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Catherine was born in Szczecin, Poland to Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp and Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. Her name was Yekaterina Alexeevna. The picture is of Catherine's mother.
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Catherine was traveling, and met the Duke. They got married and had a very unhappy relationship.
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Catherine married her way into the throne. Duke Peter's mother liked Catherine a lot, but Catherine did not like Peter. Some say she was responsible for his death, because it was shortly after she got him to step down, giving her more power.
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Catherine was officially crowned on this day. Her corination dress is still around, and is in a museum.
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Catherine created this to ensure everyone had equal rights, no matter what their social ranking was. This however, did not go through, and she later turned away from this idea.
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One of Catherine's greatest achievements was getting land from the Ottoman Empire. She also took Crimea from the Turks in 1768. This was all part of her steps to expanding Russia.
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There are many rumors of how Catherine died, including a stroke, a heart attack, and even having a horse fall on top of her. She was succeeded by her son Paul III.
