Catherine the Great

Hey Folks, We are talking about Catherine the Great, also known as Catherine II, or even Princess Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst. Topics include Catherine's Early Life, her ascent to the throne, her "favorites", the Russo-Turkish Wars, the Pugachev Rebellion, The Nakaz, and entertaining stories along the way! Like us on Facebook Also we have a Patreon if you're interested. Shownotes below: Born princess Sophia in spring of 1729 Mother Johanna of Holstein Ambitions and prone to wanton desire for courtly life and dissatisfied with her marriage Emotionally abused neglected her daughter Father Christian August one of several princes of Anhalt-Zerbst Had two younger brothers First was favorited until he died in 1742 His death opened up Johanna to the possibility of using Sophia to get into the Prussian court Second was 10yrs younger and considered insignificant Met future husband Peter Ulrich of Holstein who was her second cousin and then heir to Sweden Summoned by Tsarina Elizabeth who had adopted her nephew Peter losing crown of Sweden for Russia En route to Russian Johanna and Sophia stopped in the court of Frederick the Great of Prussia where he met personally with Sophia and commented on her wit Probably a probe into the potential of manipulating the Russian court Also offered Johanna the opportunity to act as a Prussian agent in the court to help sway influence away from Austria-Hungary and to Prussia Summoned by Tsarina Elizabeth who had adopted her nephew Peter losing crown of Sweden for Russia Once Sophia arrived in Russia she would never leave Very quickly she learned Russian Despite the objections of her father converted to orthodoxy And even changed her name to Catharine as a part of her orthodoxy baptism Eventual Catherine and Peter get married There is some debate on whether the marriage was consummated Peter was adamant about his German heritage and never learned Russian Peter continued to be sickly and somewhat deranged, eventually even contracting smallpox which gave him significant pox scars all over his face Catherine took up horseback riding to get away from her predicament Eventually while she and Peter were essentially living separate lives she had an affair Sometime later she gives birth to a son whose parentage is questioned but he does bear a resemblance to Peter The boy was taken by Elizabeth to be fostered, not an uncommon practice for women in the nobility for the time When Elizabeth dies Peter ascends the throne He immediately ends Russia’s involvement in the 7 years war (better known in America as the Revolutionary War) against Prussia This spares his hero Frederick the Great, the very same that met directly with Catharine so many years earlier, when Russian troops were on the verge of capturing Berlin This event is disturbing to most of the Russian people who overwhelmingly oppose it Peter then implements some reforms in Russia but never to the extent to win any favor with the people or interest groups Catharine along with elements from the Russian court, church, nobility and military begin planning a coup to overthrow Peter The conspiracy actually launched earlier than expected because a palace guard asked an officer who was not in on the plot which forced Catharine to act Peter was away from the capital at a villa on the Baltic with his Holstein troops who were about to launch an invasion of Denmark to restore Holstein Peter of course was more concerned with his legacy as Duke of Holstein than the good of Russia as the Tzar Catharine united the factions and assembled here supporters in the capital after leaving her own villa in the country after discovering the conspiracy had been exposed During this she dressed in the uniform of the Palace guard to march through the city and a young officer Gregory Potemkin gave her the tassel to her saber as the finishing touch After a relatively bloodless coup Peter signs a formal abdication renouncing all rights to the Russian throne Shortly after he is killed in a bar fight and Catharine seems surprised and dismayed at the news but also formally pardons the killers Catharine’s rule She immediately makes peace with Denmark, a war that didn’t really make sense for Russia anyways Nationalizes the church to increase revenue for the state and finally give Russia the ability to fund the government Became a pen pal with Voltaire as she implemented enlightenment reforms She began developing the Zakaz to reform the laws in attempt to standardizes laws across Russia She even suggested the freeing the serfs or at least improved rights Had her ex-lover StanisŁaw Poniatowski later August elected to rule Poland as her puppet She supported August in several revolts by the Polish nobility and people which eventually led to the partitioning of Poland During these revolts Polish troops crossed into the Balkans into what was then the Ottoman Empire and when Russian troops pursued across the border the Ottomans declared war This began the first of a several Russo-Turkish wars but this first war resulted in a surprisingly easy victory by the Russians that eventually resulted in the Kucuk Kaynarca peace which significantly expanded the Russian borders to include Crimea During the war with the Ottomans a man named Pugachez fomented revolt in the Urals where conditions for the serfs especially in the mines who experienced especially terrible conditions Eventually when the war ends troops from the front were turned on the revolt and Catharine begin to change some of her opinions about implementing enlightenment reforms Succession Her son Paul who eventually returned from being fostered way from the capital was never really accepted by Catharine who in a ironic twist continued the cycle of emotional abuse and isolation that she experience from her mother He never had a government position, experience or connections by the time Catharine had a stroke and died This would ultimately result in her son quickly being overthrown by elements within the Russian court Take always Catharine had a huge influence on the expansion of Russian and its significance in world politics being increased while also expanding on some enlightenment reforms to bring the county together However she avoided the internal reforms such as improving the conditions of and eventually freeing the serfs which eventually upend the Russian government and destroy the power of the Tzar in the Bolshevik revolution She also seemed to fear her son’s involvement in the government as a potential threat to her own rule but the act of distancing him from power would ultimately be her own son’s downfall