during this period was a close friend and confidant of Catherine. He repeatedly provided her with significant amounts in the form of loans or subsidies: in 1750 alone, 50,000 rubles were transferred to her, for which there are two of her receipts; and in November 1756, 44,000 rubles were transferred to her. In return, he received various confidential information from her - orally and through letters that she quite regularly wrote to him, as if on behalf of a man (for conspiracy purposes). In particular, at the end of 1756, after the start of the Seven Years' War with Prussia (of which England was an ally), Williams, as follows from his own dispatches, received from Catherine important information about the state of the warring Russian army and about the plan of the Russian offensive, which was his transferred to London, as well as to Berlin, the Prussian king Frederick II. After Williams left, she also received money from his successor, Keith. Historians explain Catherine's frequent appeal for money to the British by her extravagance, due to which her expenses far exceeded the amounts that were allocated for her maintenance from the treasury. In one of her letters to Williams, she promised, in gratitude, “to bring Russia to a friendly alliance with England, to render her everywhere the assistance and preference necessary for the good of all Europe and especially Russia, before their common enemy, France, whose greatness is a shame for Russia. I will learn to practice these feelings, base my fame on them and prove to the king, your sovereign, the strength of these my feelings..

Starting from 1756, and especially during the illness of Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine hatched a plan to remove the future emperor (her husband) from the throne by means of a conspiracy, about which she repeatedly wrote to Williams. To this end, Catherine, according to the historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, “begged for a loan of 10 thousand pounds sterling for gifts and bribes from the English king, pledging to act in good faith in the common Anglo-Russian interests, began to think about bringing the guard to the case in case of death Elizabeth, entered into a secret agreement on this with Hetman K. Razumovsky, the commander of one of the guards regiments. Chancellor Bestuzhev was also privy to this plan of a palace coup, who promised Catherine assistance.

At the beginning of 1758, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna suspected Apraksin, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, with whom Catherine was on friendly terms, as well as Chancellor Bestuzhev himself, of treason. Both were arrested, interrogated and punished; however, Bestuzhev managed to destroy all his correspondence with Catherine before his arrest, which saved her from persecution and disgrace. At the same time, Williams was recalled to England. Thus, her former favorites were removed, but a circle of new ones began to form: Grigory Orlov and Dashkova.

The death of Elizabeth Petrovna (December 25, 1761) and the accession to the throne of Peter Fedorovich under the name of Peter III alienated the spouses even more. Peter III began to openly live with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, this could no longer be explained by accidental conception from her husband, since communication between the spouses had completely ceased by that time. Ekaterina hid her pregnancy, and when the time came to give birth, her devoted valet Vasily Grigoryevich Shkurin set fire to his house. A lover of such spectacles, Peter with the court left the palace to look at the fire; at this time, Catherine gave birth safely. This is how Alexei Bobrinsky was born, to whom his brother Paul I subsequently awarded the title of count.

Having ascended the throne, Peter III carried out a number of actions that caused a negative attitude of the officer corps towards him. So, he concluded an unfavorable treaty for Russia with Prussia, while Russia won a number of victories over it during the Seven Years' War, and returned the lands occupied by the Russians to it. At the same time, he intended, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (an ally of Russia), in order to return Schleswig taken from Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard. Peter announced the sequestration of the property of the Russian Church, the abolition of monastic land ownership and shared with others plans for the reform of church rites. Supporters of the coup accused Peter III of ignorance, dementia, dislike of Russia, complete inability to rule. Against his background, Catherine looked favorably - a smart, well-read, pious and benevolent wife, who was persecuted by her husband.

After relations with her husband finally deteriorated and dissatisfaction with the emperor on the part of the guard intensified, Catherine decided to participate in the coup. Her comrades-in-arms, the main of which were the Orlov brothers, sergeant major Potemkin and adjutant Fyodor Khitrovo, engaged in agitation in the guards units and won them over to their side. The immediate cause of the start of the coup was the rumors about the arrest of Catherine and the disclosure and arrest of one of the participants in the conspiracy - Lieutenant Passek.

To all appearances, foreign participation has not been avoided here either. As A. Troyat and K. Valishevsky write, when planning the overthrow of Peter III, Catherine turned to the French and the British for money, hinting to them what she was going to implement. The French were distrustful of her request to borrow 60 thousand rubles, not believing in the seriousness of her plan, but she received 100 thousand rubles from the British, which subsequently may have influenced her attitude towards England and France.

In the early morning of June 28 (July 9), 1762, while Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine, accompanied by Alexei and Grigory Orlov, arrived from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where the guards swore allegiance to her. Peter III, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, abdicated the next day, was taken into custody and died under unclear circumstances. In her letter, Catherine once pointed out that before his death, Peter suffered from hemorrhoidal colic. After her death (although the facts indicate that even before her death - see below), Catherine ordered an autopsy to dispel suspicions of poisoning. An autopsy showed (according to Catherine) that the stomach is absolutely clean, which excludes the presence of poison.

At the same time, as the historian N. I. Pavlenko writes, “The violent death of the emperor is irrefutably confirmed by absolutely reliable sources” - Orlov’s letters to Catherine and a number of other facts. There are also facts indicating that she knew about the impending assassination of Peter III. So, already on July 4, 2 days before the death of the emperor in the palace in Ropsha, Catherine sent the doctor Paulsen to him, and as Pavlenko writes, “It is indicative that Paulsen was sent to Ropsha not with medicines, but with surgical instruments for opening the body”.

After the abdication of her husband, Ekaterina Alekseevna ascended the throne as the reigning empress with the name of Catherine II, issuing a manifesto in which the basis for the removal of Peter was an attempt to change the state religion and peace with Prussia. To justify her own rights to the throne (and not the heir to Paul), Catherine referred to "the desire of all Our loyal subjects is clear and not hypocritical." On September 22 (October 3), 1762, she was crowned in Moscow. As V. O. Klyuchevsky described her accession, “Catherine made a double capture: she took away power from her husband and did not transfer it to her son, the natural heir of her father”.

The policy of Catherine II was characterized mainly by the preservation and development of the trends laid down by her predecessors. In the middle of the reign, an administrative (provincial) reform was carried out, which determined the territorial structure of the country until 1917, as well as a judicial reform. The territory of the Russian state increased significantly due to the annexation of the fertile southern lands - the Crimea, the Black Sea region, as well as the eastern part of the Commonwealth, etc. The population increased from 23.2 million (in 1763) to 37.4 million (in 1796), In terms of population, Russia became the largest European country (it accounted for 20% of the population of Europe). Catherine II formed 29 new provinces and built about 144 cities.

Klyuchevsky about the reign of Catherine the Great: "The army from 162 thousand people was strengthened to 312 thousand, the fleet, which in 1757 consisted of 21 battleships and 6 frigates, in 1790 included 67 battleships and 40 frigates and 300 rowing ships, the amount of state revenue from 16 million rubles rose to 69 million, that is, more than quadrupled, the success of foreign trade: the Baltic - in increasing import and export, from 9 million to 44 million rubles, the Black Sea, Catherine and created - from 390 thousand to 1776 to 1 million 900 thousand rubles in 1796, the growth of domestic turnover was indicated by the issue of a coin in 34 years of the reign for 148 million rubles, while in the 62 previous years it was issued only for 97 million."

Population growth was largely the result of the accession to Russia of foreign states and territories (where almost 7 million people lived), which often took place against the wishes of the local population, which led to the emergence of "Polish", "Ukrainian", "Jewish" and other national issues inherited by the Russian Empire from the era of Catherine II. Hundreds of villages under Catherine received the status of a city, but in fact they remained villages in appearance and occupation of the population, the same applies to a number of cities founded by her (some even existed only on paper, as evidenced by contemporaries). In addition to issuing coins, 156 million rubles worth of paper banknotes were issued, which led to inflation and a significant depreciation of the ruble; therefore, the real growth of budget revenues and other economic indicators during her reign was much less than the nominal one.

The Russian economy continued to be agrarian. The share of the urban population has practically not increased, amounting to about 4%. At the same time, a number of cities were founded (Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, etc.), iron smelting increased by more than 2 times (in which Russia took 1st place in the world), and the number of sailing and linen manufactories increased. In total, by the end of the XVIII century. there were 1200 large enterprises in the country (in 1767 there were 663 of them). Exports of Russian goods to other European countries have increased significantly, including through established Black Sea ports. However, in the structure of this export there were no finished products at all, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and foreign industrial products dominated in imports. While in the West in the second half of the XVIII century. the Industrial Revolution took place, Russian industry remained "patriarchal" and serfdom, which led to its lagging behind the Western one. Finally, in the 1770-1780s. an acute social and economic crisis broke out, the result of which was a financial crisis.

Catherine's commitment to the ideas of the Enlightenment largely predetermined the fact that the term "enlightened absolutism" is often used to characterize the domestic policy of Catherine's time. She really brought some of the ideas of the Enlightenment to life.

So, according to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher, the vast Russian expanses and the severity of the climate determine the regularity and necessity of autocracy in Russia. Based on this, under Catherine, the autocracy was strengthened, the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the country was centralized and the system of government was unified. However, the ideas expressed by Diderot and Voltaire, of which she was an adherent in words, did not correspond to her domestic policy. They defended the idea that every person is born free, and advocated the equality of all people and the elimination of medieval forms of exploitation and despotic forms of government. Contrary to these ideas, under Catherine there was a further deterioration in the position of serfs, their exploitation intensified, inequality grew due to the granting of even greater privileges to the nobility.

In general, historians characterize her policy as “pro-noble” and believe that, contrary to the empress’s frequent statements about her “vigilant concern for the welfare of all subjects,” the concept of the common good in the era of Catherine was the same fiction as in Russia as a whole in the 18th century.

Under Catherine, the territory of the empire was divided into provinces, many of which remained practically unchanged until the October Revolution. The territory of Estonia and Livonia as a result of the regional reform in 1782-1783. was divided into two provinces - Riga and Revel - with institutions that already existed in other provinces of Russia. The special Baltic order was also eliminated, which provided for more extensive rights than the Russian landowners had for local nobles to work and the personality of a peasant. Siberia was divided into three provinces: Tobolsk, Kolyvan and Irkutsk.

Speaking about the reasons for the provincial reform under Catherine, N. I. Pavlenko writes that it was a response to the Peasant War of 1773-1775. under the leadership of Pugachev, which revealed the weakness of local authorities and their inability to cope with peasant riots. The reform was preceded by a series of memos submitted to the government from the nobility, which recommended that the network of institutions and "police guards" be increased in the country.

Carrying out the provincial reform in the Left-bank Ukraine in 1783-1785. led to a change in the regimental structure (former regiments and hundreds) to a common administrative division for the Russian Empire into provinces and districts, the final establishment of serfdom and the equalization of the rights of the Cossack officers with the Russian nobility. With the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji Treaty (1774), Russia received access to the Black Sea and Crimea.

Thus, there was no need to preserve the special rights and management system of the Zaporizhian Cossacks. At the same time, their traditional way of life often led to conflicts with the authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers, as well as in connection with the support of the Cossacks of the Pugachev uprising, Catherine II ordered to disband the Zaporozhian Sich, which was carried out on the orders of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks by General Peter Tekeli in June 1775.

The Sich was disbanded, most of the Cossacks were disbanded, and the fortress itself was destroyed. In 1787, Catherine II, together with Potemkin, visited the Crimea, where she was met by the Amazon company created for her arrival; in the same year, the Army of the Faithful Cossacks was created, which later became the Black Sea Cossack Host, and in 1792 they were granted the Kuban for perpetual use, where the Cossacks moved, having founded the city of Yekaterinodar.

The reforms on the Don created a military civil government modeled on the provincial administrations of central Russia. In 1771, the Kalmyk Khanate was finally annexed to Russia.

The reign of Catherine II was characterized by the extensive development of the economy and trade, while maintaining the "patriarchal" industry and agriculture. By decree of 1775, factories and industrial plants were recognized as property, the disposal of which does not require special permission from the authorities. In 1763, the free exchange of copper money for silver was banned so as not to provoke the development of inflation. The development and revival of trade was facilitated by the emergence of new credit institutions (the state bank and the loan office) and the expansion of banking operations (since 1770, deposits were accepted for storage). A state bank was established and for the first time the issue of paper money - banknotes - was launched.

State regulation of salt prices introduced, which was one of the vital goods in the country. The Senate legislated the price of salt at 30 kopecks per pood (instead of 50 kopecks) and 10 kopecks per pood in the regions of mass salting of fish. Without introducing a state monopoly on the salt trade, Catherine counted on increased competition and, ultimately, improving the quality of the goods. However, soon the price of salt was raised again. At the beginning of the reign, some monopolies were abolished: the state monopoly on trade with China, the merchant Shemyakin's private monopoly on the import of silk, and others.

The role of Russia in the world economy has increased- Russian sailing fabric began to be exported to England in large quantities, exports of cast iron and iron to other European countries increased (the consumption of cast iron in the domestic Russian market also increased significantly). But the export of raw materials grew especially strongly: timber (by a factor of 5), hemp, bristles, etc., as well as bread. The volume of exports of the country increased from 13.9 million rubles. in 1760 to 39.6 million rubles. in 1790

Russian merchant ships began to sail in the Mediterranean. However, their number was insignificant in comparison with foreign ones - only 7% of the total number of ships serving Russian foreign trade in the late 18th - early 19th centuries; the number of foreign merchant ships entering Russian ports annually increased from 1340 to 2430 during the period of her reign.

As the economic historian N. A. Rozhkov pointed out, in the structure of exports in the era of Catherine there were no finished products at all, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and 80-90% of imports were foreign industrial products, the import volume of which was several times higher than domestic production. Thus, the volume of domestic manufactory production in 1773 was 2.9 million rubles, the same as in 1765, and the volume of imports in these years was about 10 million rubles.

Industry developed poorly, there were practically no technical improvements, and serf labor dominated. So, from year to year, cloth manufactories could not even satisfy the needs of the army, despite the ban on selling cloth "to the side", in addition, the cloth was of poor quality, and it had to be purchased abroad. Catherine herself did not understand the significance of the Industrial Revolution taking place in the West and argued that machines (or, as she called them, “colosses”) were harmful to the state, since they reduced the number of workers. Only two export industries developed rapidly - the production of cast iron and linen, but both - on the basis of "patriarchal" methods, without the use of new technologies that were actively introduced at that time in the West - which predetermined a severe crisis in both industries that began shortly after the death of Catherine II .

In the field of foreign trade, Catherine's policy consisted in a gradual transition from protectionism, characteristic of Elizabeth Petrovna, to the complete liberalization of exports and imports, which, according to a number of economic historians, was the result of the influence of the ideas of the Physiocrats. Already in the first years of the reign, a number of foreign trade monopolies and a ban on grain exports were abolished, which from that time began to grow rapidly. In 1765, the Free Economic Society was founded, which promoted the ideas of free trade and published its own magazine. In 1766, a new customs tariff was introduced, which significantly reduced tariff barriers compared to the protectionist tariff of 1757 (which established protective duties in the amount of 60 to 100% or more); they were even more reduced in the customs tariff of 1782. Thus, in the "moderately protectionist" tariff of 1766, protective duties averaged 30%, and in the liberal tariff of 1782 - 10%, only for some goods rising to 20%. thirty%.

Agriculture, like industry, developed mainly through extensive methods (increase in the amount of arable land); the promotion of intensive methods of agriculture by the Free Economic Society created under Catherine had no great result.

From the first years of the reign of Catherine, famine began to periodically arise in the village, which some contemporaries explained by chronic crop failures, but the historian M.N. Pokrovsky associated with the beginning of the mass export of grain, which had previously been banned under Elizabeth Petrovna, and by the end of Catherine's reign amounted to 1.3 million rubles. in year. Cases of mass ruin of peasants became more frequent. The famines acquired a special scope in the 1780s, when they covered large regions of the country. Bread prices have risen sharply: for example, in the center of Russia (Moscow, Smolensk, Kaluga) they have increased from 86 kop. in 1760 to 2.19 rubles. in 1773 and up to 7 rubles. in 1788, that is, more than 8 times.

Paper money introduced into circulation in 1769 - banknotes- in the first decade of their existence, they accounted for only a few percent of the metal (silver and copper) money supply, and played a positive role, allowing the state to reduce its costs of moving money within the empire. However, due to the lack of money in the treasury, which became a constant phenomenon, from the beginning of the 1780s, there was an increasing issue of banknotes, the volume of which by 1796 reached 156 million rubles, and their value depreciated 1.5 times. In addition, the state borrowed money from abroad in the amount of 33 million rubles. and had various unpaid internal obligations (bills, salaries, etc.) in the amount of 15.5 million rubles. That. the total amount of government debts amounted to 205 million rubles, the treasury was empty, and budget expenditures significantly exceeded revenues, which Paul I stated upon accession to the throne. All this gave rise to the historian N. D. Chechulin in his economic research to conclude that there was a “severe economic crisis” in the country (in the second half of the reign of Catherine II) and about the “complete collapse of the financial system of Catherine’s reign.”

In 1768, a network of city schools was created, based on the class-lesson system. Schools began to open. Under Catherine, special attention was paid to the development of women's education; in 1764, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens and the Educational Society for Noble Maidens were opened. The Academy of Sciences has become one of the leading scientific bases in Europe. An observatory, a physics office, an anatomical theater, a botanical garden, instrumental workshops, a printing house, a library, and an archive were founded. On October 11, 1783, the Russian Academy was founded.

Compulsory vaccination introduced, and Catherine decided to set a personal example for her subjects: on the night of October 12 (23), 1768, the empress herself was vaccinated against smallpox. Among the first vaccinated were also Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. Under Catherine II, the fight against epidemics in Russia began to take on the character of state events that were directly within the responsibilities of the Imperial Council, the Senate. By decree of Catherine, outposts were created, located not only on the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The "Charter of border and port quarantines" was created.

New areas of medicine for Russia developed: hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters were opened. A number of fundamental works on questions of medicine have been published.

To prevent their resettlement in the central regions of Russia and attachment to their communities for the convenience of collecting state taxes, Catherine II established the Pale of Settlement in 1791 outside of which Jews had no right to reside. The Pale of Settlement was established in the same place where the Jews lived before - on the lands annexed as a result of the three partitions of Poland, as well as in the steppe regions near the Black Sea and sparsely populated areas east of the Dnieper. The conversion of Jews to Orthodoxy removed all restrictions on residence. It is noted that the Pale of Settlement contributed to the preservation of Jewish national identity, the formation of a special Jewish identity within the Russian Empire.

In 1762-1764 Catherine published two manifestos. The first - "On allowing all foreigners entering Russia to settle in which provinces they wish and on the rights granted to them" called on foreign citizens to move to Russia, the second determined the list of benefits and privileges for immigrants. Soon the first German settlements arose in the Volga region, allotted for immigrants. The influx of German colonists was so great that already in 1766 it was necessary to temporarily suspend the reception of new settlers until the settlement of those who had already entered. The creation of colonies on the Volga was on the rise: in 1765 - 12 colonies, in 1766 - 21, in 1767 - 67. According to the census of colonists in 1769, 6.5 thousand families lived in 105 colonies on the Volga, which amounted to 23.2 thousand people. In the future, the German community will play a prominent role in the life of Russia.

During the reign of Catherine, the country included the Northern Black Sea region, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, Crimea, Novorossia, the lands between the Dniester and the Bug, Belarus, Courland and Lithuania. The total number of new subjects thus acquired by Russia reached 7 million. As a result, as V. O. Klyuchevsky wrote, in the Russian Empire “the discord of interests” between different peoples increased. This was expressed, in particular, in the fact that for almost every nationality the government was forced to introduce a special economic, tax and administrative regime. Thus, the German colonists were completely exempted from paying taxes to the state and from other duties; for the Jews, the Pale of Settlement was introduced; from the Ukrainian and Belarusian population in the territory of the former Commonwealth, the poll tax at first was not levied at all, and then was levied at half the rate. In these conditions, the indigenous population turned out to be the most discriminated against, which led to such an incident: some Russian nobles in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. as a reward for their service, they were asked to “record as Germans” so that they could enjoy the corresponding privileges.

On April 21, 1785, two charters were issued: "Charter on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble nobility" And "Charter to cities". The empress called them the crown of her activity, and historians consider them the crown of the "pro-noble policy" of the kings of the 18th century. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, “In the history of Russia, the nobility has never been blessed with such a variety of privileges as under Catherine II.”

Both charters finally secured for the upper classes those rights, duties and privileges that had already been granted by Catherine's predecessors during the 18th century, and provided a number of new ones. So, the nobility as an estate was formed by decrees of Peter I and at the same time received a number of privileges, including exemption from the poll tax and the right to unlimitedly dispose of estates; and by decree of Peter III, it was finally released from compulsory service to the state.

The charter to the nobility contained the following guarantees:

Pre-existing rights confirmed
- the nobility was exempted from quartering military units and teams, from corporal punishment
- the nobility received ownership of the bowels of the earth
- the right to have their own estate institutions, the name of the 1st estate changed: not "nobility", but "noble nobility"
- it was forbidden to confiscate the estates of nobles for criminal offenses; estates were to be passed on to legitimate heirs
- the nobles have the exclusive right to own land, but the "Charter" does not say a word about the monopoly right to have serfs
- Ukrainian foremen were equalized in rights with Russian nobles. a nobleman who did not have an officer rank was deprived of the right to vote
- only nobles whose income from estates exceeds 100 rubles could hold elected positions.

Despite the privileges, in the era of Catherine II, property inequality among the nobles greatly increased: against the background of individual large fortunes, the economic situation of part of the nobility worsened. As the historian D. Blum points out, a number of large nobles owned tens and hundreds of thousands of serfs, which was not the case in previous reigns (when the owner of more than 500 souls was considered rich); at the same time, almost 2/3 of all landowners in 1777 had less than 30 male serf souls, and 1/3 of the landlords - less than 10 souls; many nobles who wanted to enter the civil service did not have the means to purchase appropriate clothing and footwear. V. O. Klyuchevsky writes that many noble children in her reign, even becoming students of the Maritime Academy and “receiving a small salary (stipends), 1 rub. per month, “from barefoot” they could not even attend the academy and were forced, according to a report, not to think about the sciences, but about their own food, on the side to acquire funds for their maintenance.

During the reign of Catherine II, a number of laws were adopted that worsened the situation of the peasants:

The decree of 1763 laid the maintenance of the military teams sent to suppress peasant uprisings on the peasants themselves.
By decree of 1765, for open disobedience, the landowner could send the peasant not only into exile, but also to hard labor, and the period of hard labor was set by him; the landlords also had the right to return the exiled from hard labor at any time.
The decree of 1767 forbade peasants to complain about their master; the disobedient were threatened with exile to Nerchinsk (but they could go to court).
In 1783, serfdom was introduced in Little Russia (the Left-bank Ukraine and the Russian Chernozem region).
In 1796, serfdom was introduced in Novorossiya (Don, North Caucasus).
After the partitions of the Commonwealth, the serfdom regime was tightened in the territories that had ceded to the Russian Empire (Right-Bank Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland).

According to N. I. Pavlenko, under Catherine "serfdom developed in depth and breadth", which was "an example of a glaring contradiction between the ideas of the Enlightenment and government measures to strengthen the serfdom regime."

During her reign, Catherine gave away more than 800 thousand peasants to landlords and nobles, thus setting a kind of record. For the most part, these were not state peasants, but peasants from the lands acquired during the partitions of Poland, as well as palace peasants. But, for example, the number of assigned (possession) peasants from 1762 to 1796. increased from 210 to 312 thousand people, and these were formally free (state) peasants, but turned into serfs or slaves. Possession peasants of the Ural factories took an active part in Peasant War 1773-1775

At the same time, the position of the monastery peasants was alleviated, who were transferred to the jurisdiction of the College of Economy along with the lands. All their duties were replaced by a cash quitrent, which gave the peasants more independence and developed their economic initiative. As a result, the unrest of the monastery peasants stopped.

The fact that a woman who had no formal rights to this was proclaimed empress gave rise to many contenders for the throne, which overshadowed a significant part of the reign of Catherine II. Yes, only from 1764 to 1773 Seven False Peter III appeared in the country(who claimed that they are nothing more than the "resurrected" Peter III) - A. Aslanbekov, I. Evdokimov, G. Kremnev, P. Chernyshov, G. Ryabov, F. Bogomolov, N. Krestov; the eighth was Emelyan Pugachev. And in 1774-1775. to this list was added the “case of Princess Tarakanova”, who pretended to be the daughter of Elizabeth Petrovna.

During 1762-1764. 3 conspiracies aimed at overthrowing Catherine were uncovered, and two of them were associated with the name of Ivan Antonovich - the former Russian Emperor Ivan VI, who at the time of accession to the throne of Catherine II continued to remain alive in custody in the Shlisselburg fortress. The first of them involved 70 officers. The second took place in 1764, when Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg Fortress, won a part of the garrison over to his side in order to free Ivan. The guards, however, in accordance with the instructions given to them, stabbed the prisoner, and Mirovich himself was arrested and executed.

In 1771, a major plague epidemic occurred in Moscow, complicated by popular unrest in Moscow, called the Plague Riot. The rebels destroyed the Chudov Monastery in the Kremlin. The next day, the crowd took the Donskoy Monastery by storm, killed Archbishop Ambrose, who was hiding in it, and began to smash the quarantine outposts and the houses of the nobility. Troops under the command of G. G. Orlov were sent to suppress the uprising. After three days of fighting, the rebellion was crushed.

In 1773-1775 there was a peasant uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev. It covered the lands of the Yaik army, the Orenburg province, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkiria, part of Western Siberia, the Middle and Lower Volga regions. During the uprising, the Bashkirs, Tatars, Kazakhs, Ural factory workers and numerous serfs from all provinces where hostilities unfolded joined the Cossacks. After the suppression of the uprising, some liberal reforms were curtailed and conservatism intensified.

In 1772 took place The first section of the Commonwealth. Austria received all of Galicia with districts, Prussia - West Prussia (Pomorye), Russia - the eastern part of Belarus to Minsk (provinces of Vitebsk and Mogilev) and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. The Polish Sejm was forced to agree to the partition and renounce claims to the lost territories: Poland lost 380,000 km² with a population of 4 million people.

Polish nobles and industrialists contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1791; the conservative part of the population of the Targowice Confederation turned to Russia for help.

In 1793 took place The second section of the Commonwealth, approved by the Grodno Seimas. Prussia received Gdansk, Torun, Poznan (part of the land along the rivers Warta and Vistula), Russia - Central Belarus with Minsk and New Russia (part of the territory of modern Ukraine).

In March 1794, an uprising began under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, whose goals were to restore territorial integrity, sovereignty and the Constitution on May 3, but in the spring of that year it was suppressed by the Russian army under the command of A. V. Suvorov. During the Kosciuszko uprising, the insurgent Poles who seized the Russian embassy in Warsaw discovered documents that had a great public outcry, according to which King Stanislav Poniatowski and a number of members of the Grodno Seim at the time of the approval of the 2nd section of the Commonwealth received money from the Russian government - in In particular, Poniatowski received several thousand ducats.

In 1795 took place The third section of the Commonwealth. Austria received Southern Poland with Luban and Krakow, Prussia - Central Poland with Warsaw, Russia - Lithuania, Courland, Volyn and Western Belarus.

October 13, 1795 - a conference of three powers on the fall of the Polish state, it lost statehood and sovereignty.

An important direction in the foreign policy of Catherine II was also the territories of the Crimea, the Black Sea region and the North Caucasus, which were under Turkish rule.

When the uprising of the Bar Confederation broke out, the Turkish sultan declared war on Russia (Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774), using as a pretext that one of the Russian detachments, pursuing the Poles, entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Russian troops defeated the Confederates and began to win one victory after another in the south. Having achieved success in a number of land and sea battles (the Battle of Kozludzhi, the battle of Ryaba Mogila, the battle of Kagul, the battle of Larga, the battle of Chesme, etc.), Russia forced Turkey to sign the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhi Treaty, as a result of which the Crimean Khanate formally gained independence, but became de facto dependent on Russia. Turkey paid Russia military indemnities in the order of 4.5 million rubles, and also ceded the northern coast of the Black Sea, along with two important ports.

After the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Russia's policy towards the Crimean Khanate was aimed at establishing a pro-Russian ruler in it and joining Russia. Under pressure from Russian diplomacy, Shahin Giray was elected khan. The previous khan - protege of Turkey Devlet IV Giray - at the beginning of 1777 tried to resist, but it was suppressed by A. V. Suvorov, Devlet IV fled to Turkey. At the same time, the landing of Turkish troops in the Crimea was prevented, and thus an attempt to unleash a new war was prevented, after which Turkey recognized Shahin Giray as a khan. In 1782, an uprising broke out against him, which was suppressed by Russian troops brought to the peninsula, and in 1783, by the manifesto of Catherine II, the Crimean Khanate was annexed to Russia.

After the victory, the empress, together with the Austrian emperor Joseph II, made a triumphal trip to the Crimea.

The next war with Turkey took place in 1787-1792 and was an unsuccessful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to regain the lands that had gone to Russia during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, including Crimea. Here, too, the Russians won a number of important victories, both on land - the Kinburn battle, the Battle of Rymnik, the capture of Ochakov, the capture of Izmail, the battle of Focsani, the Turkish campaigns against Bendery and Ackerman, etc., and the sea ones - the battle of Fidonisi (1788), Battle of Kerch (1790), Battle of Cape Tendra (1790) and Battle of Kaliakria (1791). As a result, the Ottoman Empire in 1791 was forced to sign the Iasi Peace Treaty, which secured the Crimea and Ochakov for Russia, and also moved the border between the two empires to the Dniester.

The wars with Turkey were marked by major military victories by Rumyantsev, Orlov-Chesmensky, Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, and the assertion of Russia in the Black Sea. As a result of them, the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, and the Kuban region were ceded to Russia, its political positions in the Caucasus and the Balkans were strengthened, and Russia's authority on the world stage was strengthened.

According to many historians, these conquests are the main achievement of the reign of Catherine II. At the same time, a number of historians (K. Valishevsky, V. O. Klyuchevsky, etc.) and contemporaries (Frederick II, French ministers, etc.) explained the “amazing” victories of Russia over Turkey not so much by the strength of the Russian army and navy, which were still rather weak and poorly organized, as a consequence of the extreme decomposition during this period of the Turkish army and state.

Growth of Catherine II: 157 centimeters.

Personal life of Catherine II:

Unlike her predecessor, Catherine did not conduct extensive palace construction for her own needs. For comfortable travel around the country, she set up a network of small travel palaces along the road from St. Petersburg to Moscow (from Chesmensky to Petrovsky) and only at the end of her life took up the construction of a new country residence in Pella (not preserved). In addition, she was concerned about the lack of a spacious and modern residence in Moscow and its environs. Although she did not visit the old capital often, Catherine for a number of years cherished plans for the restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin, as well as the construction of suburban palaces in Lefortovo, Kolomenskoye and Tsaritsyn. For various reasons, none of these projects was completed.

Catherine was a brunette of medium height. She combined high intelligence, education, statesmanship and commitment to "free love". Catherine is known for her connections with numerous lovers, the number of which (according to the list of the authoritative Ekaterinologist P. I. Bartenev) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergey Saltykov, G. G. Orlov, Lieutenant Vasilchikov of the horse guard, hussar Zorich, Lanskoy, the last was the cornet Platon Zubov, who became a general. With Potemkin, according to some sources, Catherine was secretly married (1775, see Wedding of Catherine II and Potemkin). After 1762, she planned a marriage with Orlov, but on the advice of those close to her, she abandoned this idea.

Catherine's love affairs are marked by a series of scandals. So, Grigory Orlov, being her favorite, at the same time (according to M. M. Shcherbatov) cohabited with all her ladies-in-waiting and even with his 13-year-old cousin. The favorite of Empress Lanskoy used an aphrodisiac to increase "male strength" (contarid) in ever-increasing doses, which, apparently, according to the conclusion of the court physician Weikart, was the cause of his unexpected death at a young age. Her last favorite, Platon Zubov, was a little over 20 years old, while Catherine’s age at that time had already exceeded 60. Historians mention many other scandalous details (“bribe” of 100 thousand rubles paid to Potemkin by the future favorites of the empress, many of who were previously his adjutants, testing their "male strength" by her ladies-in-waiting, etc.).

The bewilderment of contemporaries, including foreign diplomats, the Austrian emperor Joseph II, etc., caused rave reviews and characteristics that Catherine gave to her young favorites, for the most part devoid of any outstanding talents. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, “neither before Catherine nor after her, debauchery did not reach such a large scale and did not manifest itself in such a frankly defiant form.”

It is worth noting that in Europe Catherine's "debauchery" was not such a rare phenomenon against the background of the general licentiousness of the mores of the 18th century. Most kings (with the possible exception of Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Charles XII) had numerous mistresses. However, this does not apply to reigning queens and empresses. Thus, the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa wrote about the "disgust and horror" that such persons as Catherine II instill in her, and this attitude towards the latter was shared by her daughter Marie Antoinette. As K. Valishevsky wrote in this regard, comparing Catherine II with Louis XV, “the difference between the sexes until the end of time, we think, will give a deeply unequal character to the same actions, depending on whether they are committed by a man or a woman ... besides, the mistresses of Louis XV never influenced the fate of France.

There are numerous examples of the exceptional influence (both negative and positive) that Catherine's favorites (Orlov, Potemkin, Platon Zubov, etc.) had on the fate of the country, starting from June 28, 1762, until the death of the Empress, as well as on its domestic, foreign policy and even on military operations. According to N.I. Pavlenko, in order to please the favorite Grigory Potemkin, who envied the glory of Field Marshal Rumyantsev, this outstanding commander and hero of the Russian-Turkish wars was removed by Catherine from command of the army and was forced to retire to his estate. Another, very mediocre commander, Musin-Pushkin, on the contrary, continued to lead the army, despite his blunders in military campaigns (for which the empress herself called him a “real blockhead”) - due to the fact that he was a “favorite on June 28”, one of those who helped Catherine seize the throne.

In addition, the institute of favoritism had a negative effect on the morals of the higher nobility, who sought benefits through flattery to a new favorite, tried to make “his own man” into lovers to the empress, etc. A contemporary M. M. Shcherbatov wrote that Catherine’s favoritism and debauchery II contributed to the decline in the morals of the nobility of that era, and historians agree with this.

Catherine had two sons: Pavel Petrovich (1754) and Alexei Bobrinsky (1762 - son of Grigory Orlov), as well as a daughter, Anna Petrovna (1757-1759, possibly from the future King of Poland, Stanislav Poniatovsky), who died in infancy. Less likely is Catherine's motherhood in relation to Potemkin's pupil named Elizabeth, who was born when the Empress was over 45 years old.

Ekaterina Alekseevna Romanova (Catherine II the Great)
Sophia Augusta Frederica, Princess, Duchess of Anhalt-Zerb.
Years of life: 04/21/1729 - 11/6/1796
Russian Empress (1762 - 1796)

Daughter of Prince Christian-August of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johanna-Elisabeth.

Catherine II - biography

She was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in Shettin. Her father, Prince Christian-August of Anhalt-Zerbsky, served the Prussian king, but his family was considered impoverished. The mother of Sophia Augusta was the sister of King Adolf-Friedrich of Sweden. Other relatives of the mother of the future Empress Catherine ruled Prussia and England. Sophia Augusta, (family nickname - Fike) was the eldest daughter in the family. She was educated at home.

In 1739, the 10-year-old Princess Fike was introduced to her future husband, heir to the Russian throne, Karl Peter Ulrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, who was the nephew of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich Romanov. The heir to the Russian throne made a negative impression on the highest Prussian society, showed himself to be uneducated and narcissistic.

In 1744, Fike secretly arrived in St. Petersburg under the name of Countess Reinbeck at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The bride of the future emperor adopted the Orthodox faith and received the name - Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Marriage of Catherine the Great

On August 21, 1745, the wedding of Ekaterina Alekseevna and Pyotr Fedorovich took place. A brilliant political marriage turned out to be unsuccessful in terms of relationships. He was more formal. Husband Peter was fond of playing the violin, military maneuvers and mistresses. During this time, the couple not only did not get close, but also became completely strangers to each other.
Ekaterina Alekseevna read works on history, jurisprudence, the writings of various enlighteners, she learned the Russian language well, the traditions and customs of her new homeland. Surrounded by enemies, not loved by either her husband or his relatives, Ekaterina Alekseevna in 1754 gave birth to a son (the future Emperor Paul I), constantly fearing that she might be expelled from Russia. "I had good teachers - the misfortune of seclusion," she would write later. Sincere interest and love for Russia did not go unnoticed, and everyone began to respect the spouse of the heir to the throne. Even at the same time, Ekaterina amazed everyone with her diligence, she could personally brew coffee for herself, kindle a fireplace and even do laundry.

Novels of Catherine the Great

Being unhappy in family life, in the early 1750s, Ekaterina Alekseevna starts an affair with a guards officer, Sergei Saltykov.

The behavior of Peter III, still in the status of Grand Duke, does not like his royal aunt, he actively expresses his Prussian sentiments against Russia. The courtiers notice that Elizabeth favors his son Pavel Petrovich and Catherine more.

The second half of the 1750s was marked for Catherine by an affair with the envoy of Poland, Stanislav Poniatowski (who later became King Stanislav August).
In 1758, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Anna, who died before she was even two years old.
In the early 1760s, a dizzying famous affair arose with Prince Orlov, which lasted more than 10 years.

In 1761, Catherine's husband Peter III ascends the Russian throne, and relations between the spouses become hostile. Peter threatens to marry his mistress, and exile Catherine to a monastery. And Ekaterina Alekseevna decided on a coup d'état with the help of the guards, the Orlov brothers, K. Razumovsky and her other supporters on June 28, 1762. She is proclaimed empress and sworn to her. The spouse's attempts to find a compromise fail. As a result, he signs the act of abdication from the throne.

Reforms of Catherine the Great

On September 22, 1762, the coronation of Catherine II took place. And in the same year, the Empress gave birth to a son, Alexei, whose father was Grigory Orlov. For obvious reasons, the boy was given the surname Bobrinsky.

The time of her reign was marked by many significant events: in 1762 she supported the idea of ​​I.I. Betsky to create the first Orphanage in Russia. She reorganized the Senate (1763), secularized the lands (1763-64), abolished the hetmanship in Ukraine (1764) and founded the 1st women's educational institution at the Smolny Monastery in the capital. Headed the Legislative Commission 1767-1769. During her time, the Peasants' War of 1773-1775 took place. (the uprising of E.I. Pugachev). Published the Institution for the Administration of the Province in 1775, the Charter to the Nobility in 1785 and the Charter to the Cities in 1785.
Famous historians (M.M. Shcherbatov, I.N. Boltin), writers and poets (G.R. Derzhavin, N.M. Karamzin, D.I. Fonvizin), painters (D.G. Levitsky, F.S. Rokotov), ​​sculptors (F.I. Shubin, E. Falcone). She founded the Academy of Arts, became the founder of the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, initiated the creation of the Academy of Russian Literature, whose president she made her friend E.R. Dashkova.

Under Catherine II Alekseevna as a result of the Russian-Turkish wars of 1768-1774, 1787-1791. Russia finally gained a foothold in the Black Sea, the Northern Black Sea region, the Kuban region, and Crimea were also annexed. In 1783, she took Eastern Georgia under Russian citizenship. Partitions of the Commonwealth were carried out (1772, 1793, 1795).

She corresponded with Voltaire and other figures of the French Enlightenment. She is the author of many fiction, journalistic, dramatic, popular science works, "Notes".

External policy of Catherine 2 was aimed at strengthening the prestige of Russia on the world stage. She achieved her goal, and even Frederick the Great spoke of Russia as a "terrible power" from which in half a century "all of Europe will tremble."

The last years of her life - the Empress lived with care for her grandson Alexander, personally engaged in his upbringing and education, and seriously thought about transferring the throne to him, bypassing her son.

The reign of Catherine II

The era of Catherine II is considered the heyday of favoritism. Separated in the early 1770s. with G.G. Orlov, in subsequent years, Empress Catherine replaced a number of favorites (about 15 favorites, among them the talented princes P.A. Rumyantsev, G.A. Potemkin, A.A. Bezborodko). She did not allow them to participate in solving political issues. Catherine lived with her favorites for several years, but parted for a variety of reasons (due to the death of a favorite, his betrayal or unworthy behavior), but no one was disgraced. All were generously awarded with ranks, titles, money.

There is an assumption that Catherine II secretly married Potemkin, with whom she maintained friendly relations until his death.

“Tartuffe in a skirt and a crown,” nicknamed A.S. Pushkin, Catherine knew how to win over people. She was smart, had a political talent, was well versed in people. Outwardly, the ruler was attractive and majestic. She wrote about herself: “Many say that I work a lot, but it seems to me that I have done little when I look at what remains to be done.” Such a huge dedication to work was not in vain.

The life of the 67-year-old Empress was cut short by a stroke on November 6 (17), 1796 in Tsarskoe Selo. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

In 1778 she composed the following epitaph for herself:

Having ascended the Russian throne, she wished well
And she strongly desired to give her subjects Happiness, Freedom and Prosperity.
She easily forgave and did not deprive anyone of freedom.
She was indulgent, did not complicate her life and had a cheerful disposition.
She had a republican soul and a good heart. She had friends.
Work was easy for her, friendship and the arts brought her joy.

Catherine's spouses:

• Peter III
• Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin (according to some sources)

• Pavel I Petrovich
• Anna Petrovna
• Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky
• Elizaveta Grigoryevna Tyomkina

At the end of the 19th century, the collected works of Catherine II the Great were published in 12 volumes, which included children's moralizing tales written by the empress, pedagogical teachings, dramatic plays, articles, autobiographical notes, and translations.

In the cinema, her image is reflected in the films: “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, 1961; "Royal Hunt", 1990; “Vivat, midshipmen!”, 1991; "Young Catherine" ("Young Catherine"), 1991; "Russian rebellion", 2000; "Golden Age", 2003; "Catherine the Great", 2005. Famous actresses played the role of Catherine (Marlene Dietrich, Julia Ormond, Via Artmane, etc.).

Many artists captured the face of Catherine II. And works of art vividly reflect the character of the empress herself and the era of her reign (A. S. Pushkin "The Captain's Daughter"; B. Shaw "The Great Catherine"; V. N. Ivanov "Empress Fike"; V. S. Pikul "Favorite", "Pen and sword"; Boris Akunin "Extracurricular reading").

In 1873 monument Catherine II Velikaya was opened on Alexandrinskaya Square in St. Petersburg. On September 8, 2006, a monument to Catherine II was opened in Krasnodar, on October 27, 2007, monuments to Catherine II Alekseevna were opened in Odessa and Tiraspol. In Sevastopol - May 15, 2008

The reign of Ekaterina Alekseevna is often considered the "golden age" of the Russian Empire. Thanks to her reforming activities, she is the only Russian ruler who, like Peter I, was awarded the epithet "Great" in the historical memory of her compatriots.

German princess on the Russian throne

From the German town of Stettin and immediately to the Winter Palace - what 15-year-old girl will receive such an honor? To become the wife of the heir to a powerful empire - what else can a princess of a small principality dream of in the 18th century?

Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Tserbskaya (or as her family called her - Fike) on the way to Russia asked herself two important lessons - to master the Russian language, customs and learn to please. Fika succeeded. Outstanding abilities allowed her to occupy the throne of the Russian Empire for 34 years. However, before becoming Catherine the Great, the German princess had a hard time.

Fight for a place
In February 1744, Fike arrived in Moscow, where the imperial court was located at that time. With enviable perseverance, she took up the study of the Russian language. On June 28, 1744, a German woman converted to Orthodoxy. During her address, she clearly pronounced her confession in good Russian, which surprised those present very much. The next day, the princess became engaged to Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich. After that, she received the title of Grand Duchess and a new name - Ekaterina Alekseevna.
The position of Ekaterina Alekseevna was not easy. She ended up in a foreign country, her husband neglected her, Empress Elizabeth humiliated her. For 18 years, the Grand Duchess waged a secret struggle for her place at the Russian court.
Therefore, when the time came, Catherine acted boldly and decisively.
After the death of Elizabeth on December 25, 1761, Peter III reigned on the throne. The new emperor did not behave quite adequately (the admirer of Frederick II first of all stopped Russia's victorious participation in the Seven Years' War, signed an agreement according to which all her lands were returned to Prussia), setting against himself not only the environment.

As a result, Catherine, who led the coup, was readily sworn in not only by the regiments of the guard, but also by the Senate and the Synod.

As the historian Vasily Klyuchevsky noted, she was "the last accident on the Russian throne." Catherine all the time "with a firm, albeit inaudible, step walked along the intended path, sneaking up to the throne." As a result, she illegally seized power twice: she took it from her husband and did not transfer it to her son Pavel.
Being German by origin, she learned the main thing - the Russian Empress should put the interests of Russia in the first place and tried not to deviate from this fundamental rule. Possessing great capacity for work, willpower and determination, the autocrat was able to suppress emotional outbursts in herself under various conditions.
Catherine II began her reign with internal transformations. The Secret Expedition was established - the highest body of political supervision and investigation, the hetmanship in Ukraine was abolished, the monastic lands were alienated and transferred to the state. Catherine II deftly split the close-knit noble Senate, which forever lost its former importance after a decree was signed in September 1763 dividing it into six departments. Subsequently, the empress single-handedly headed the central government apparatus, only in some cases convening the Council at the royal court as an advisory body, composed of major dignitaries of her choice.
Also in Russia, the first banknotes (paper money) were put into circulation, and new credit institutions appeared - the State Bank and the Loan Treasury. In the same year, Catherine II created a medical commission and orders of public charity, which for the first time began to deal with health issues. An associate of Catherine II, Ivan Betskoy, thought out and brought to reality a system of educational institutions, which included boarding houses, pedagogical, art, medical, commercial and theater schools. The following were opened: a school at the Academy of Arts, a commercial school, the Educational Society for Noble Maidens in St. Petersburg and the Catherine's School - the first women's educational institutions. In the future, the empress continued the reform of education: a system of public schools for the diverse population was developed, which were opened in cities, counties and large villages.
After the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 and the suppression of the uprising under the leadership of Pugachev, a new stage of Catherine's reforms began. In 1775, a manifesto was issued that allowed the free establishment of any industrial enterprises. Merchants who owned capital over 500 rubles were exempt from the poll tax and paid a tax of 1% on capital; they could get rid of recruitment duty by giving 360 rubles. The Empress also adopted a preferential customs tariff for the Black Sea ports and abolished industrial and trade monopolies. The development of southern Russia made it possible to trade in grain on the Black Sea; new cities were laid in Russia, a naval base was built in Sevastopol. All these activities contributed to the expansion of exports and the improvement of various industries.
In the same year, the "Institution for the management of the province of the All-Russian Empire" appeared. The new provincial reform introduced changes in local government. Instead of the previous three levels of regional administration - province, province and county - only two remained - province and county. The number of provinces increased from 20 to 50. Catherine II personally elected people known to her who had already proven themselves to the highest administrative positions. The provincial reform significantly strengthened state power in the localities. The established institutions (the provincial government, the upper zemstvo court, the provincial magistrate, the upper zemstvo reprisal, orders of public charity, the guardianship of the nobility, the orphan's court) performed extensive functions.

In 1785, Catherine II issued her most important legislative acts - charters to the nobility and cities.

Thus, the empress stimulated the creation in Russia of full-fledged estates of the Western European type. For the Russian nobility, a charter meant a legal consolidation of almost all the rights and privileges that they had.
A third charter was also prepared - to the state peasants, but it never came into effect. Despite the fact that Catherine was a staunch opponent of serfdom (in her papers, discussions about various options for the elimination of serfdom were preserved), she did not dare to do anything specific in this area because of the fear of a palace coup.

Golden age
In the foreign policy of the state, not a single serious issue also passed by Catherine II. “I want to manage myself. And let Europe know about it!” - she said to her favorite Grigory Potemkin. Catherine had considerable experience in international affairs. She mastered the art of pretense, which in the 18th century was considered the main quality of a diplomat. “They will be very mistaken,” she said of herself, “whoever judges affairs by the initial methods.”

The Empress believed that Russia should take an active position on the world stage and pursue an offensive policy.

In 1764, Catherine II achieved the election of her protege Stanislav Poniatowski to the Polish throne and supported him in every possible way, assisted in the fight against the Bar Confederation (it was convened to counter Russian influence in the Commonwealth and advocated the deposition of Poniatowski). The confederation, in turn, sought support from France and the Ottoman Empire. Taking advantage of the Haidamaks' attack on the border Tatar village of Galta, Porta, at the instigation of France and counting on the assistance of Austria, she declared war on Russia under the pretext of non-compliance with the treaties regarding the Commonwealth.
The Russian-Turkish war was generally successful for Russia, but the difficult domestic political situation prompted the country to seek peace, for which it was necessary to restore relations with Austria. As a result, a compromise was reached, Russia, Prussia and Austria carried out the first division of part of the Polish territory. With Turkey, the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhysky peace was signed, which ensured the independence of the Crimea, which was beneficial for Russia. The Black Sea coast with the fortresses of Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn also passed under the authority of the empire.
In subsequent years, Russian positions in the Crimea and the Caucasus were strengthened, culminating in the inclusion of Crimea into Russia and the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk with the King of Kartli-Kakheti Erekle II in 1783 (the treaty ensured the presence of Russian troops in Georgia).
In 1787, Catherine II, accompanied by the court, foreign diplomats, the Austrian emperor Joseph II and the Polish king Stanislav Poniatowski, made a trip to the Crimea, which became a grandiose demonstration of Russian military power. Soon after this, a new war with Turkey began (1787 - 1791). Russia successfully coped with the enemy. The Treaty of Jassy was signed, which secured Russia's influence in Bessarabia and Transcaucasia, as well as the annexation of Crimea. In 1793 and 1795, the second and third partitions of Poland took place, which ended the Polish statehood.

The territory of the country expanded due to the reclaimed lands, the influence of the empire grew so much that, in the words of Chancellor Alexander Bezborodko, "not a single gun in Europe dared to fire without our permission."

Russia included the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, the North Caucasus, Western Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands. In the east, the development and settlement of Alaska and California by Russians began. The Aleutian Islands went to Russia.
Catherine II - a subtle psychologist and an excellent connoisseur of people - skillfully selected bright and talented associates for herself. Her time was marked by the appearance of a galaxy of prominent statesmen, generals, writers, artists, and musicians. Catherine's reign was perceived as the "golden age" of the Russian nobility. However, the end of the reign of the Empress was not so glorious. Millions of sums were spent on the favorites, the results of numerous wars also affected, the costs of the army and navy doubled. The immoderate issue of banknotes led to the depreciation of the ruble. The country's external debt amounted to 41.4 million rubles. However, the huge territorial gains, the growth of industry, the increase in the number of hospitals and schools as a result of the successful activities of the empress allowed the descendants to name Catherine the Great. The autocrat died after a stroke on November 6, 1796.

Special for the Centenary

The news of the death of Peter III made a strong negative impression on society, the rumor immediately connected this with the name of the empress. There was a rumor among the people that Peter III stood for the interests of ordinary people and therefore he was removed, that the people's protector Peter Fedorovich escaped from the hands of his destroyers and would soon appear.

Mirovich and his supporters managed to capture the fortress, but, having opened the door of the casemate, the lieutenant saw that Ivan Antonovich was dead: the guards carried out the order of the empress. Mirovich was executed. The last legitimate ruler, except for Paul, the 10-year-old son of Catherine II, was eliminated.

Catherine II began to practice the generous distribution of awards, ranks, state lands inhabited by peasants to the nobles. She subordinated all army units to her supporters, canceled the army innovations of Peter III, approved the decree prepared by him on the liquidation of the Secret Chancellery.

As soon as Catherine was convinced that she firmly held power, she tore up the decree on the creation of the Imperial Council that limited her power. Catherine II began to turn into an autocratic, reasonable and enlightened ruler, who understood that it was impossible to govern the country with the old methods.

Catherine II came to power at a time when the Age of Enlightenment was advancing in Europe with her belief in the fertile role of Reason, Science, with criticism of feudal and church foundations, with hope for enlightened monarchs. The concepts of the rule of law and civil society were spreading more and more widely, where human rights to life, private property, freedom of speech and movement were protected by icons and where all citizens were equal before the law. The slogan of the approaching French Revolution "Liberty, equality, fraternity" was already in the air. The devoted part of European society sought to eradicate the rotten features of absolutist regimes, but without revolutionary upheavals. The revolt of the mob was terrible for the tops of society. The meaning of enlightened absolutism for them was that it was the monarch who should bring reforms, remove from the path of progress everything that hindered the development of market relations, the rise of science and technology.

New phenomena in European life did not pass by the Russian court. Catherine II was quite a man of her time. In her opinion, it was she, an educated, broad-minded autocratic ruler, who had to transfer the country to modern civilizational tracks. This meant that new laws should appear in Russia, binding on the entire population, the government of the country should be reasonable and flexible, corruption and embezzlement should be eradicated. Catherine II was the first Russian monarch who raised the issue of limiting serfdom before society, and yet the ideals of parliamentary states were deeply alien to her. This was due to the fact that Russia was only at the beginning of the civilizational bourgeois path. There was a strong nobility here, which drew its power from feudal land ownership, serf labor of peasants, and numerous privileges.

Serfdom was the basis of the entire economy of the country for objective reasons. The state had only one opportunity to receive permanent funds - a regime of serfdom. The feudal monarchs could not and did not want to include their main support - the princes and boyars, the nobility and the clergy - in the taxable estates. They were the flesh of the flesh of these estates.

Therefore, the reign of Catherine II was marked by a deeply contradictory struggle between the ideals of enlightened absolutism and the harsh Russian reality.

Catherine's government continued to attack the rights of the peasants. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, landlord peasants were forbidden to complain to the authorities about their masters. Under the new government, it became possible to exile them to Siberia for this, and later to send them to hard labor. Under Elizabeth, Saltychikha was imprisoned for torturing peasants, but now the sadistic nobles got off only with church repentance. Serfs were forbidden to become monks, they could be sold without land, wholesale and retail. Terrible markets for serf slaves have established themselves in Russia since the time of Catherine II.

Concerned about her position as usurper of the throne, Catherine II tried to create in the West the impression of a humane and enlightened empress. She entered into correspondence with Voltaire, whom she called her teacher, with Diderot and other prominent minds.

Europe, declared itself their follower. In fact, at first, the empress in every way strengthened and expanded the feudal absolutist regime.

Personality of Catherine II

By the mid 1760s. the autocratic power of Catherine II was strengthened, and she took some liberal measures, which were quite in the spirit of enlightened absolutism. Contacts with European enlighteners were on the part of Catherine II not only a tribute to fashion, but also a spiritual need.

She immediately raised the question of the fate of the Russian peasantry. Having established the Free Economic Society in 1765, the empress advised its president G.T. Orlov to announce a competition for the best work