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Birth
Catherine the great also known as Catherine the second was not realy Catherine at all.Her birth name is Sophia Augusta Frederica.It was changed to Catherine so she may have a more Russian than German name. born on May 2, 1729 (April 21, 1729 by the Julian calendar).In Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin,Poland), She was the daughter of Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. -
Rise to Power
In 1744 Catherine arrived in Russia,and assumed the title of Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna.She later married Tsar Peter 3rd and had learned Russian.She also converted to the Russian Orthodox faith, and won the loyelty of her people.
In 1762 one of Catherine's lover and his brothers disposed and murdered her mentally unstable husband.It is not sure if Catherine had any thing to do with the assassination.With the support of the military she ascended the throne. -
overcoming Her most pressing practical problem
Her most pressing practical problem was to replenish the state treasury, which was empty when Elizabeth died.She did this by secularizing the property of the clergy, who owned one-third of the land and serfs in Russia. -
The Problem of Poland
In 1764 she resolved the problem of Poland, a kingdom lacking definite boundaries and coveted by three neighbouring powers, by making one of her old lovers, Stanisaw Poniatowski, a weak willed man entirely devoted to her, as king of Poland -
Commision
In 1767 Catherine convened a commission composed of delegates from all the provinces and from all social classes (except the serfs) for the purpose of ascertaining the true wishes of her people and creating a constitution. -
Serf's Rebellion
in June 1774 Pugachov's Cossack (man who pretended to be Catherine's dead husband) troops prepared to march on Moscow. At this point, the war with Turkey ended in a Russian victory, and Catherine sent her troops to stop the Rebellion. her troops Defeated and captured, Pugachov was beheaded in 1775, but the terror and chaos he inspired were not easily forgotten. -
Seizing the pretext of war with Turkey
Catherine was determined to expand Russia's borders.Waging the Russo-Turkish war against the Ottoman Empire got her a port on the Black Sea in1774.The Black Sea now gives Russia acces to trading routes. -
love / friendship
In 1774, the year of Russia's defeat of Turkey, Grigory Potemkin, who had distinguished himself in the war, became Catherine's lover,soon this relationship ended and Catherine and Grigory became very close friends,sort of like sibblings. -
Charter to the Nobility
The 1785 ‘Charter to the Nobility’ established nobel's as a separate estate in Russian society and assured their privileges. Catherine therefore ignored any concern she may previously have had for the rebellion of the serfs, whose status and rights declined further. -
A sad death
Catherine the great died of a stroke and had a horrible myth smother her name of the women with the horse.Her son Paul became her succesor after her death.
