Interesting facts about Catherine 2. Catherine's reign 2

Catherine II in the history of the Russian Empire is not just one of the rulers of a huge state, this is a whole epoch, an exceptional phenomenon. During her, many reforms and conquests were carried out. Russia Catherine's times - this is a great power, claiming global hegemony.

What do we most often hear about Catherine the Great?

Descendants are ungrateful. Perhaps, therefore, the "most interesting" facts about Catherine 2 relate, as a rule, to some vile details of her personal life, part of the absurd, composed of evil languages.

The average man in the street "knows for sure" that she was a power-hungry woman, cruel (her husband killed something, a heartfelt woman), and even a depraved woman. Numerous lovers of Catherine II, the first among which is remembered Grigory Potemkin, have long become a talk of the town. Attributed to her and wild orgies, drawing the Russian Empress such Messalina, but this is nothing more than fictions, there is no evidence of such insinuations.

Novels and favorites

Romanov, of course, she had a lot. Even before the removal of Paul III from power, in the early 50's, she managed to bring Saltykov, an officer of the Guards. When in 1754 the future emperor Pavel I was born, persistent rumors were circulating that his father was not at all Russian autocrat. However, there is no confirmation of this.

I must say that the lovers of Catherine II changed quite often. Five years after the beginning of the novel with Saltykov, the Empress was friendly with Poniatowski, the future king of Poland. Half a decade later, in the early 60's, her lover was Grigory Orlov, who eventually helped her to seize power.

Unsuccessful marriage - a successful coup

With her husband, Peter III, relations with Catherine did not add up. Much is written about the fact that the Russian emperor was an eccentric and infantile man, and according to some sources, he had purely medical problems with the psyche. He did not bet his wife in anything, openly lived with his favorite, Vorontsova, and by 1762 circumstances for the legitimate spouse of the autocrat were threatening: she was constantly afraid of expulsion or even death.

Partly the coup d'état that the future autocratic empress Catherine II performed was a preemptive strike from the series "or I him, or he me". I must say that Peter III was not very popular. When Catherine was proclaimed empress (it happened in Izmaylovsky barracks), St. Petersburg exploded into ecstasy. Still, the person of Catherine II was captivating: she was undoubtedly a clever, reserved, educated woman, she was better combined with the throne than her odious husband.

The coup was timed to the absence of the emperor, who went (to his own trouble) to Oranienbaum. Learning about the tricks of the wife, Peter III tried to reason with her, but the newly-empress Empress Catherine II did not want to think about the negotiations. The tsar was compelled to abdicate the throne - and yesterday Prussian princess Sofia Augusta Frederika became the sole ruler of a huge country.

Wise caution

However, it is hardly fair to talk about absolute power: Catherine was forced to act cautiously, with an eye on the environment. What ends the attempts to live in their own way, without reckoning with anyone, she knew firsthand: how it came, so it could go.

The Empress absolutely did not strive with anyone to quarrel, and if we are to look for interesting facts about Catherine 2, we should definitely mention that she did not quarrel with any of her lovers. She was not harassed by yesterday's favorites, she was not disgraced for what she said. The style of her communication with her subjects can not but delight: the Empress was tactful, mature, adjusted to the interlocutor.

Brilliant surroundings

They say that the king is making a retinue. From this point of view, two rulers have never been equal in Catherine's Russia. She knew how to appreciate the abilities of the people around her like nobody else. It was not in vain that the reign of Catherine II was marked by the appearance of a number of outstanding statesmen. A truly talented person, the Empress could forgive a lot.

A vivid example is her relationship with the magnificent Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov, who, as is known, did not climb into his pocket and was in a sense a rather clumsy nonconformist. As far as the empress was able to speak the same language with her great subjects, the brief correspondence followed after the triumphal capture of the legendary commander of Warsaw. A lucky winner, no matter what, he wrote to his lady: "Hooray! Our Warsaw "- to which he received an equally concise answer:" Hooray! Field Marshal Suvorov! "

Age of Enlightenment and Serfdom

Sometimes one has to read that all of Ekaterina's enlightening attempts, her flirtations with Voltaire and other liberal things are no more than a bluff. That in fact it contributed to the strengthening of serfdom, finally enslaving the already unhappy peasants. It is unlikely that this view is fair, because in defense of the "accused" very interesting facts about Catherine 2 are being said. For example, the fact that over two hundred cities appeared on the map of Russia, and the population increased by one third (by more than 10 million).

In the archives of Catherine, there were numerous reflections on the question of the abolition of serfdom, various options for implementing this reform, but this was not to be realized.

Considering the interests

Before condemning the empress, however, it should be remembered that such "innovations" would hardly have been met with enthusiastic enthusiasm among the Russian landowners, and the queen did not want to quarrel with powerful nobles, since her authority was based on their support and she tried not to anger her Influential subjects.

The time of the reign of Catherine II is not in vain called "the golden age of the nobility": the great empress issued a letter of commendation to the nobility, which enshrined the estate privileges, and treated her "subordinates" very carefully and tactfully. It is known, for example, that the Empress was very quick-tempered, but she learned to curb her passion and never made hasty decisions, waiting for anger to subside.

Perhaps the only influential class that suffered from Catherine was the Orthodox clergy. The Empress thoroughly "shook" the holy monasteries for tax-free land and transferred the monastic serfs to state status (thus, it is generally believed, greatly facilitating their fate, and that is almost two million people).

Achievements and successes

The humanitarian policy in the time of Catherine 2 was at its height (especially considering the level of development of natural law throughout the world). This is indicated at least by the fact that during her entire reign, only one person was executed. But there is hardly anyone who refuses to understand the Russian autocrat, because this unfortunate person was Emelyan Pugachev, who declared himself "miraculously survived" by Emperor Peter III and delivered to Catherine a full barrel of hassle as a large-scale peasant uprising. Something, but the Empress did not intend to share power.

She rules her country as wisely as possible, tirelessly caring for her prosperity, strengthening of Russian positions on the world arena. Many interesting facts about Catherine 2 speak in favor of this thesis, because the number of industrial enterprises has doubled due to its reforms, the Crimea has joined the empire, great successes have been achieved in the Caucasus. The foreign policy of the Empress was offensive, which was very unsettling for some European powers.

Milestone in history

The whole career of this great woman says that she was guided first of all by the mind - very uncommon, flexible, devoid of prejudice. The story of the vaccination from smallpox, which the Empress made to herself and her son (the heir, among other things, the throne) testifies to how strong and open the fresh trends were in Catherine's personality. It was a truly courageous act, which became one of the steps on the road to the complete destruction of a terrible disease that once wiped out entire cities.

The religious tolerance of the Empress deserves special mention: she was not persecuted by the gentry, and grateful Buddhists even proclaimed her one of the manifestations of White Tara (whatever that means).

Thus, by replicating the greasy information about Catherine 2, the authors of dirty insinuations demonstrate only their ignorance. For its time, it was truly a great ruler, who did a lot for Russia. Its achievements are indisputable, and the vices are greatly exaggerated.