Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great was the empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She ruled for 34 years, longer than any other woman in Russian history. Under her rule, Russia grew into one of the most powerful countries in Europe. She is remembered as a smart and ambitious ruler, but also as a harsh one who kept millions of Russians trapped in a system close to slavery.

Catherine was not born Russian. She was born in 1729 in what is now Poland, as a German princess named Sophie. When she was 15, she was sent to Russia to marry the future emperor, Peter III. She learned Russian, joined the Russian Orthodox Church, and changed her name to Catherine. She and Peter did not get along.

In 1762, only six months after Peter became emperor, Catherine took the throne for herself. With the help of army officers, she forced her husband to give up power. He died a few days later under suspicious circumstances. Many historians believe he was murdered. Catherine was crowned empress soon after.

Catherine loved books and ideas. She wrote letters to famous European thinkers like Voltaire, and she filled her palaces with art. She started Russia's first school for girls. She built hospitals and grew the city of St. Petersburg into a center of culture. She believed a ruler should use reason to improve the country.

But Catherine's reforms had limits. Most Russians at the time were serfs. Serfs were peasants tied to the land of a noble owner, much like enslaved people. They could be bought, sold, and punished. Catherine talked about helping them, but in the end she gave nobles even more power over their serfs. When a serf named Yemelyan Pugachev led a huge rebellion in 1773, Catherine crushed it without mercy.

Catherine made Russia much bigger. Her armies fought wars against the Ottoman Empire and won land along the Black Sea. She also helped divide up the country of Poland with two other powers, wiping it off the map for more than 100 years. By the end of her reign, Russia had added about 200,000 square miles of new territory, an area larger than the state of California.

Catherine died in 1796 at age 67. Russians have argued about her ever since. Some see her as the ruler who made Russia modern and powerful. Others point out that her glory was built on the backs of millions of serfs who had no freedom. Both views have lived side by side in Russian memory for more than 200 years.