Born: 2 May 1729, Poland
Died: 17 November 1796
Country most active: Russia
Also known as: Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, Catherine the Great
This biography, written by Gabby Storey, is shared with permission from Team Queens, an educational history blog run by a collective of historical scholars. All rights reserved; this material may not be republished without the author’s consent.
Catherine (2 May 1729-17 November 1796), Empress of Russia, was born Sophie Friederike August von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg in Prussia, the daughter of Christian August, prince of Prussia, and Princess Johanna-Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp.
In 1744, Sophie travelled to the Russian court as a marital alliance was arranged between herself and the future tsar, Peter III. They married at St Petersburg on 21 August 1745. Prior to the marriage, Sophie converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.
In January 1762, Peter and Catherine became rulers of Russia. Their marriage was not harmonious, with both parties operating in different social circles, and culminated in Peter’s abdication six months after his accession.
His abdication was the result of a scheme orchestrated by Catherine, with the co-operation of the Ismailovsky Regiment and the clergy. Catherine continually emphasised her legitimacy and fitness to rule during her thirty-four year reign.
Catherine’s actions as a reformer saw the encouragement of learning and growth in cultural projects, however her reign saw the lower classes suffer through warfare, and the pursuit of her intellectual ideals.
Catherine is known to have taken several lovers during her reign. She had four children: the eldest, Paul, was officially acknowledged as Peter’s son, although Catherine’s memoirs may indicate otherwise.
Her three other children Anna, Alexei, and Elizabeth were all sired by different fathers. Catherine died of a stroke on 17 November 1796 at the Winter Palace, St Petersburg. She was buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg.
Recommended Reading
Orel Bellinson, “Female Rule in Imperial Russia: Is Gender A Useful Category of Analysis?” in A Companion to Global Queenship, ed., Elena Woodacre, 79-93 (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2018)
Viktoria Ivleva, “Catherine II as Female Ruler: The Power of Enlightened Womanhood,” Vivliofika: E-Journal of Eighteenth-Century Russian Studies 3 (2015): 20-46
Virginia Rounding, Catherine the Great: Love, Sex, and Power (London: Cornerstone Publishing, 2007).
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Empress of Russia. Born of noble parents and carefully educated she was married at an early age to Peter, heir to the Russian throne. The expectations she may have formed of a life of magnificence and influence as future empress of a great monarchy, soon vanished under the indifference and repulsive treatment of her husband, and Catherine sought consolation in amorous connections which were no secret to any one. When her husband in 1762 became czar as Peter III the ill feeling between them became still more embittered, and Catherine was threatened with repudiation. To save and avenge her, various nobles joined her in a conspiracy against the life of Peter which resulted in the czar being seized, and after a few days strangled in prison. To gain pardon for her part in the crime, Catherine made the most splendid promises to the nation, flattered its prejudices, exhibited devotion to the national religion and its priests, and was crowned with great pomp in Moscow. Her reign lasted thirty-four years in spite of conspiracies against her and the varied fortunes of many wars; when she died she left her vast empire, greatly enlarged, to her son Paul.
From Woman: Her Position, Influence and Achievement Throughout the Civilized World. Designed and Arranged by William C. King. Published in 1900 by The King-Richardson Co. Copyright 1903 The King-Richardson Co.:
Catherine II was born at Stettin, in Prussian Pomerania, May 2, 1729. Her father, the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, was a Prussian field marshal, and governor of Stettin. She received the name of Sophia Augusta; but the Empress Elizabeth of Russia having selected her for the wife of her nephew and intended successor, Peter, she passed from the Lutheran to the Greek Church, and took the name of Catharine Alexievna.
In 1745 her marriage took place. She soon quarreled with her husband and both of them lived a life of unrestrained vice. Among his attendants was a Count Soltikoff, with whom her intimacy soon became scandalous; and Soltikoff was sent on an embassy abroad. But the young Polish count, Poniatowski. almost immediately supphed his place. After the death of the Empress Elizabeth in 1761, Peter III ascended the Russian throne; but the conjugal differences became continually wider. Catharine was banished to a separate abode; and the emperor seemed to entertain the design of divorcing her, declaring her only son, Paul, illegitimate and marrying his mistress, Elizabeth Woronzoff. The popular dislike to Peter, however, rapidly increased; and at length, he being dethroned by a conspiracy. Catharine was made empress. A few days afterward Peter was murdered. What participation his wife had in his murder
has never been well ascertained.
Catharine now exerted herself to please the people, and among othe things, made a great show of regard for the outward forms of the Greek Church, although her principles were, in reality, those prevalent among the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. The government of the country was carried on with great energy, and her reign was remarkable for the rapid increase of the dominions and power of Russia. Not long after her accession to the throne, her influence secured the election of her former favorite, Stanislaus Poniatowski, to the throne of Poland.
In her own empire, however, discontentment was seriously manifested, the hopes of the disaffected being centered in the young prince Ivan, rightful heir to the throne of Russia, who was forthwith murdered in the castle of Schlüsselburg.
From that time the internal politics of Russia consisted chiefly of court intrigues for the humiliation of one favorite and the exaltation of another. The revolt of the Cossacks in 1773, though serious, only served to fortify her throne. The first partition of Poland in 1772, and the Turkish war which terminated in 1774, vastly increased the empire. In 1787 she made a journey in her southern provinces through flourishing towns, villages, and festive scenes; but the whole was a sham, having been gotten up for the occasion by Potemkin to impress Catharine with the prosperity of her empire. Resuming the policy of expelling the Turks from Europe, and reigning at Constantinople, Catharine, in 1783, seized the Crimea, and annexed it to her empire. In 1787 the Porte declared war against her and hostilities were continued till 1792. She indemnified herself by sharing in the dismemberment of Poland, which kingdom became extinct in 1795; and was on the point of turning her arms against republican France, when she died of apoplexy, November 9, 1796.
To all her lovers Catharine was munificent, not only during their season of favor, but after their dismissal, loading them with presents and pensions to such an extent, that altogether they are estimated to have cost Russia about 20,000,000 pounds. In the capital, at her court, and in her own circle, there reigned the most systematic immorality, which she encouraged by her example in utter disregard of virtuous restraint.
Though as a woman the licentiousness of her character is inexcusable, yet as a sovereign Catharine II is well entitled to the appellation of Great. After Peter I, she was the chief regenerator of Russia, but with a more enlightened mind and under more favorable circumstances. She established schools, ameliorated the condition of the serfs, promoted commerce, founded towns, arsenals, banks, and manufactories, and encouraged art and literature. She corresponded with the learned men in all countries, and wrote herself Instructions for a Code of Laws, besides several dramatic pieces, and Moral Tales for her grandchildren.
The following is excerpted from “Female Warriors: Memorials of Female Valour and Heroism, from the Mythological Ages to the Present Era,” by Ellen C. Clayton (Mrs. Needham), published in 1879 and shared online by Project Gutenberg.
When Catherine the Second of Russia was conspiring to dethrone her husband, Peter III., she based her hopes of success almost entirely on the belief that the Imperial Guard would declare in her favour. On the 26th of June, 1762, she was seated in her palace at St. Petersburg, taking a slight repast in company with her early friend and confidant Catherine Romanowna, Princess of Daschkow, or Daschkova. The latter was born in 1744, a descendant of the noble family of Woronzoff, and became a widow at the early age of eighteen. She applied all her woman’s wit to place Catherine on the throne. When their repast was concluded, Catherine proposed that they should ride at the head of their troops to Peterhoff; and to make themselves more popular with the soldiers, the Empress borrowed the uniform of Talitzen, a captain in the Preobraginsky Guards, while the Princess Daschkova donned the regimentals of Lieutenant Pouschkin, in which, she says, she looked “like a boy of fifteen.”[40] It chanced by good luck that these uniforms were the same which had been worn from the time of Peter the Great until superseded by the Prussian uniform introduced by Peter III.
On the 29th July the Empress and her friend, still in uniform, passed in review twelve thousand soldiers, besides numberless volunteers. As Catherine rode along the ranks, amidst the cheers of the soldiers, a young ensign, observing that she had no tassel on her sword, untied his own and presented it. Thirty years afterwards, this man died a field-marshal and a Prince of the Russian Empire. His name was Potemkin.
It is said the Princess (though she makes no mention of it in her memoirs) requested, as the reward of her services, to be given the command of the Imperial Guard. The Empress refused; and the Princess, finding her inflexible, gave up her military aspirations and devoted herself to study. After her return from abroad in 1782, she was appointed Director of the Academy of Sciences, and President of the newly-established Russian Academy. She wrote much in her native tongue; amongst other works, several comedies. She died at Moscow in 1810.