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Birth
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Brother Dies
Catherine's brother died at the age of twelve. More effort was put in taking care of him, and Catherine was forced to be more independent. This could have led to her decisions to rule absolutely later in life. -
Marriage
Catherine married Peter III, who ruled Russia. This would prove to be a turning point in her life, because she would later have him arrested in order to become ruler of Russia. -
Son is Born
Catherine's son, Paul was born in 1754. However, she was too concerned with being an absolute ruler that she did not care for him very much. Even this important event in her life did not weigh her down as a ruler. -
Palace is Opened
Respect was shown to Catherine the Great's ruling when she had a palace built for her in 1756. This shows what effect she had on her people, and that she was rewarded for smart decisions. -
Empress Elizabeth Dies
In 1761 Empress Elizabeth died, leaving Catherine's husband (Peter III) open for the throne. Catherine would be treated as a background figure to his ruling, so she later sought to reverse this role. -
Period: to
Ruling Span
Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. -
Peter III's Arrest
Since Peter was mentally unstable, Catherine was able to have him arrested, leaving her in charge. This was a big responsibility to her, and it proved how ruthless she was capable of being. -
Peter III is Murdered
Peter III was murdered just shortly after Catherine took the throne. It is possible that Catherine had something to do with his death. -
Supported Stanislaw Poniatowski
In 1763, Catherine supported financially one of her many lovers, Stanislaw Poniatowski, in his effort to rule Poland. This shows that she was bold and was not loyal to Peter III, and could easily move on to other lovers. -
Legislative Commision
Catherine the Great created a committee in 1767 to propose more delicate reforms to Russia, including religious tolerance and the abolishment of capital punishment.. However, she later proved to be ruthless, and none of these reforms actually went into effect. -
Charters of the Nobility
In 1785, Catherine decided that Russia should be broken up into many different social groups. This proved how much she valued her own wealth. She even went to the extent of changing Russia's social class structures completely. -
Death
