catherine the great cause of death
A shrewd statesman, Panin dedicated much effort and millions of roubles to setting up a "Northern Accord" between Russia, Prussia, Poland and Sweden, to counter the power of the BourbonHabsburg League. [96] However, Catherine continued to investigate the pedagogical principles and practice of other countries and made many other educational reforms, including an overhaul of the Cadet Corps in 1766. The horse myth also allowed her enemies to tarnish her legacy and claims to greatness. Catherines contributions to Russias cultural landscape were far more successful than her failed socioeconomic reforms. Segments of public opinion turned against Catherine when she took a stand against the . Sophie recalled in her memoirs that as soon as she arrived in Russia, she fell ill with a pleuritis that almost killed her. For example, serfs could apply to be freed if they were under illegal ownership, and non-nobles were not allowed to own serfs. She died the next day, leaving her estranged son, Paul I, as Russias next ruler. [76], Catherine read three sorts of books, namely those for pleasure, those for information, and those to provide her with a philosophy. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography, USA. Peter . Her male enemies created the legends that still reverberate around todays World Wide Web. In the plus column, the longest-reigning empress of Russia transformed her empire into one of Europe's great and . But Russia's Baltic Fleet checked the Royal Swedish navy in the tied Battle of Hogland (July 1788), and the Swedish army failed to advance. Catherine promised more serfs of all religions, as well as amnesty for convicts, if Muslims chose to convert to Orthodoxy. In 1774, a disillusioned military officer named Yemelyan Pugachev capitalized on the unrest fomented by Russias ongoing fight with Turkey to lead hundreds of thousands into rebellion. Catherine II[a] (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 17 November 1796),[b] most commonly known as Catherine the Great,[c] was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. [40], In 1764, Catherine placed Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski, her former lover, on the Polish throne. This spurred Russian interest in opening trade with Japan to the south for supplies and food. Upon arriving in St. Petersburg in 1744, Sophie converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, adopted a Russian name and began learning to speak the language. A landowner could punish his serfs at his discretion, and under Catherine the Great gained the ability to sentence his serfs to hard labour in Siberia, a punishment normally reserved for convicted criminals. [102], However, in accord with her anti-Ottoman policy, Catherine promoted the protection and fostering of Christians under Turkish rule. When the frail Grand Duchess died on 8 March 1759, she was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery with Catherine and Elizabeth present. Her dynasty lost power because of this and of a war with Austria and Germany, impossible without her foreign policy.[48]. 1772-04-06 Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, ends tax on men with beards, enacted by Tsar . In the second partition, in 1793, Russia received the most land, from west of Minsk almost to Kiev and down the river Dnieper, leaving some spaces of steppe down south in front of Ochakov, on the Black Sea. Catherine perceived that the Qianlong Emperor was an unpleasant and arrogant neighbour, once saying: "I shall not die until I have ejected the Turks from Europe, suppressed the pride of China and established trade with India". To become serfs, people conceded their freedoms to a landowner in exchange for their protection and support in times of hardship. These were the privileges a serf was entitled to and that nobles were bound to carry out. The bonnet which held her white hair was not decorated with ribbons, but with the most beautiful diamonds. [99], Despite these efforts, later historians of the 19th century were generally critical. She read widely and corresponded with many of the prominent thinkers of the era, including Voltaire and Diderot. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. [121][122] The percentage of state money spent on the court increased from 10% in 1767 to 11% in 1781 to 14% in 1795. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of theTerms and Conditions. Peter ceased Russian operations against Prussia, and Frederick suggested the partition of Polish territories with Russia. Catherine de' Medici, also called Catherine de Mdicis, Italian Caterina de' Medici, (born April 13, 1519, Florence [Italy]died January 5, 1589, Blois, France), queen consort of Henry II of France (reigned 1547-59) and subsequently regent of France (1560-74), who was one of the most influential personalities of the Catholic-Huguenot wars. Whilst she used sex as a tool to broaden and cement her political power, she was far from the nymphomaniac that she was made out to be. Born without a drop of Russian blood inside her veins, the German-born Sophie Friederike Auguste died as Catherine the Great of Russia, whose successful 34-year reign became known as the Golden Age of Russia. Although the idea of partitioning Poland came from the King Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine took a leading role in carrying it out in the 1790s. She had her husband arrested, and forced him to sign a document of abdication, leaving no one to dispute her accession to the throne. Catherine the Great was Russia's longest-serving female leader. The bridegroom, known as Peter von Holstein-Gottorp, had become Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (located in the north-west of present-day[update] Germany near the border with Denmark) in 1739. Catherine's undated will, discovered in early 1792 among her papers by her secretary Alexander Vasilievich Khrapovitsky, gave specific instructions should she die: "Lay out my corpse dressed in white, with a golden crown on my head, and on it inscribe my Christian name. In 1768, she formally became the protector of political rights of dissidents and peasants of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, which provoked an anti-Russian uprising in Poland, the Confederation of Bar (17681772), supported by France. [47] Catherine failed to reach any of the initial goals she had put forward. Catherine began issuing codes to address some of the modernisation trends suggested in her Nakaz. In 1772, Catherine wrote to Potemkin. She placed strictures on Catholics (ukaz of 23 February 1769), mainly Polish, and attempted to assert and extend state control over them in the wake of the partitions of Poland. The answer is misogyny. After holding more than 200 sittings, the so-called Commission dissolved without getting beyond the realm of theory. [78] Catherine expressed some frustration with the economists she read for what she regarded as their impractical theories, writing in the margin of one of Necker's books that if it was possible to solve all of the state's economic problems in one day, she would have done so a long time ago. [52], Catherine paid a great deal of attention to financial reform, and relied heavily on the advice of Prince A. By the end of her reign, 50 provinces and nearly 500 districts were created, government officials numbering more than double this were appointed, and spending on local government increased sixfold. 2019. But in a purely humanitarian light, Catherines expansionist drive came at a great cost to the conquered nations and the czarinas own country alike. Book. Wikimedia Commons. Upon Potemkins death in 1791, Catherine reportedly spent days overwhelmed by tears and despair., In her later years, Catherine became involved with a number of significantly younger loversa fact her critics were quick to latch onto despite the countless male monarchs who did the same without attracting their subjects ire. These reforms in the Cadet Corps influenced the curricula of the Naval Cadet Corps and the Engineering and Artillery Schools. But the actual story of the monarchs death is far simpler: On November 16, 1796, the 67-year-old empress suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. In reality, those in power were beginning to fear the power that Russia was now wielding. [118][119], Religious education was reviewed strictly. when Catherine angrily dismissed his accusation. The newlyweds settled in the palace of Oranienbaum, which remained the residence of the "young court" for many years. She also promoted westernization and modernization for her country, though it was within the context of maintaining . Catherine held western European philosophies and culture close to her heart, and she wanted to surround herself with like-minded people within Russia. The objective was to strengthen the friendship between Prussia and Russia, to weaken the influence of Austria, and to overthrow the chancellor Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, a known partisan of the Austrian alliance on whom Russian Empress Elizabeth relied. He died at the age of 52 in 1791. However, usually, if the serfs did not like the policies of the empress, they saw the nobles as corrupt and evil, preventing the people of Russia from communicating with the well-intentioned empress and misinterpreting her decrees. [104] Between 1762 and 1773, Muslims were prohibited from owning any Orthodox serfs. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which 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. Gustav Adolph felt pressured to accept that Alexandra would not convert to Lutheranism, and though he was delighted by the young lady, he refused to appear at the ball and left for Stockholm. In the same year, Catherine issued the Charter of the Towns, which distributed all people into six groups as a way to limit the power of nobles and create a middle estate. Catherines success as a ruler was also a driving factor behind the rumours. The Tokugawa shogunate received the mission, but negotiations failed. Russian poets wrote about his virtues, the court praised him, foreign ambassadors fought for his favour, and his family moved into the palace. [60] The only thing a noble could not do to his serfs was to kill them. Hulu's new series, The Great, follows Catherine the Great and her husband Peter III of Russia, who died under mysterious circumstances after his brief ascent to . For Latin Empress, see, Partitions of PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. Her foreign policy lacked a long-term strategy and from the very start was characterised by a series of mistakes. Her genius seemed to rest on her forehead, which was both high and wide. Kamenskii A. The male-dominated world in which Catherine lived and ruled made her an exception to the norm. She applied herself to learning the Russian language with zeal, rising at night and walking about her bedroom barefoot, repeating her lessons. Catherine waged a new war against Persia in 1796 after they, under the new king Agha Mohammad Khan, had again invaded Georgia and established rule in 1795 and had expelled the newly established Russian garrisons in the Caucasus. [124], After her affair with her lover and adviser Grigory Potemkin ended in 1776, he allegedly selected a candidate-lover for her who had the physical beauty and mental faculties to hold her interest (such as Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov and Nicholas Alexander Suk). The Hermitage Museum, which now[update] occupies the whole Winter Palace, began as Catherine's personal collection. [87], Catherine appointed Ivan Betskoy as her advisor on educational matters. The commission studied the reform projects previously installed by I.I. B. Catherine the Great's Foreign Policy Reconsidered. One claimed that she died on her toilet seat, which broke under her. Larry Frederick died: It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Larry Frederick on Thursday, March 2, 2023. No. AETNUK. M. B. W. Trent, "Catherine the Great Invites Euler to Return to St. [115] She closed 569 of 954 monasteries, of which only 161 received government money. Her goal was to modernise education across Russia. News of Catherine's plan spread, and Frederick II (others say the Ottoman sultan) warned her that if she tried to conquer Poland by marrying Poniatowski, all of Europe would oppose her. Catherine the Great. [69] With all this discontent in mind, Catherine did rule for 10 years before the anger of the serfs boiled over into a rebellion as extensive as Pugachev's. Although she mastered the language, she retained an accent. Because the Moscow Foundling Home was not established as a state-funded institution, it represented an opportunity to experiment with new educational theories. Under her leadership, she completed what Peter III had started. They introduced numerous innovations regarding wheat production and flour milling, tobacco culture, sheep raising, and small-scale manufacturing. [17] She became friends with Princess Ekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, the sister of her husband's official mistress. Ollie Upton/Hulu. She nationalised all of the church lands to help pay for her wars, largely emptied the monasteries, and forced most of the remaining clergymen to survive as farmers or from fees for baptisms and other services. [88] Through him, she collected information from Russia and other countries about educational institutions. [131], Catherine's life and reign included many personal successes, but they ended in two failures. Instead she pioneered for Russia the role that Britain later played through most of the 19th and early 20th centuries as an international mediator in disputes that could, or did, lead to war. Her rise to power was supported by her mother Joanna's wealthy relatives, who were both nobles and royal relations. Still, there was a start of industry, mainly textiles around Moscow and ironworks in the Ural Mountains, with a labour force mainly of serfs, bound to the works. Because Russia under her rule grew strong enough to threaten the other great powers, and because she was in fact a harsh and unscrupulous ruler, she figured in the Western imagination as the incarnation of the immense . All of this meant that the target on Catherines back was even greater. Catherine the Great is a monarch mired in misconception. Dr. Brown argued, in a democratic country, education ought to be under the state's control and based on an education code. [77] In the first category, she read romances and comedies that were popular at the time, many of which were regarded as "inconsequential" by the critics both then and since. The couples loveless marriage afforded Catherine ample opportunity to pursue her intellectual interests, from reading the work of Enlightenment thinkers to perfecting her grasp of Russian. A ball was given at the imperial court on 11 September when the engagement was supposed to be announced. After her death, her enemies spread gossip about her that has endured for . Catherine died quietly in her bed on Nov. 17, 1796, at the age of 67 after suffering a stroke. Rumour and degrading slander became the weapon by which they would take jabs at her legacy. Cookie Policy They submitted recommendations for the establishment of a general system of education for all Russian orthodox subjects from the age of 5 to 18, excluding serfs. It opened in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1769. ", Madame Vige Le Brun also describes the empress at a gala:[85]. From there, they governed the duchy (which occupied less than a third of the current German state of Schleswig-Holstein, even including that part of Schleswig occupied by Denmark) to obtain experience to govern Russia. Only in this way apart from conscription to the army could a serf leave the farm for which he was responsible but this was used for selling serfs to people who could not own them legally because of absence of nobility abroad. However, because her second cousin Peter III converted to Orthodox Christianity, her mother's brother became the heir to the Swedish throne[4] and two of her first cousins, Gustav III and Charles XIII, later became Kings of Sweden. Catherine, for her part, claimed in her memoirs that all his actions bordered on insanity. By claiming the throne, she wrote, she had saved Russia from the disaster that all this Princes moral and physical faculties promised.. Her many military campaigns, on the other hand, represent a less palatable aspect of her legacy.
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