Catherine the Great

Catherine II (born Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after a coup d'etat against her husband, Peter III. Her long reign helped Russia thrive under a golden age during the Enlightenment. This renaissance led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe. After overthrowing and possibly assassinating her husband and her subsequent rule of the Russian Empire, Catherine often relied on noble favourites such as Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the west, she installed her former lover to the throne of Poland, which was eventually partitioned. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was annexed following victories over the Bar Confederation and the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. With the support of Great Britain, Russia colonised the territories of New Russia along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the east, Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. Many cities and towns were founded on Catherine's orders in the newly conquered lands, most notably Yekaterinoslav, Kherson, Nikolayev, and Sevastopol. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European culture. However, military conscription and the economy continued to depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and of private landowners intensified the exploitation of serf labour. This was one of the chief reasons behind rebellions, including Pugachev's Rebellion of Cossacks, nomads, peoples of the Volga, and peasants. The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. The construction of many mansions of the nobility in the classical style endorsed by the empress changed the face of the country. She is often included in the ranks of the enlightened despots. Catherine presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment and established the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe.

Infobox

Reign

9 July 1762 – 17 November 1796 (34 years, 4 months, 8 days)

Coronation

22 September 1762

Predecessor

Catherine I of Russia

Successor

Maria Feodorovna

Tenure

5 January 1762 – 9 July 1762

Born

Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst(1729-05-02)2 May 1729Stettin, Prussia

Died

17 November 1796(1796-11-17) (aged 67)Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Burial

Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

Spouse

mw- 1745; died 1762)

Issueamong others...

mw- Paul I Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna Alexei, Count Bobrinsky (illegitimate)

Names

NamesGerman: Sophia Augusta Frederica/Sophie Auguste FriederikeRussian: Екатерина Алексеевна Романова, romanized: Yekaterina Alekseyevna RomanovaEnglish: Catherine Alexeievna RomanovaRegnal nameCatherine II

House

Ascania (by birth) Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov (by marriage)

Father

Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

Mother

Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp

Religion

Russian Orthodox, previously. Lutheranism

Tables

· Issue

Miscarriage

Name

Miscarriage

Lifespan

20 December 1752

Notes

According to court gossip, this lost pregnancy was attributed to Sergei Saltykov.

Miscarriage

Name

Miscarriage

Lifespan

30 June 1753

Notes

This second lost pregnancy was also attributed to Saltykov; this time she was very ill for 13 days. Catherine later wrote in her memoirs: "...They suspect that part of the afterbirth has not come away ... on the 13th day it came out by itself".

Paul (I) PetrovichEmperor of Russia

Name

Paul (I) PetrovichEmperor of Russia

Lifespan

1 October 1754 – 23 March 1801 (aged 46)

Notes

Born at the Winter Palace, officially he was a son of Peter III but in her memoirs, Catherine implies very strongly that Saltykov was the biological father of the child, though she later retracted this. He married firstly Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1773 and had no issue. He married secondly, in 1776, Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg and had issue, including the future Alexander I of Russia and Nicholas I of Russia. He succeeded as emperor of Russia in 1796 and was murdered at Saint Michael's Castle in 1801.

Anna PetrovnaGrand Duchess of Russia

Name

Anna PetrovnaGrand Duchess of Russia

Lifespan

9 December 1757 – 8 March 1759 (aged 15 months)

Notes

Possibly the offspring of Catherine and Stanislaus Poniatowski, Anna was born at the Winter Palace between 10 and 11 o'clock; she was named by Empress Elizabeth after her deceased sister, against Catherine's wishes. On 17 December 1757, Anna was baptised and received the Great Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine. Elizabeth served as godmother; she held Anna above the baptismal font and brought Catherine, who did not witness any of the celebrations, and Peter a gift of 60,000 rubles. Elizabeth took Anna and raised the baby herself, as she had done with Paul. In her memoirs, Catherine makes no mention of Anna's death on 8 March 1759, though she was inconsolable and entered a state of shock. Anna's funeral took place on 15 March, at Alexander Nevsky Lavra. After the funeral, Catherine never mentioned her dead daughter again.

Aleksey Grigorievich BobrinskyCount Bobrinsky

Name

Aleksey Grigorievich BobrinskyCount Bobrinsky

Lifespan

11 April 1762 – 20 June 1813 (aged 51)

Notes

Born at the Winter Palace, he was brought up at Bobriki; his father was Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov. He married Baroness Anna Dorothea von Ungern-Sternberg and had issue. Created Count Bobrinsky in 1796, he died in 1813.

Elizabeth Grigorieva Temkina (alleged daughter)

Name

Elizabeth Grigorieva Temkina (alleged daughter)

Lifespan

13 July 1775 – 25 May 1854 (aged 78)

Notes

Born many years after the death of Catherine's husband, brought up in the Samoilov household as Grigory Potemkin's daughter, and never acknowledged by Catherine, it has been suggested that Temkina was the illegitimate child of Catherine and Potemkin, but this is now regarded as unlikely.

Name	Lifespan	Notes
Miscarriage	20 December 1752	According to court gossip, this lost pregnancy was attributed to Sergei Saltykov.
Miscarriage	30 June 1753	This second lost pregnancy was also attributed to Saltykov; this time she was very ill for 13 days. Catherine later wrote in her memoirs: "...They suspect that part of the afterbirth has not come away ... on the 13th day it came out by itself".
Paul (I) PetrovichEmperor of Russia	1 October 1754 – 23 March 1801 (aged 46)	Born at the Winter Palace, officially he was a son of Peter III but in her memoirs, Catherine implies very strongly that Saltykov was the biological father of the child, though she later retracted this. He married firstly Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1773 and had no issue. He married secondly, in 1776, Princess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg and had issue, including the future Alexander I of Russia and Nicholas I of Russia. He succeeded as emperor of Russia in 1796 and was murdered at Saint Michael's Castle in 1801.
Anna PetrovnaGrand Duchess of Russia	9 December 1757 – 8 March 1759 (aged 15 months)	Possibly the offspring of Catherine and Stanislaus Poniatowski, Anna was born at the Winter Palace between 10 and 11 o'clock; she was named by Empress Elizabeth after her deceased sister, against Catherine's wishes. On 17 December 1757, Anna was baptised and received the Great Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine. Elizabeth served as godmother; she held Anna above the baptismal font and brought Catherine, who did not witness any of the celebrations, and Peter a gift of 60,000 rubles. Elizabeth took Anna and raised the baby herself, as she had done with Paul. In her memoirs, Catherine makes no mention of Anna's death on 8 March 1759, though she was inconsolable and entered a state of shock. Anna's funeral took place on 15 March, at Alexander Nevsky Lavra. After the funeral, Catherine never mentioned her dead daughter again.
Aleksey Grigorievich BobrinskyCount Bobrinsky	11 April 1762 – 20 June 1813 (aged 51)	Born at the Winter Palace, he was brought up at Bobriki; his father was Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov. He married Baroness Anna Dorothea von Ungern-Sternberg and had issue. Created Count Bobrinsky in 1796, he died in 1813.
Elizabeth Grigorieva Temkina (alleged daughter)	13 July 1775 – 25 May 1854 (aged 78)	Born many years after the death of Catherine's husband, brought up in the Samoilov household as Grigory Potemkin's daughter, and never acknowledged by Catherine, it has been suggested that Temkina was the illegitimate child of Catherine and Potemkin, but this is now regarded as unlikely.

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