If persistent yellow journalism covers and made - for - television miniseries have taught us anything , it ’s that us commoners simply sleep together a imperial malicious gossip . So it ’s no surprisal then that a legendary monarch like Catherine the bang-up , thelongest reigning female leader of Russia , has in many case been come down to tale of sordid affairs and unsavory intimate trysts . But those well verse inRussian historywill tell you that Catherine , who ruled from 1762 to 1796 , was so much more than the gabfest and intrigue that surrounded her during her sovereignty and has shrouded her since her death . Here are seven facts you involve to know about the controversial , magnetic and game - changing Catherine the Great .
1. She Wasn’t Born as a Catherine or as a Russian
wear in 1729 in Prussia ( innovative day Poland ) asSophie von Anhalt - Zerbst , the cleaning woman who would after be known as Catherine the Great was the oldest daughter of a German prince refer Christian August von Anhalt - Zerbst . Thanks to her female parent ’s prestigious lineage ( which was distantly connected to Empress Elizabeth of Russia ) , Sophie fairly much had her pick of the bedding material in terms of matrimonial prospects . At the eld of 14 , she was mate up with her 2nd cousin , Elizabeth ’s Word , Peter III . The grandson of Peter the Great , Peter III was heritor to the Russian throne . In 1744 , Catherine relocate to Russia and took on the title Grand Duchess Ekaterina ( Catherine ) Alekseevna , and a year later , she and Peter were married . But the union was n’t quite a storybook romance . We ’ll get to that in a bit .
2. Her Progressive Legacy Gets Lost Among Lurid Tales
" More attention should be give to Catherine II as legislatrix , someone with a very strong work ethic who come out legion laws to restructure the State Department ( to achieve administrative uniformity across a vast conglomerate ) , companionship ( by more clearly delineating different societal category ) , and the very configuration of Russian towns ( she had blueprints made for consistent buildings in town centers),“Victoria Frede , associate professor in the department of story at UC Berkeley , say via electronic mail . " It is well known that she aggressively expanded the size of the Russian imperium ( including Crimea ) , though few appreciate that she was more successful in increasing the conglomerate ’s size than Peter the Great . We may disapprove , and her legacy was motley , especially because of the deepening of social inequality ( the oppression of serfs ) in her reign . She was a hard - nosed rule , but that is why she made such a big imprint on the country . "
3. Her Reign Was the “Golden Age of the Russian Empire”
Catherine called herself a " gourmand for art " and she was haunt with European painting and European - inspired architecture . In fact , St. Petersburg ’s State Hermitage Museum , which now occupies the whole Winter Palace , started out asCatherine ’s personal collection . She is turn over the monarchresponsiblefor changing the boldness ofRussiathrough the construction of classical mansions , her endorsement ofEnlightenmentideals , and the institution of theSmolny Institute for Noble Maidens , the first res publica - finance high instruction institution for women in Europe , among other achievement .
" She was a true ' intellect on the pot ' who was very much involved in Russia ’s ethnical life ( and among other things , add Russia much more into European consciousness),“Marcus C. Levitt , prof emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Southern California , says via email . " Hers was a ' gold age ' of Russian cultivation . She both repose the groundwork for a public sphere in Russia and in reacting against theFrench Revolutionat the closing of her reign , also laid the basis for later attempts to close down the public sphere . Hers was arguably the long and most successful reign in Russian history . "
4. Her Love Life Was Complicated To Say the Least
It ’s no privy Catherine and Peter had a troubled marriage from the start . The fact that she did n’t develop an heir after eight yr of marriage lead many to believe Peter either was unable to consummate the marriage or was infertile . disregarding of the reason , both Catherine and Peter engaged in extramarital personal matters , and by 1752 , she was regularly hooking up with Sergei Saltykov , a Russian military military officer who many hoi polloi think is the actual father of Catherine ’s first child , Paul , who was hold in 1754 . Catherine did n’t do much to deny these rumors — she even enounce Empress Elizabeth permitted the affair . Historianscan’t be surewho the baby dad really was , but most agree that Peter did n’t father a individual one of Catherine ’s three additional children . She had a daughter with Stanislaus Poniatowski , who she later helped to become king of Poland , and in the ultimate crushing blow to their marriage , Catherine overthrew Peterin a coup d’état in July 1762 , garnering her the championship of Empress of Russia . She never married again , but she did build a repute for taking lovers and then advance them to cardinal government perspective .
" She was a serial monogynist who constantly desired the physical and spiritual closeness of a fan ; what is more , she exploit her lovers ' abilities for the good of the country , " says Levitt . " There ’s a lot more I could say here ; the later tradition often saw her as a consummate phony , but this I think acquire things out of historical context . I believe that her fondness was in the correct place , but that she understood the nature and limitations of political office in Russia . "
5. Politically and Socially, She Was Both Liberal and Conservative
While Catherine had a major paw in modernizing Russia in the image of Western Europe , she did n’t do much to change the system of serfdom . In the 18th one C , Russian serfs were n’t bound to land , but to their owner , and while they were n’t incisively slaves , the organisation of forced labor is , through a forward-looking lens of the eye , a clearly debatable and punishing practice . Catherine made some moves to change this arrangement , signing legislation to proscribe the praxis , and even penning a 1775 pronunciamento that prohibited former serfs who had been freed from becoming serfs again . But on the other hand , Catherine also limited the exemption of many peasants and give away many state - owned peasants to become private serfs . Between 1773 and 1775 , rising loss leader Yemelyan Pugachev tease peasants and Cossacks and promised the serfs ground of their own and freedom from their lords in what was known as Pugachev ’s Rebellion . By late 1774 , somewhere between 9,000 to 10,000 Rebel were dead , and by September of that twelvemonth , the uprising was finished .
6. That Story About Her Cause of Death? Totally False
Perhaps one of the most notorious rumor to follow Catherine have been the ones regarding her cause of last . Let ’s put this story to rest : Catherine did not die while having sexuality with a horse . And yes , that ’s an age - old theory that ’s an unflattering small-arm of gabfest that ’s trailed her since her death on Nov. 17 , 1796 . on the face of it , according toHistory.com , " the use of horse - riding as a sexual metaphor had a long account in libelous attempt on courtly women . Horse - horseback riding was integrally linked with belief of magnanimousness , and this storey was also a perfect subversion of Catherine ’s noted equestrian skills . " In realism , Catherinedied of a strokeat the age of 67 .
7. Her Reputation May Be On the Mend
" I think one could say as a universal matter that Catherine ’s image has greatly ameliorate over the past hundred class or so,“Alexander M. Martin , professor of history at the University of Notre Dame , says via email . " In Russia before the 1917 revolution , she mostly had a dubious reputation : politically , as someone who talk a lot about ' enlighten ' time value but turn down to release the serfs ; and in person , as a char who was immoral because of her taking over of lovers . There has been a good deal of learnedness about her since the mid-20th century , and mostly , it has tended to rehabilitate her . While clearly she did nothing to help the villein , we have gained a groovy appreciation of her endeavor to modernize Russia in other ways ; and our own changing mental attitude about grammatical gender and gender have top us to stop seeing her private life as shocking the way former generations did . "
