Catherine 2 Biography Personal. Relationship with Sweden. Gubernskaya reform in Siberia and Middle Volga

Russian Empress Catherine The second, also known as the Great, reigned from 1762 to 1796. With their own efforts, it significantly expanded the Russian empire significantly improved the administration system and vigorously conducted a westernization policy implying the process of transition to Western ideas and traditions. In the time of Catherine, Great Russia has become a rather large country. She could compete with the great powers of Europe and Asia.

Childhood of the future Great Empress

Catherine The second, nee Sofia Frederica Auguste, was born on April 21, 1729 in a small German principality in the city of Shtattin, Prussia (now Shecin, Poland). Her Father Christian August Anhalt-Crebstsky was the prince of this tiny ownership. He did a military career with Friedrich Wilhelm first.

Mother Catherine - Princess Elizabeth Golstein-Gottorpskaya. Girl's parents were very hoping for the appearance of the heir, and therefore did not show any special attachment towards her daughter. Instead, they devoted most of the time and energy to the son of Wilhelm, who, unfortunately, later died at the age of twelve years.

Getting education and proximity with a governess

As a child, the future Catherine The second was very close with his governess Babetta. Subsequently, the empress is always warm about her responded. The girl's education consisted of those subjects that they were needed by status and origin. This is religion (Lutheranism), history, French, German, and even Russian, who is very useful subsequently. And, of course, music.

So I spent my childhood Catherine Great. Briefly describing her years of stay in the homeland, it can be said that nothing unusual with the girl could not happen. The life of the growing Catherine seemed very boring, and she did not know then that she was waiting for an exciting adventure in front - a trip to the distant stern edge.

Arrival to Russia, or the beginning of family life

As soon as Catherine has grown, her mother saw in his daughter a means of moving on a social staircase and improving the situation in the family. She had many relatives, and it helped to take care of the careful search for a suitable groom. At the same time, the life of Catherine was so monotonous that she saw in this upcoming marriage a wonderful means to leave the mother.

When Catherine turned fifteen, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna invited her to Russia so that she could be the wife of the heir to the throne - the Grand Duke Peter Third. He was an immature and unpleasant sixteen-year-old young men. As soon as the girl arrived in Russia, she immediately fell ill with pleuris, who almost killed her.

Elizabeth survived due to frequent bleeding, which insisted, but her mother was against such practice, and because of this he fell into opal to the Empress. Nevertheless, as soon as Catherine recovered and adopted the Orthodox faith, despite the objections of the Father - a devoted Lutheran, she and the young prince got married. And with the new religion, the girl received another name - Katerina. All these events occurred in 1745, and this is how Ekaterina's history began.

Years of family life, or as a spouse playing soldiers

Becoming twenty-first august a member of the royal family, Catherine began to wear the title of princess. But her marriage turned out to be completely unhappy. Ekaterina's husband was an immature young man who, instead of spending time with his own spouse, preferred to play with the soldiers. And the future empress spent the time entertaining by other fun, reading.

The graph who was Catherine's chamber, knew the memoirist James Boswell well, and he reported the graph of the details of the intimate life of the monarch. Some of these rumors contained information that shortly after the marriage Peter took himself in the mistress Elizabeth Vorontsov. But after that he was not in debt. She was noticed in relations with Sergey Saltykov, Gregory Orlov, Stanislav understood and others.

The appearance of the long-awaited heir

Several years have passed before the future empress gave birth to the heir. The son of Catherine is Great, Paul, appeared on the world of the twentieth of September 1754. The paternity of this child became the subject of endless discussions. There are many scientists who believe that in fact the father of the boy is not her husband Ekaterina Great, and Sergey Saltykov is a Russian nobleman and a member of the court. Others argued that the baby looks like Peter, who comes from his father.

In any case, Catherine did not have time on his firstborn, and soon Elizaveta Petrovna took him to her upbringing. Despite the fact that the marriage turned out to be unsuccessful, it did not eclipse the intellectual and political interests of Catherine. An intelligent young woman continued to read a lot, especially in French. She loved the novels, plays and poems, but most of all were interested in the writings of large french education figures, such as Didro, Voltaire and Montesquieu.

Soon Catherine prevented the second child, Anna, who will live only four months. Children of Catherine Great because of various rumors about the promiscuity of the future empress did not cause the third warm feelings in Peter. The man doubted that it was he was their biological father. Of course, Catherine rejected such accusations of the spouse and preferred to spend most of the time in his Boudar to escape from his irremist.

In one step from the throne

After the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who died on December 25, 1761, the spouse of Catherine entered the throne, becoming the third, while Ekaterina herself received the title of empress. But the couple still lived separately. The Empress had nothing to do with the board. Peter was openly cruel with his wife. He ruled the state with his mistresses.

But Catherine the Great was a very ambitious woman with huge intellectual abilities. She hoped that over time she would still come to power and would rule Russia. Unlike her husband, Catherine tried to demonstrate his dedication to the state and the Orthodox faith. As she rightly assumed, it helped her not only take a place on the throne, but also to enlist the necessary support for the Russian people.

Conspiracy against your own spouse

After a few months of his reign, Peter Third managed to get a bunch of enemies in the government among military and especially church ministers. On the night of June 28, 1762, Ekaterina Great entered into collusion with his beloved Grigory Orlov, left the palace and went to the Izmailovsky regiment, where he spoke to the soldiers with a speech, in which she asked her to defend her from his own spouse.

So was the conspiracy against Peter the Third. The ruler was forced to sign a document on renunciation, and the son of Catherine Great Paul climbed to the throne. With it, the Empress was supposed to be as a regent before his majority. And Peter shortly after the arrest was strangled with its own guards. Perhaps this Catherine ordered the murder, but there are no evidence of her guilt.

Dreams Come True

From this time, the Board of Catherine is begins. In the first years, she pays the maximum time to ensure the hardness of his position on the throne. Catherine perfectly understood that there were persons who consider it a usurper who seized someone else's power. Therefore, she actively used the slightest opportunities to win the favors of the nobles and the military.

As for foreign policy, Catherine The second great understood that Russia needs a long period of peace in order to concentrate on internal problems. And this world could only be obtained by cautious foreign policy. And for her holding Catherine chose Count Nikita Panin, who was very knowledgeable in foreign affairs.

Unsettled personal life of Empress Catherine

Portrait of Catherine Great shows us her as a woman of pretty pleasant outfice, and it is not at all surprising that the personal life of the empress was very diverse.

Catherine could not join a re-marriage because it would put it at risk of her position.

According to the majority of researchers, the history of Catherine Great has about twelve lovers, whom she often gave various presents, honors and titles in order to win their favor.

Favorites, or how to provide your old age

After the Roman Catherine with the adviser to Gregory Alexandrovich Potemkin ended, and it happened in 1776, the Empress chose a man who had not only physical beauty, but also excellent mental abilities. It was Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov. Many lovers of the Empress tremblely treated her, and Ekaterina Great always demonstrated generosity towards them even after completing all connections.

So, for example, one beloved - Peter Zavadovsky - received fifty thousand rubles, a pension of five thousand and four thousand peasants after their relationship ended (this happened in 1777). The last of her numerous lovers is the prince of teeth, which was younger than the empress for forty years.

But what about the children of Catherine Great? Are there anyone who gave her one more son or daughter among so many favorites? Or did Paul stayed her sole descendant?

Children Catherine Great Born by Favorites

When Empress Elizabeth Petrovna died, Catherine was on the sixth month of pregnancy from Grigoria Orlov. The baby was born in secret from all April 11, 1762 in the remote part of the palace. Her marriage with Peter Third at that time was completely destroyed, and he often flared at the court with his mistress.

Camerer Catherine Vasily Schurin and his wife took the child to her house. The Board of Catherine Great began when the boy was only a few months. He was returned to the palace. The baby began to enjoy normal childhood under the control of his parents - Empress Catherine and Gregory. Orlov began using a child, trying to push Catherine to marriage.

She thought very long and stubbornly, but still accepted the Council of Panin, who said that Mrs. Orlova would never be allowed to rule the Russian state. And Catherine did not dare to marry Orlov Gregory. When Alexey became a teenager, he went to travel abroad. The travel continued for ten years. After returning to Russia, the son received as a gift from the mother of the estate and began to study in the Holy Cadet Corps.

The influence of favorites on the affairs of state

According to other historical data, a boy and a girl gave birth to the Uchratovskiy Empress, but these children of Catherine have lived only about sixteen months. They never were recognized in public. The majority came from noble names and managed to build an outstanding political career. For example, Stanislav understood became the king of Poland in 1764.

But none of the beloved Catherine did not use their status so much to influence the state policy. With the exception of Grigory Potemkin, with whom Catherine the Great tied very deep feelings. Many experts even argue that a secret marriage was concluded between Empress and Potemkin in 1774.

Catherine is the Great, the years of the reign of which brought significant benefits to the Russian state, throughout their life remained a woman loving and beloved.

Main merits to the Russian state

And although the love in the life of Catherine was an important part, feelings never obscured political interests. The Empress always worked hard in the development of the Russian language to such an extent to fully remove his focus, absorbed the Russian culture and mastered the customs, and also scrupulously studied the history of the empire. Catherine Great Indicates that it was a very competent ruler.

During his reign, Catherine expanded the borders of the Russian Empire to the south and west almost 520,000 square kilometers. The state has become a dominant force in the southeastern part of Europe. Numerous victories on the military front allowed the empire to access the Black Sea.

Moreover, in 1768, the assignment bank was entrusted with the task of issuing first government paper money. Such institutions opened in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and then bank branches were created in other cities.

Catherine paid great attention to the formation and education of young people of both sexes. A Moscow educational house was opened, soon the empress established Smolny, she studied pedagogical theories in the practice of other countries and initiated many educational reforms. And it was Catherine who laid the obligation to open schools in the provincial parts of the Russian Empire.

The Empress constantly patronized the cultural life of the country, and also demonstrated the dedication of the Orthodox faith and the state. She paid maximum expansion educational institutions and improving the economic relics of the country. But who rules after Catherine are great? Who continued her path in the development of the state?

The last days of the Board. Possible heirs of the throne

Over the course of several decades, Catherine The second was the absolute ruler of the Russian state. But all this time she had a very stretched relationship with his own son - the heir to Paul. The Empress perfectly understood that it was impossible to transfer power in the hands of a sibling.

Catherine is the Great, the years of the reign of which ended in mid-November 1796, decided to make his successor Alexander's grandson. It was in him who saw the future ruler and very warmly treated him. The Empress prepared her grandson in advance to reign, engaging in his formation. Moreover, she even had time to marry Alexander, which meant the achievement of the majority and the opportunity to take a place on the throne.

Despite this, after the death of Catherine, the second with the help of the next son of the Empress Paul, the first took the place of the heir to the throne. Thus, he became those who ruled after Catherine Great for five years.

Catherine II

nee Sofia August Frederick Anhalt Church ; it. Sophie Auguste Friederike Von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg

empress All-Russian from 1762 to 1796, Daughter of Prince Anhalt-Crebstsky, Catherine came to power during the palace coup, who overthrown from the throne of her unpopular husband Peter III

short biography

On the second May (April 21, according to Art.) 1729 in the Prussian city of Shtattin (now Poland), Sofia Augustus Frederic Anhalt-Crebstskaya was born, which became famous as Catherine II Great, Russian Empress. The period of her reign, which gave Russia to the world arena as a global power, is called the "golden age of Catherine."

The father of the future empress, the Duke of Crebstsky, served the Prussian king, but her mother, Johann Elizabeth, was a very rich pedigree, the future Peter III, she accounted for a cousin. Despite the knowledge, the family lived not very rich, Sophia grew up the ordinary girl who received the formation of the house, played with his peers with his peers, was active, movable, boldly, loved to fool.

The new milestone in her biography opened 1744th - when her, together with his mother, Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna invited to Russia. There Sofia had to marry the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the heir to the throne, who had a secondary brother. Upon arrival in someone else's country, which was to become its second homeland, she began to actively learn the language, history, customs. Young Sophia July 9 (June 28, under Art.) 1744 adopted Orthodoxy and when baptism received the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna. The next day, she was entrusted with Peter Fedorovich, and on September 1 (August 21, Art. Art.) 1745. They were married.

Seventeen-year-old Peter a little interested in his young wife, each of them lived his life. Catherine not only having fun riding, hunting, masquerade, but also read a lot, actively engaged in self-education. In 1754, her son Paul (the future emperor Paul I) was born (the future emperor Paul I), whom Elizaveta Petrovna immediately took away from the mother. The spouse of Catherine was extremely unhappy when in 1758 she made a daughter Anna, being not confident in his paternity.

About how not to give a spouse to grasp the throne of the emperor, Catherine had repeated already since 1756, counting on the support of the guard, Chancellor Bestuzhev and the Commander-in-Chief of the APRY army. Only on time, the destroyed correspondence of Bestuzhev with Catherine was releasing the latter from the exposure of Elizabeth Petrovna. January 5, 1762 (December 25, 1761 under Art.) The Russian Empress died, and her place was taken by the Son, which became Peter III. This event made the abyss between the spouses even deeper. The emperor openly began to live with his mistress. In turn, his winter spouse elected to the other end became pregnant and secretly gave birth to his son from Count Orlov.

Using the fact that the emperor's husband took unpopular measures, in particular, she walked on a rapprochement with Prussia, had not the best reputation, he restored an officer, Catherine, with the support of the last coup: July 9 (June 28, under Art. Art.) 1762 G. In St. Petersburg, the Guards Parts gave her oath to loyalty. The next day, did not have the meaning in the resistance of Peter III, he abdicated from the throne, and then died under the circumstances, which remained unexplained. October 3 (September 22, under Art.) 1762 in Moscow, Catherine II coronation was held.

The period of its reign was marked by a large number of reforms, in particular, in the system of public administration and the structure of the empire. Under its care, a whole Pleiad of the famous "Catherine Orlov" - Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, Orlov, Kutuzov, and others, the increased power of the army and fleet allowed the imperial foreign policy of the accession of new lands, in particular, the Crimea, the Black Sea, Skubani, part of speech Commonwealth and others. The new era began in the cultural, scientific life of the country. The embodiment of the principles of the enlightened monarchy contributed to the opening of a large number of libraries, printing houses, various types of educational institutions. Catherine II consisted in correspondence with Voltaire and encyclopedists, collected artistic canvases, left behind a rich literary heritage, including the topic of history, philosophy, economics, pedagogy.

On the other hand, its internal policy was characterized by the enhancement of the privilege of the position of the noble estate, even more restriction of freedom and the rights of the peasantry, the rigidity of the suppression of dissent, especially after Pugachev uprising (1773-1775).

Catherine was in the Winter Palace when she had a stroke. The next day, on November 17 (November 6, under Art. Art.) 1796 Great Empress did not. The St. Petersburg Petropavlovsky Cathedral became its last refinement.

Biography from Wikipedia

The daughter of Prince Anhalt-Crebstsky, Catherine came to power during the palace coup, who overthrew it from the throne of her unpopular husband Peter III.

The Catherine Epoch was marked by the maximum fastening of peasants and the comprehensive expansion of the privileges of the nobility.

Under Catherine, the Great Border of the Russian Empire was significantly lifted to the West (sections of the Commonwealth) and south (the accession of Novorossia, Crimea, partly of the Caucasus).

The system of public administration under Catherine the second for the first time since Peter I was reformed.

In culturally, Russia finally entered into the number of great European powers, which the Empress itself contributed to a lot, who was fond of literary activities, who gathered the masterpieces of painting and consisting in correspondence with French enlighteners. In general, the policy of Catherine and its reforms fit into the direction of the enlightened absolutism of the XVIII century.

Origin

Sofia Frederick Augustow Anhalt Czyrrskaya was born on April 21 (May 2) of 1729 in the German city of Shattytin - the capital of Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland).

Father, Christian Augustow Anhalt-Crebst, took place from the Crembst Dornburg line of the Anhalt House and held the service from the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then the governor of the city of Shttitin, where the future empress and appeared on the world, ran into the Kurland Duke, but unsuccessfully The service graduated from Prussian Field Marshal. Mother - Johanna Elizabeth, from the Gottorpian dominal house, accounted for a cousin to the future Peter III. The pedigree Johann Elizabeth dates back to Christian I, the King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first duke of Schleswig-Hollyteinsky and the founder of the Aldenburg dynasty.

Uncle on the mother's Adolf Friedrich was elected to the heirs of the Swedish throne, which he joined in 1751 under the name of Adolf Fredrik. Another uncle, Karl Eytinsky, according to Catherine I, was supposed to become her husband her daughter Elizabeth, however, died on the eve of wedding celebrations.

Childhood, Education, Education

In the family of the Duke of the Crebst Catherine received a home education. He studied English, French and Italian, dancing, music, basics of history, geography, theology. She grew by a greasy, inquisitive, playful girl, loved to suggest his courage to the boys, with whom it was easily played on the Shtttinskaya streets. Parents were unhappy with the "boyish" daughter's behavior, but they were satisfied that Frederick took care of the younger sister August. Her mother called her in the childhood of Fiech or Fixchen (it. Figchen - comes on behalf of Frederica, that is, "Little Frederick").

In 1743, the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, selecting the bride for his heir to the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (the future of the Russian emperor Peter III), remembered that his mother had his wife to become a wife of the Holstein Prince native Brother Johann Elizabeth. Perhaps this circumstance bowed a bowl of scales in favor of Fredericki; Earlier, Elizabeth vigorously supported the election to the Swedish throne of her uncle and exchanged portraits with her mother. In 1744, the Crebst Princess, together with his mother, was invited to Russia for marriage with Peter Fedorovich, who had to her a secondary brother. For the first time she saw her future husband in the Eitic Castle in 1739.

The fifteen-year-old princess with his mother around February 12, 1744 proceeded to Russia through Riga, where near the house in which they stopped, the work of the Honorary guard Lieutenant Baron von Münhhausen. Immediately after arriving at Russia, he began to learn Russian, story, Orthodoxy, Russian traditions, as she sought to become most fully familiar with Russia, which he perceived as a new homeland. Among her teachers are allocated to the famous preacher Simon Todorsky (teacher of Orthodoxy), the author of the first Russian grammar of Vasily Adadurova (Russian teacher) and Balletmister Lange (dance teacher).

In an effort to learn Russian as soon as possible, the future empress was engaged at night, sitting at the open window on the frosty air. Soon she fell ill with inflammation of the lungs, and her condition was so hard that her mother suggested bringing Lutheran pastor. Sofia, however, refused and sent for Simon Todorsky. This circumstance added her popularity in the Russian yard. June 28 (July 9) 1744 Sofia Frederick Augustus passed from Lutherancy in Orthodoxy and received the name of Catherine Alekseevna (the same name and patronymic as the mother of Elizabeth - Catherine I), and the next day was engaged with the future emperor.

The appearance of Sofia and Mother in St. Petersburg was accompanied by a political intrigue, in which her mother was involved, the princess of the CZBST. She was a fan of the King of Prussia Friedrich II, and the latter decided to use her stay at the Russian Imperial courtyard to establish his influence on Russia's foreign policy. For this, it was planned, by intrigue and influence on the empress Elizabeth Petrovna, remove from the affairs of the Bestuzhev's Chancellor, who conducted antiprucian politics, and replace it with another noble, sympathetic to Prussia. However, Besyuzhev managed to intercept the letters of the Princess of the Czyrbst Friedrich II and submit them to Elizabeth Petrovna. After the latter learned about the "ugly role of the Prussian spy," the mother of Sofia played during her yard, then immediately changed her attitude towards her and subjected. However, this did not affect the position of Sofia itself, which did not participate in this intrigue.

Marriage with the heir of the Russian throne

On August 21 (September 1), 1745, at the sixteen age, Catherine was married to Peter Fedorovich, who was 17 years old and who had to her a secondary brother. The first years of their life, Peter was not at all interested in his wife, and married relations between them did not exist. Ekaterina later writing about this:

I saw very well that the Grand Duke doesn't like me at all; Two weeks after the wedding, he told me that I was in love with the Maiden Carr, Freillane Empress. He said Count Diviera, his cameraman, that there was no comparison between this girl and me. The Divier claimed the opposite, and he was angry with him; This scene originated almost in my presence, and I saw this quarrel. The truth is to say, I spoke myself that with this man I will certainly be very unhappy, if you lend to the feeling of love for him, for which they paid so badly, and what will have to die from jealousy without any benefit for anyone.

So, I tried from pride to force myself not to jealous to a person who does not love me, but not to be jealous of him, there was no other choice as not to love him. If he wanted to be loved, it would be not difficult for me: I was inclined from nature and was familiar to fulfill my duties, but for this I would need to have a husband with common sense, and I didn't have it.

Catherine continues to engage in self-education. She reads books on history, philosophy, jurisprudence, essays Voltaire, Montescience, Tacita, Beil, a large number of other literature. The main entertainment for it was hunting, horse riding, dances and masquerades. The absence of marital relations with the Grand Duke contributed to the appearance of lovers from Catherine. Meanwhile, Empress Elizabeth expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of children from spouses.

Finally, after two unsuccessful pregnancies, September 20 (October 1), 1754, Ekaterina gave birth to Son Paul. Births were hard, the baby immediately selected Elizabeth Petrovna's Mother of the reign of the Empress, and deprived Catherine to raise the opportunity, allowing Paul only occasionally. So the Great Princess for the first time saw her son only 40 days after childbirth. A number of sources claim that the true father of Paul was the lover of Catherine S. V. Saltykov (direct approval about it in the "Notes" of Catherine II, but they are often so interpreted). Others - that such rumors are deprived of the grounds, and that Peter was made operation, eliminating the defect that made it impossible to conceive. The question of paternity caused interest in society.

Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky is an extramarital son of the Empress.

After the birth of Pavel, relations with Peter and Elizabeth Petrovna finally spoiled. Peter called his spouse "Spare Madame" and openly turned his mistresses, however, without preventing it to do this and Catherine, who during this period, thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Sir Charles Henburi Williams, there was a connection with Stanislav's understandable - the future king of Poland. 9 (20) DECEMBER 1757, Catherine gave birth to daughter Anna, which caused a strong dissatisfaction of Peter, which has pronounced with news of a new pregnancy: "God knows why my wife again got pregnant! I'm not at all sure if I have this child from me and if I should take it on my own account. "

The English ambassador Williams during this period was a close friend and trustee of Catherine. He repeatedly provided it with significant amounts in the form of loans or subsidies: only in 1750 she was transferred to 50,000 rubles, which there are two of its receipts; And in November 1756 she was transferred to 44,000 rubles. In return, he received various confidential information from her - orally and through letters that she regularly wrote to him as if on behalf of a man (in order to conspiracy). In particular, at the end of 1756, after the start of the seven-year war with Prussia (the Allian of which was England), Williams, as follows from his own dispatch, received important information from Catherine on the state of the warring Russian army and about the plan of the Russian offensive, which was Transferred to London, as well as to Berlin Prussian King Friedrich II. After leaving Williams, she received money and from his successor to Keit. The frequent appeal of Catherine for money to the British of historians explains its wastefulness, due to which its costs much exceeded the amounts that were released on its content from the treasury. In one of his letters Williams, she promised, as a sign of gratitude, "bring Russia to a friendly union with England, to provide her everywhere promotion and preference necessary for the good of all of Europe and especially Russia, before their common enemy, France, whose greatness is a shame for Russia. I will learn to practice these feelings, on them justifying its glory and prove the king, your sovereign, strength of these feelings. "

Already starting in 1756, and especially during the disease, Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine has hatched the removal plan from the throne of the future emperor (his spouse) by conspiracy, which he repeatedly wrote Williams. For these purposes, Catherine, according to the historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, "scores for gifts and bribers 10 thousand pounds of sterling from the English king, obliging honest words to act in the general English-Russian interests, began to think about bringing the guard to the case in case of death Elizabeth, he entered into a secret agreement about this with the hetman K. Romaovsky, commander of one of the Guards regiments. " Chancellor Bestuzhev, who promised Catherine promoted, was devoted to this plan of the palace coup.

At the beginning of 1758, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna suspected in the treason of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army apraksin, with whom Catherine was in friendly relations, as well as the Chancellor of Bestuzhev himself. Both were arrested, subjected to inquiry and punishment; However, Bestuzhev managed to arrest to arrest all his correspondence with Catherine, which saved her from persecution and opals. At the same time, Williams was recalled in England. Thus, her former favorites were removed, but began to form a circle of new: Grigory Orlov and Dashkov.

The death of Elizabeth Petrovna (December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762)) and the adoption of Peter Fedorovich's throne under the name of Peter III even more reused the spouses. Peter III began to openly live with the mistress of Elizabeth Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, it was no longer able to explain by random conception from her husband, as the communication of the spouses ceased by that time completely. Pregnancy has hid his ekaterina, and when it was time to give birth, her devotee Vasily Grigorievich Schurin was acknowledged his home. A lover of such spectacles Peter with a yard left the palace to look at the fire; At this time, Catherine bore safely. So Alexey Bobrinsky was born, to whom his brother Paul I subsequently assigned the county title later.

Coup 28 June 1762

Having entered the throne, Peter III carried out a number of actions that caused a negative attitude towards him of the officer corps. So, he concluded the contract unprofitable for Russia with Prussia, while Russia won a number of victories over it during the seven-year war, and returned to her seized by Russian land. At the same time, he intended in alliance with Prussia against Denmark (the Allies of Russia), in order to return it from Halstein Schleswig, and he intended to make a campaign at the head of the guard himself. Peter announced the sequestre of the property of the Russian Church, the abolition of monastic land tenure and shared with the surrounding plans about the reform of church rites. Supporters of the coup accused Peter III also in ignorance, dementia, dislike for Russia, fully inability to the Board. On his background, 33-year-old Catherine looked profitable - intelligent, well-read, piety and friendly spouse, exposed to her husband's persecution.

After the relationship with her husband was finally spoiled and discontent with the emperor from the guard, Catherine decided to participate in the coup. Her associates, the main of which were the Orlov brothers, Wahmist Potemkin and Adjutant Fedor Khitrovo, took up agitation in the guards parts and bowed them to their side. The rumors about the arrest of Catherine and the disclosure and the arrest of one of the participants of the conspiracy were the direct reason for the start of the coup.

Apparently, it did not cost without foreign participation. As Henri True and Casimir Valishevsky write, planning the overthrow of Peter III, Catherine appealed to the French and the British, hinted by him that was going to implement. The French with distrust reacted to her request to lend 60 thousand rubles, not believing in seriousness of her plan, but from the British she received 100 thousand rubles, which later, perhaps affected her attitude towards England and France.

Early on the morning of June 28 (July 9), 1762, while Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine, accompanied by Alexei and Gregory Orlov, came from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where she swelled the guards parties. Peter III, seeing the hopelessness of the resistance, the next day he was moving away from the throne, was taken into custody and died with unexplained circumstances. In his letter, once Catherine pointed out that Peter was tormented by hemorrhoidal colic before death. After the same death (although the facts indicate that even before death - see below) Catherine ordered to make an autopsy in order to dispel suspicion of poisoning. An autopsy showed (from Catherine) that the stomach is absolutely clean, which eliminates the presence of poison.

At the same time, as historic N. I. Pavlenko writes, "the violent death of the emperor is irrefutably confirmed by absolutely reliable sources"- Letters of Orlova Catherine and a number of other facts. There are facts that indicate that she knew about the preparing murder of Peter III. So, already on July 4, 2 days before the death of the emperor in the Palace in Ropsch, Catherine sent a doctor Paulsen to him, and as Pavlenko writes, "it is indicative that Paulsen was sent to the rope not with medications, but with surgical instruments for opening the body "

After the renunciation of her husband, Catherine Alekseevna entered the throne as the reigning empress with the name Catherine II, making a manifest, in which the basis for the displacement of Peter was the attempt to change the state religion and peace with Prussia. To substantiate their own rights to the throne (and not the heir of 7-year-old Paul), Catherine referred to the "desire of all our loyal and non-estatery." September 22 (October 3), 1762, she was crowned in Moscow. As its well, V. O. Klyuchevsky characterized, "Catherine performed a double seizure: he took the power of her husband and did not hand over her son, the natural heir of his father."

Ekaterina II Board: General Information

In his memoirs, Catherine characterized the state of Russia at the beginning of his reign:

Finance has been exhausted. The army did not receive a salary for 3 months. Trade was in decline, because many of its industries were given to a monopoly. Did not have proper system in state economy. Military department was immersed in debt; Sea barely held, being in extreme disregard. The clergy was displeased with his lands. Justice was sold with trade, and the laws were guided only in cases where they favored the face strong.

According to historians, this characteristic does not quite fit reality. Finance of the Russian state, even after a seven-year war, were not depleted or upset: so, in general, in 1762, the budget deficit was only a little more than 1 million rubles. or 8% of the income amount. Moreover, Catherine, herself contributed to the emergence of this deficit, since only for the first six months of the reign, until the end of 1762, he hand out in the form of gifts to favorites and coup participants on June 28 in cash, not counting property, lands and peasants, 800 thousand rubles. (which, naturally, was not provided for by the budget). The extreme disorder and depletion of finance occurred just during the Board of Catherine II, then the foreign debt of Russia appeared for the first time, and the amount of unpaid salaries and the government's obligations at the end of its reign exceeded the one that was left after her predecessors. The lands were actually taken away from the church not to Catherine, but just in her reign, in 1764, that he gave rise to displeasure of the clergy. And, according to historians, any system in public administration, justice and the management of government officials, which would certainly be better than the same, with it was not created ;;

The Empress formulated the tasks facing the Russian monarch:

• You need to enlighten a nation to be managed.
• It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, support society and force it to comply with the laws.
• It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police in the state.
• It is necessary to contribute to the flowering of the state and make it abundant.
• It is necessary to make the state formidable in itself and inspireing respect for neighbors.

Catherine II policy was mainly mainly preserving the development of trends in its predecessors. In the middle of the reign, an administrative (provincial) reform was carried out, which determined the territorial structure of the country to the administrative reform of 1929, as well as the judicial reform. The territory of the Russian state has significantly increased due to the accession of the fertile southern lands - Crimea, the Black Sea region, as well as the eastern part of the Commonwealth and others. The population has increased from 23.2 million (in 1763) to 37.4 million (in 1796), In terms of population, Russia has become the largest European country (it accounted for 20% of the population of Europe). Catherine II formed 29 new provinces and built about 144 cities. As Kuyevsky wrote:

The army from 162 thousand people strengthened to 312 thousand, the fleet, in 1757 consisting of 21 linear ship and 6 frigates, in 1790 considered 67 linear ships and 40 frigates and 300 rowing vessels, the amount of state revenues with 16 million rubles. Up to 69 million rose, that is, more than four times, the successes of foreign trade: Baltic - in increasing importation and export, from 9 million to 44 million rubles, Black Sea, Catherine and established, from 390 thousand in 1776 to 1 million 900 thousand rubles. In 1796, the growth of internal circulation was marked by the release of coins at 34 reign by 148 million rubles, while in the 62 preceding years it was released only by 97 million. "

At the same time, the growth of the population was largely the result of accession to Russia of foreign countries and territories (on which almost 7 million people lived), which took place in spite of the desire of the local population, which led to the emergence of "Polish", "Ukrainian", "Jewish" and other national issues inherited by the Russian Empire from the Epoch of Catherine II. Hundreds of villages with Catherine received the status of the city, but in fact they remained villages in appearance and the nature of the occupation of the population, the same applies to a number of cities based on it (some existed only on paper, which is evidence of contemporaries). In addition to the release of the coin, it was released at 156 million rubles of paper appliances, which led to inflation and a significant impairment of the ruble; Therefore, the real growth of budget revenues and other economic indicators during its reign was significantly smaller than the nominal.

The Russian economy continued to remain agrarian. The share of urban population practically did not increase, accounting for about 4%. At the same time, a number of cities were founded (Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, etc.), more than 2 times the extraction of cast iron increased (in which Russia went to 1 place in the world), the number of sailing and linen manufactories increased. Just by the end of the XVIII century. There were 1200 large enterprises in the country (in 1767 there were 663). Significantly increased exports of Russian goods to other European countries, including through the Cenecled Ports created. However, in the structure of this export, there were no finished products, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and foreign industrial products prevailed in imports. While in the West in the second half of the XVIII century. An industrial revolution occurred, the Russian industry remained "patriarchal" and serfdom, which led to her lag from Western. Finally, in the 1770-1780s. The acute social and economic crisis broke out, the consequence of which the financial crisis was also.

Characteristics of the Board

Domestic politics

Catherine's commitment to enlightenment ideas largely predetermined the fact that the term "enlightened absolutism" is often used to characterize the internal policy of Catherine time. Some ideas of enlightenment, she really embodied. So, according to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher, the vast Russian spaces and the severity of the climate determine the pattern and the need for autocracy in Russia. Based on this, in Catherine, an autocracy was strengthened, strengthening the bureaucratic apparatus, centralization of the country and unification of the management system. However, the ideas made by Didro and Voltaire, whose adherent in words she was, did not match her internal politics. They defended the idea that each person is born free, and advocated the equality of all people and the elimination of medieval forms of operation and despotic forms of government. Contrary to these ideas, with Catherine, there was a further deterioration in the position of the fortress peasants, their operation increased, the inequality increased due to the provision of even greater privileges to the nobility. In general, historians characterize her politics as "Prodvalian" and believe that contrary to the frequent statements of the empress about her "non-saturated care for all subjects", the concept of a common good in Epoch of Catherine was the same fiction as in Russia as a whole in Russia, the XVIII century

Soon after the coup, N. I. Panin offered to create the Imperial Council: 6 or 8 of the highest dignitaries rule together with the monarch (as the Condition of 1730). Catherine rejected this project.

According to another project, Panin was transformed by Senate - 15 (26) December 1763. It was divided into 6 departments headed by Ober-Prosecutors, a prosecutor general was becoming headed. Each department had certain powers. The general powers of the Senate were reduced, in particular, he lost the legislative initiative and became the control body for the activities of the state apparatus and the highest judicial authority. The center of lawmaking moved directly to Catherine and its office with the State Secretaries.

It was divided into six departments: the first (headed by the prosecutor himself) was conducted by state and political affairs in St. Petersburg, the second - court in St. Petersburg, the third - transport, medicine, science, education, art, fourth - military-land and naval affairs, the fifth - state and political in Moscow and the Sixth - the Moscow Judicial Department.

Located commission

An attempt was made to convene a laid commission, which would systematize the laws. The main goal is to find out folk need for comprehensive reforms. 14 (25) December 1766 Ekaterina II published a manifesto on the convening of the commission and decrees on the procedure for elections to deputies. The nobles are allowed to choose one deputy from the county, the townspeople - one deputy from the city. More than 600 deputies took part in the commission, 33% of them were elected from the nobility, 36% - from citizens, where they were also included and nobles, 20% - from rural population (state peasants). The interests of the Orthodox clergy represented a deputy from Synod. As a leadership document of the commission of 1767, the Empress prepared "Okaz" - the theoretical substantiation of enlightened absolutism. According to V. A. Tomsynova, Catherine II, already as the author of the "Pod ..." can be ranked in the pleiad of Russian lawyers of the second half of the XVIII century. However, V. O. Klyuchevsky called "Okaz" "compilation of the then enlightenment literature", and K. Wishevsky - "mediocre student work", rewritten from well-known works. It is well known that he was almost completely rewritten from the works of Montescience "On the Spirit of Laws" and Beckaria "On Crimes and Punishments", which recognized both Catherine herself. As she wrote in a letter to Friedrich II, "In this essay, only the location of the material belongs to me, and somewhere there is one line, one word."

The first meeting was held at the Granovic Chamber in Moscow, then the meeting was postponed to St. Petersburg. Meetings and debates continued for a year and a half, after which the commission was dissolved, under the pretext of the need to go to the war with the Ottoman Empire, although it was later proven by historians that there was no such need. According to a number of contemporaries and historians, the work of the commissioned commission was the propaganda action of Catherine II aimed at the glorification of the empress and the creation of its favorable image in Russia and abroad. As A.Truiaya notes, several first meetings of the commissioned commission were devoted only to how to call the Empress in gratitude for its initiative on the convening of the Commission. As a result of long debates, from all proposals ("Namedaren", "Mother of the Fatherland", etc.) was chosen by the title, which was preserved in history - "Catherine Great"

Provincial reform

In case of Catherine, the territory of the Empire was divided into provinces, many of which are in almost unchanged form preserved until the October Revolution. The territory of Estland and Liflandia as a result of the regional reform in 1782-1783 was divided into two provinces - Riga and Revelskaya - with institutions already existed in other provisions of Russia. A special Baltic order was also eliminated, which envisaged more extensive than the Russian landowners, the rights of local nobles on the work and personality of the peasant. Siberia was divided into three provinces: Tobolskaya, Kolyvan and Irkutsk.

The "institution for the Office of the provincial All-Russian Empire" was taken 7 (18) of November 1775. Instead of a three-star administrative division - the province, the province, county, the two-born structure began to operate - the vanity, the county (which was based on the principle of the number of healthy population). Of the former 23 provinces, 53 governments were formed, each of which has lived 350-400 thousand male shower. The vicarity was divided into 10-12 counties, each by 20-30 thousand male shower.

Since cities - counties of counties were clearly not enough, Catherine II renamed the cities of many large rural settlements, making them administrative centers. Thus, 216 new cities appeared. The population of the cities began to call the shoes and merchants. The main body of the county was the lower Zemsky Court led by Captain-bypher, elected by the local nobility. The county treasurer and county surveyor were prescribed in the county of the provinces.

The Governor-General ruled several governors, led by governors (governors), Gerold-Fiscal and Refatges. The Governor-General had extensive administrative, financial and judicial permissions, all military units and teams located in the provinces were obeyed. The Governor-General subordinate to the emperor directly. Governor-General appointed Senate. Governor-General were subordinated to the provincial prosecutors and Tyunas.

Finance in governors was engaged in the Cassenaya Chamber headed by the Vice-Governor with the support of the Accounts Chamber. The Gubern Surveyor at the head of the landman was engaged in land management. The executive body of the governor (governor) was the provincial government that carried out a general supervision of the activities of institutions and officials. Schools, hospitals and shelters (social functions) were conducted in the conduct of the order of public charity, as well as class judicial institutions: the Upper Zemsky Court for the nobles, the provincial magistrate, who considered litabons between the townspeople, and the upper disgrace for the court over state peasants. The Chamber Criminal and Civiced judged all the estates, were the highest judicies in the provinces

Captain He was standing at the head of the county, the leader of the nobility, elected by him for three years. He was the executive body of the provincial rule. In counties, as in the provinces, there are class institutions: for nobles (county court), for citizens (urban magistrate) and for state peasants (lower disgrace). There were county treasurer and county land surveyor. Representatives of the estates were served in the courts.

The conscientious court is designed to stop the scenario and peer the arguing and quarrel. This court was instant. Senate becomes the highest judiciary in the country.

In a separate administrative unit, the city was derived. He headed him instead of the governor was delivered by the city, endowed with all rights and powers. In the cities introduced strict police control. The city was divided into parts (areas), which was supervised by the private attachment, and parts were divided into quarters controlled by a quarterly warder.

Historians note a number of shortcomings conducted with Catherine II provincial reform. So, N. I. Pavlenko writes that the new administrative division did not take into account the established links of the population with trade and administrative centers, ignored national composition Population (for example, the territory of Mordovia was divided between 4 provinces): "Reform crumpled the territory of the country, as if cutting" by living body "." K. Wishevsky believes that innovations in court were "very controversial in essentially", and the contemporaries wrote that they led to an increase in the size of the globalism, since the bribe now had to be given not to one, but a few judges whose number has grown multiple times.

Noting that the importance of the provincial reform was "huge and fruitful in various ways," N. D. Chechulin points out that at the same time it was very expensive, since he demanded additional expenses for new institutions. Even according to preliminary calculations of the Senate, its implementation should lead to an increase in the total expenditures of the state budget by 12-15%; However, these reasons were reacted "with strange frivolity"; Shortly after the completion of the reform, chronic budget deficits began, which never managed to eliminate until the end of the reign. In general, the costs of internal management over the years of the Board of Catherine II increased 5.6 times (from 6.5 million rubles. In 1762 to 36.5 million rubles. In 1796) - much more than, for example, expenses on the army (2.6 times) and more than any other reign during the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Speaking of the reasons for the provincial reform under Catherine, N. I. Pavlenko writes that she was the answer to the peasant war of 1773-1775 under the leadership of Pugachev, which revealed the weakness of local authorities and their inability to cope with the peasant rins. The reform was preceded by a number of notes submitted to the government from the nobility, in which it was recommended to multiply a network of institutions and "police warders" in the country.

Liquidation of Zaporizhzhya Schashy

Reform in the Novorossiysk province in 1783-1785. He led to a change in the regimental device (former regiments and hundreds) for the general administrative division for the Russian Empire on the provinces and the county, the final establishment of serfdom and the equation in the rights of Cossacks of the Elder with the Russian nobility. With the conclusion of Küchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty (1774), Russia received an exit to the Black Sea and Crimea.

Thus, the need to preserve special rights and management systems of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks has disappeared. At the same time, their traditional lifestyle often led to conflicts with the authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers, as well as in connection with the support of the Cossacks of the Pugachev uprising, Catherine II ordered to disband Zaporizhia, which was fulfilled by order of Gregory Potemkin about the ability of Zaporizhzhya Cossacks by General Peter Tekel in June 1775.

Schish was disbanded, most of the Cossacks were dissolved, and the fortress itself was destroyed. In 1787, Catherine II, together with Potemkin, visited the Crimea, where she was met by the Amazonian company created to her arrival; In the same year, the army of faithful Cossacks was created, which later became the Black Sea Cossack army later, and in 1792 they were granted to the Kuban for the eternal use of the Cossacks and moved, founding the city of Ekaterinodar.

Reforms on Don created the military civilian government for the design of the provincial administrations of Central Russia. In 1771, Kalmyk Khanate was finally joined to Russia.

Economic policy

The Board of Catherine II was characterized by the extensive development of the economy and trade, while maintaining the "patriarchal" industry and agriculture. Decree of 1775 factory and industrial plants Were recognized as property, the order of which does not require a special allowance of the bosses. In 1763, a free exchange of copper money for silver was prohibited in order not to provoke the development of inflation. The development and revival of trade contributed to the emergence of new credit institutions and the expansion of banking operations (in 1770, the noble bank began receiving deposits for storage). In 1768, state-owned banks were established in St. Petersburg and Moscow and from 1769 for the first time a release of paper money - appliances was established (these banks in 1786 were merged into a single state appliance bank).

The state regulation of prices for salt, which was one of the vital goods in the country. The Senate legally set the price for salt in the amount of 30 kopecks per powder (instead of 50 kopecks) and 10 kopecks per powder in the regions of the mass salmon of fish. Without introducing a state monopoly on the sale of salt, Catherine hoped to enhance competition and improvement, ultimately, the quality of goods. However, soon the price of salt was again increased. At the beginning of the reign, some monopolies were canceled: a state-owned monopoly on trade with China, a private monopoly of the Schreyakin merchant to import Shawl and others.

The role of Russia has increased in the global economy - in England, the Russian sailing canvas increased in large quantities, the exports of cast iron and iron increased in other European countries (the consumption of cast iron in the domestic Russian market has also increased significantly). But the export of raw materials has grown especially much: forests (5 times), hemps, bristles, etc., as well as bread. The export volume of the country increased from 13.9 million rubles. In 1760 to 39.6 million rubles. In 1790

Russian commercial ves began to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. However, their number was insignificant in comparison with foreign - only 7% of the total number of courts serving Russian foreign trade at the end of the XVIII - early XIX centuries.; The number of foreign trade vessels annually in Russian ports, for the period of its reign, has grown from 1340 to 2430.

As the economic historian N. A. Rozhkov pointed out, in the export structure in Epoch, Catherine did not have ready-made products, only raw materials and semi-finished products, and 80-90% of imports were foreign industrial products, the volume of the importation of which several times exceeded domestic production. Thus, the volume of domestic manufactory production in 1773 was 2.9 million rubles, as much as in 1765, and the volume of imports in these years was about 10 million rubles. The industry developed weakly, it was practically no technical Improvements and dominated fortress work. Thus, the cloudy manufactory from year to year could not satisfy even the needs of the army, despite the prohibition of letting go clogged "to the side", moreover, there was a low-quality cloth, and had to buy it abroad. Catherine herself did not understand the importance of the industrial revolution that took place in the west and argued that the cars (or they called them, "Mahina") harm to the state, because there are only two export industries - the production of cast iron and canvases reduced the number of employees. Both - on the basis of the "patriarchal" methods, without the use of new technologies, actively introduced at the time in the West - which predetermined a heavy crisis in both sectors, which began shortly after the death of Catherine II.

Monogram EII. On a coin 1765

In the field of foreign trade, Catherine's policy was to gradually transition from protectionism, characteristic of the Elizabeth Petrovna, to complete liberalization of exports and imports, which, according to a number of economic historians, was a consequence of the influence of the ideas of physiocrats. Already in the first years of the reign, a number of foreign trade monopolies were canceled and the ban on the export of grain, which since that time began to grow rapidly. In 1765, a free economic society was founded, promoting the ideas of free trade and issued their magazine. In 1766, a new customs tariff was introduced, significantly reduced tariff barriers compared to the protectionist tariff of 1757 (established the patroness duties in the amount of from 60 to 100% or more); Even more, they were reduced in the customs tariff of 1782. So, in the "moderate-Protectionist" tariff of 1766, the patrons of a total of 30%, and in the liberal tariff of 1782 - 10%, only for some goods rising to 20- thirty %.

Agriculture, as well as industry, developed mainly due to extensive methods (increasing the number of arable land); Propaganda of intensive agricultural methods created under Catherine free economic society did not have a greater result. From the first years of the reign of Catherine periodically began to appear hunger in the village that some contemporaries were explained by chronic indigestible, but the historian M. N. Pokrovsky tied up with the beginning of the mass export of grain, which was previously, when Elizabeth Petrovna, was prohibited, and by the end of the reign of Catherine was 1 , 3 million rubles. in year. Cases of mass ruin of peasants. The special scope of the Holodomora acquired in the 1780s. When they covered large regions of the country. Bread prices greatly increased: so, in the center of Russia (Moscow, Smolensk, Kaluga) they increased from 86 kopecks. in 1760 to 2.19 rubles. In 1773 and up to 7 rubles. In 1788, that is, more than 8 times.

Implemented in turnover in 1769. Paper money - sources - In the first decade of its existence, there were only a few percent of the metal (silver and copper) money supply, and played a positive role, allowing the state to reduce their expenses for moving money within the empire. In his manifesto dated June 28, 1786, Catherine solemnly promised that "the number of banking appliances never and in no case should extend in our state over one hundred million rubles." However, due to the lack of money in the treasury, which has become permanent phenomenon, since the beginning of the 1780s, there was an increasing issue of assignments, the volume of which by 1796 reached 156 million rubles, and their cost depreciated by 1.5 times. In addition, the state occupied abroad money in the amount of 33 million rubles. and had various unpaid domestic obligations (accounts, salary, etc.) in the amount of 15.5 million rubles. So The total amount of government debts amounted to 205 million rubles, the treasury was empty, and the budget expenditures significantly exceeded the income that Paul I stated at the end of the throne. The production of assignments in the amount exceeding the solemnly established limit of 50 million rubles, gave the basis of the historian N. D. Chechulina in its economic study to conclude a "severe economic crisis" in the country (in the second half of the Board of Catherine II) and about "fully brushing financial Ekaterininian reign systems. The general conclusion of N. D. Chechulin was that "financial and generally the economic side is the most weak and most gloomy party to Ekaterininsky reign." External loans Catherine II and interest accrued on them were fully repaid only in 1891.

Corruption. Favoritism

... in the Alley of the Sarah village ...
Old woman cute lived
Nice and a little blunder
Voltera first friend was
Pisel wrote, Flota Flames,
And died, sitting on the ship.
Since then
Russia, poor powers,
Your remove glory
Catherine died.

A. Pushkin, 1824

By the beginning of the reign of Catherine in Russia, the system of globalism, arbitrariness and other abuses on the part of officials, about what she herself loudly declared shortly after joining the throne. 18 (29) July 1762, just 3 weeks after the start of the reign, she issued a manifesto about the Lohykhicraft, in which many abuses in the field of public administration and justice stated and declared them the struggle. However, as the historian V. A. Bilbasov wrote, "Catherine was soon convinced that the" Mzduchi in state affairs "is not eradicated with decrees and manifests, that this requires a fundamental reform of the entire state system - the task ... I didn't have the right time, Neither even later. "

There are many examples of corruption and abuse of officials in relation to its reign. A bright example is a prosecutor General of Gleb Senate. He, for example, did not stop before in the provinces to select wine sputters issued by local authorities and resell them to "their" buyers who offered big money for them. Petrovna's sent to Irkutsk, even in the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the investigator of the wings with a detachment of the Cossacks captured local merchants and extorted money from them, she kept in the cohabitation of their wives and daughters, arrested the vice-governor of Irkutsk Wolfe and essentially installed his own power there.

There are a number of references to abuse from Favorite Catherine Grigory Potemkin. For example, as an ambassador of England Hunning, Potemkin, "his own power, and contrary to Senate, he ordered the Wine sprues to be treated in his own denominations. In 1785-1786 Another favorite of Catherine Alexander Yermolov, previously - Adjutant Potemkin, accused the latter in the assignment of funds released for the development of Belarus. Potemkin himself, justified, stated that only "lent" this money from the treasury. Another fact leads the German historian T. Grzizinger, who indicates that generous gifts received by Potemkin from Jesuits played an important role in the fact that their order was allowed to open their headquarters in Russia (after the prohibition of Jesuits everywhere in Europe).

According to N. I. Pavlenko, Catherine II showed excessive softness in relation to not only with its favorites, but also to other officials who spoke themselves with implicit or other misconduct. Thus, the prosecutor General of the Glebov Senate (which the Empress itself called "Pluto and a fraudster"), was in 1764 only removed from office, although by that time a large list of complaints and confined to him were accumulated. During the events of the plague Bunt in Moscow in September 1771, the Commander-in-Chief of Moscow P. S. Saltykov showed the troubles, frightened by the epidemics and the beginning of the riots, wrote the Empress for resignation and immediately went to the Votchin near Moscow, leaving Moscow to the might of the insane crowd, organized pogroms And murders throughout the city. Catherine only satisfied his recovery request and did not punish.

Therefore, despite the sharp increase in the cost of the maintenance of the official apparatus during its reign of abuses, no less. Shortly before her death, in February 1796, F. I. Rostopchin wrote: "Never crimes were so frequent as now. Their impunity and keenness reached the extreme limits. Three days ago, someone Kovalinsky, the former secretary of the military commission and the defendant by Empress for the embezzlement and bribery, was now appointed by the governor in Ryazan, because he has a brother, the same scoundrel, as he, who is friendly with the Mushroom, the head of the office of Plato Zubov. One Ribas steals per year to 500,000 rubles. "

A number of examples of abuse and theft are associated with Favorites Catherine, which apparently is not random. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, they were "for the most part of Hapugi, Ruffers about personal interests, and not about the good of the state."

The favoritism itself of that era, which, according to K. Valishevsky, "in Catherine became an almost state institution," can serve as an example if not corruption, then excessive consumption of public funds. Thus, it was calculated by contemporaries that gifts are only 11 the main favorites of Catherine and their maintenance costs amounted to 92 million 820 thousand rubles, which exceeded the amount of annual costs of the state budget of that era and was comparable to the sum of the external and internal debt of the Russian Empire formed to The end of her reign. "She, as it were, bought the love of Favorites," writes N. I. Pavlenko, "he played in love," noting that this game did a very expensive state.

In addition to unusually generous gifts, the favorites also received orders, military and official titles, as a rule, without any merit, which had a demoralizing effect on officials and the military and did not contribute to improving their service efficiency. For example, being very young and Alexander Lanskaya, who did not shine any merits, managed to receive the Order of Alexander Nevsky and St. Anne for 3-4 years old, the title of General Lieutenant and General Adjutant, Polish Order of the White Eagle and St. Stanislav and Swedish Order Polar stars; And also to nationalize a condition in the amount of 7 million rubles .. As the contemporary of Catherine French diplomat Masson wrote, her favorite Platon Zudov had as many awards that he looked like "on the seller of ribbons and a ribbon goods."

In addition to the favorites themselves, the generosity of the empress truly did not know the borders and in relation to various persons close to the court; their relatives; Foreign aristocrats, etc. So, during his reign, it crossed more than 800 thousand peasants in total. The maintenance of the niece Grigory Potemkin squeezed about 100 thousand rubles every year, and she gave her 1 million rubles to her wedding .. she sheltered "the crowd of French courtiers who had more or less official appointment at the courtyard of Catherine" (Baron Bretale, Prince Nassau , Marquis Bombellel, Kalonon, Estrhasey Count, Graf Saint-at, etc.), which also received gifts unheard of generosity (for example, Estergazy - 2 million pounds).

Large amounts were paid to representatives of the Polish aristocracy, including the King of Stanislav Constable (in the past - her favorite), "planted" to the Polish throne. As V. O. Klyuchevsky writes, the very nomination of the Catherine candidate as the King of Poland "led to the Verenitsa temptation": "First of all, hundreds of thousands of Chervonny on bribing those who were traded by the fatherland of Polish magnates were to be prepared ...". Since that time, the amounts of the treasury of the Russian state with a light hand of Catherine II flowed into the pockets of the Polish aristocracy - in particular, this is exactly what the consent of the latter was acquired on the sections of the Commonwealth.

Education, Science, Healthcare

In 1768, a network of urban schools based on a cool-term system was created. Schools began to operate actively. In Catherine, special attention was paid to the development of women's education, in 1764 the Smolny Institute of Noble Maiden, the Educational Society of Noble Maiden, were opened. The Academy of Sciences has become one of the leading scientific bases in Europe. Observatory, physical office, anatomical theater, botanical garden, instrumental workshops, typography, library, archive were founded. On October 11, 1783, the Russian Academy was founded.

At the same time, historians are low assessed the successes in the field of education and science. The writer A.Truiaya indicates that the work of the Academy was mainly based on the cultivation of own personnel, but at the invitation of eminent foreign scientists (Euler, Pallas, Bömer, Kraft, Kraft, Miller, Wahmester, Georgi, Klinger, etc.), but "stay All these scientists in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences did not enrich the treasury of human knowledge. " V. O. Klyuchevsky writes about this, referring to the testimony of the contemporary of Manstein. The same refers to education. As V. O. Klyuchevsky writes, with the establishment of Moscow University in 1755, it was listed in it 100 students, and after 30 years - only 82. Many students could not pass exams and get a diploma: so, for all the reign of Catherine not a single physician not He received a scientist diploma, that is, did not pass the exams. Study was organized poorly (learning was carried out in French or in Latin), and the nobles walked very reluctantly. The same non-owner of the students was in two marine academies who could not even gain 250 students laid on staff.

The provinces were orders of public charity. In Moscow and St. Petersburg - educational houses for street children, where they received education and upbringing. To help widows, widower treasure was created.

Mandatory preciseness has been introduced, and Catherine decided to submit a personal example of the subject: on the night of 12 (23) October 1768, the vaccination from smallpox did the Empress itself. Among the first grafts were also the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and the Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna. In Catherine II, the struggle against epidemics in Russia began to acquire the nature of state activities directly included in the terms of the responsibilities of the Imperial Council, the Senate. By decree Catherine, outposts were created, placed not only at the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The "Charter of Border and Port Quarantines" was created.

New directions of medicine developed for Russia: hospitals were opened for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters. A number of fundamental work on medicine issues issued.

National Politics

After joining the Russian Empire, therefore formed by the compulculation, there were about a million Jews in Russia - the people with a different religion, culture, way and life. To prevent their relocation to the central regions of Russia and attaching to their communities for the convenience of charging state taxes, Catherine II, in 1791, found the line of settling, outside which the Jews had no right to reside. The trait of settling was installed in the same place, where the Jews lived before this - the lands attached as a result of the three sections, as well as in the steppe areas of the Black Sea and the incomplete territories to the east of the Dnieper. The transition of Jews in Orthodoxy removed all restrictions on accommodation. It is noted that the deferred feature contributed to the preservation of the Jewish national identity, the formation of special Jewish identity within the framework of the Russian Empire.

In 1762-1764, Catherine was published two manifesta. The first one - "On the permitting to all foreigners, to Russia entering, to set in which they wish them and the rights given to them" called for foreign subjects to move to Russia, the second determined the list of benefits and privileges to migrants. Already soon there were the first German settlements in the Volga region, allocated for immigrants. The influx of German colonists was so great that already in 1766 it was necessary to temporarily suspend the reception of new immigrants before the arrangement of the already entered. The creation of colonies on the Volga went on increasing: in 1765 - 12 colonies, in 1766 - 21, in 1767 - 67. According to the colonists census in 1769, 6,5 thousand families lived on the Volga, What was 23.2 thousand people. In the future, the German community will play a prominent role in Russia's life.

During the reign of Catherine, the country entered the Northern Black Sea region, the Azov, Crimea, Novorossia, land between the Dniester and Bug, Belarus, Kurland and Lithuania. The total number of new subjects thus acquired by Russia has reached 7 million. As a result, as V. O. Klyuchevsky wrote, in the Russian Empire "Retail of interests" intensified between different peoples. This was expressed, in particular, in the fact that the government was almost for each nationality, the government was forced to introduce a special economic, tax and administrative regime, so, the German colonists were completely exempted from tax payments to the state and from other contesions; For the Jews, a deficiency feature was introduced; From the Ukrainian and Belarusian population on the territory of the former speech of the compulculated, the pile tax first was at all charged at all, and then charged in half. The most discriminated under these conditions turned out to be the indigenous population, which led to such a casus: some Russian nobles at the end of the XVIII - early XIX centuries. As a reward for the service asked them to "write to the Germans" so that they could use the relevant privileges.

Cast Policy

Nobility and townspeople. On April 21, 1785, two diplomas were published: "Gramist for the rights, liberty and the advantages of a noble nobility" and "complained graded city." The Empress called them the crown of their activities, and historians consider the crown of the XVIII century to be the crown of the "Prodvoryan politics". As N. I. Pavlenko writes, "in the history of Russia, the nobility never has been paid to such extent a variety of privileges as in Catherine II"

Both literactions were finally fixed behind the upper estates, those rights, responsibilities and privileges, which were already provided with the predecessors of Catherine during the XVIII century, and provided a number of new ones. So, the nobility as a class was formed by the decrees of Peter I and then received a number of privileges, including liberation from the pillow, and the right to unlimited estimates; And by Decree Peter III, it was finally freed from the obligatory service to the state.

Plugged gram of nobility:

• Confirmed already existing rights.
• the nobility was released from the quartering of military units and teams
• from corporal punishment
• the nobility received ownership of land
• the right to have its own estate institutions
  • the name of the 1st category changed: no "nobility", but "noble nobility".
  • it was forbidden to confiscate the estates of the nobles for criminal offenses; The estates should be transferred to legitimate heirs.
  • nobles have an exceptional ownership of land, but in the "literacy" there is no word about the monopoly law to have serfs.
  • ukrainian elders were equalized in rights with Russian nobles.
    • the nobleman, who did not have officer rank, was deprived of electoral law.
    • to occupy elected positions could only nobles, whose income from the estates exceeds 100 rubles.

Mrud on the rights and benefits of the cities of the Russian Empire:

• confirmed the right of the tip of merchants not to pay the pillow.
• replacing the recruitment of a monetary fee.

Separation of urban population by 6 discharges:

• "Real City Oils" - Homeowners ("Real City Powers The essence of those koi in this city house or other building or place or land have")
• the merchants of all three guilds (the lowest amount of capital for the merchants of the 3rd Guild - 1000 rubles)
• craftsmen recorded in Come.
• foreign and non-resident merchants.
• eminate citizens are merchants who have capital over 50 thousand rubles, rich bankers (at least 100 thousand rubles), as well as city intelligentsia: architects, painters, composers, scientists.
• posal, which "fishery, needlework and work feed" (not having real estate in the city).

Representatives of the 3rd and 6th discharges were called "mothers" (the Word came from Polish through Ukraine and Belarus, markedly the original "resident of the city" or "Citizen", from the word "place" - the city and the "place" - town).

The merchants of the 1st and 2nd Guild and famous citizens were liberated from corporal punishment. Representatives of the 3rd generation of eminent citizens were allowed to initiate a petition for the assignment of the nobility.

Providing the nobility of maximum rights and privileges and its full liberation The duties against the state led to the appearance of a phenomenon, widely illuminated in the literature of that era (the comedy "inexpensive" phonvizin, the magazine "Cone" Novikova, etc.) and in historical works. As V. O. Klyuchevsky wrote, the nobleman of the Catherine Epoch "was a very strange phenomenon: the manners, habits, concepts, feelings, the tallest, in which he thought, was all someone else, everything was imported, and he had no house There are no lively organic ties with others, no serious business ... in the West, abroad, in it saw a disguised Tatarin, and in Russia they looked at it, as the Frenchman who was randomly born in Russia. "

Despite the privileges, in the era of Catherine II among the nobles, property inequality increased: against the background of individual major states, the economic situation of the nobility worsened. According to the historian D. Blum, a number of large nobles owned dozens and hundreds of thousands of serfs, which was not in previous reigns (when the owner of more than 500 shower was considered richly); At the same time, almost 2/3 of all landowners in 1777 had less than 30 mall serfs, and 1/3 landowners were less than 10 souls; Many nobles who wanted to enter public servicehave no money for the purchase of appropriate clothes and shoes. V. O. Klyuchevsky writes that many noble children in her reign, even becoming students of the Maritime Academy and "getting a small salary (scholarships), 1 rub. A month, "from boosotes" could not even attend the Academy and were forced to think about the reports, not to think about the sciences, but about their own impregnation, on the side to acquire funds for their content. "

Peasantry. The peasants in the era of Catherine amounted to about 95% of the population, and the serf peasants are more than 90% of the population, while the nobles were only 1%, and the rest of the estate - 9%. According to the reform of Catherine, the peasants do not have black earth areas, and the chernozem worked out the barbecine. According to the general opinion of historians, the situation of this very numerous population group in Epoch Catherine was the worst in the history of Russia. A number of historians compare the position of the fortress peasants of that era with slaves. As V. O. Klyuchevsky writes, the landowners "turned their villages in slaveholding plantations, which are difficult to distinguish from North American plantations to the liberation of blacks"; And D. Blum concludes that "by the end of the XVIII century. The Russian serfs did not differ from the slave on the plantation. " Noblemen, including Catherine II itself, was often called the serfs of the peasants "slaves", which is well known for written sources.

Wide sizes achieved trafficking in peasants: they were sold in the markets, in ads on the pages of newspapers; They were played in the cards, they exchanged, Gota, violently married. The peasants could not take the oath, take the sputter and contracts, could not drive off from their village more than 30 versts without a passport - permission from the landowner and local authorities. According to the law, the landlord was completely in power, the latter did not have the right only to kill him, but he could tortured to death - and for it was not provided for official punishment. There are a number of examples of the maintenance of serfs of serfs "harem" and shy for peasants with executioners and torture guns. Within 34 years of reign only in several other critical cases (including Daria Saltykov), the landowners suffered punishment for the abuse of peasants.

During the reign of Catherine II, a number of laws were adopted, worsened the position of the peasants:

• Decree of 1763 has launched the content of military teams sent to suppress peasant performances, on the peasants themselves.
• By decree of 1765, for open disobedience, the landowner could send the peasant not only in the link, but also on the cautious, and the term of the road works was established by him; The landowners were also the right at any time to return to the cautious cautious.
• Decree of 1767 forbade the peasants to complain about his Barin; Slistems threatened the link to Nerchinsk (but they could go to court),
• In 1783, the serfdom was introduced in Malorussia (Left Bank Ukraine and Russian Chernozem),
• In 1796, the serfdom was introduced in Novorossia (Don, North Caucasus),
• After the sections of the speech, the compulculation was tightened by the serfs in the territories, who departed to the Russian Empire (right-bank Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland).

As N. I. Pavlenko writes, under Catherine "The serfdom has developed deep into and styling," which was an example of a blatant contradiction between the ideas of enlightenment and government measures to strengthen the serfdom "

During his reign, Catherine crossed the landowners and nobles more than 800 thousand peasants, thereby putting a kind of record. In most, it was not state peasants, but the peasants from the land acquired at the sections of Poland, as well as the Palace peasants. But, for example, the number of assigned (sessions) peasants from 1762 to 1796. It has increased from 210 to 312 thousand people, and these were formally free (state) peasants, but facing serfs or slaves. Possessing the peasants of the Ural Plants took an active part in the Peasant War of 1773-1775.

At the same time, the situation of monastic peasants was facilitated, which were transferred to the banking of the savings together with the lands. All their duties were replaced with a monetary interference, which represented the peasants more independence and developed their economic initiative. As a result, the unrest of monastic peasants stopped.

Higher clergy (Bishopat) lost autonomous existence due to the secularization of church lands (1764), which gave the opportunity to bishoe houses and monasteries with the possibility of existence without the help of the state and regardless of him. After the reform, the monastic clergy was dependent on the funding state.

Religious policy

In general, in Russia in Catherine II declared the policy of religious tolerance. Thus, in 1773 the law on the tolerance of all religions, prohibiting the Orthodox clergy to interfere in the affairs of other denominations; Secular power reserves the right to solve the issue of establishing temples of any faith.

Enhancing the throne of Catherine abolished Decree Peter III on the secularization of land in the church. But already in Feb. 1764 again issued a decree depriving the church of land ownership. Monastery peasants with a number of about 2 million people. Of course, the clergy was seized and transferred to the Office of the Board of Savings. The states of the state included churches, monasteries and bishops.

In Malorus, the secularization of monastic possessions was held in 1786.

Thus, the clergy fell into dependence on secular power, as it could not carry out independent economic activity.

Catherine has achieved from the government of the Commonwealth of the equation in the rights of religious minorities - Orthodox and Protestants.

In the first years of the reign of Catherine II ceased persecution old Believers. Continuing the policy of the spouse of Peter III overthrown by her, the Empress supported his initiative of return from the border of the Old Believers, the economically active population. They were specifically assigned a place on Irgiz (modern Saratov and Samara region). They were allowed to have priests.

However, already in 1765 the persecution resumed. Senate ruled that the antimonians are not allowed to build temples, and Catherine confirmed this by its decree; Already built temples were demolished. In these years, not only temples, but also the whole city of Old Beloviers and Raskolnikov (branch) in Malorus, who stopped exist after that, were subjected to defeat. And in 1772, the sect of the Skobtsov in the Oryol province was subjected to persecution. K. Wishevsky believes that the reason for the preservation of persecutions on the Old Believers and Raskolnikov, unlike other religions, was the fact that they were considered not only as a religious, but also as a socio-political movement. So, according to the common among the Raskolnikov, Ekaterina II, along with Peter I, was considered the "king-antichrist".

The free resettlement of the Germans to Russia led to a significant increase in the number protestants (mostly Lutheran) in Russia. They were also allowed to build chicks, schools, free to commit worship. At the end of the XVIII century, only one St. Petersburg had more than 20 thousand Lutheran.

Per jewish Religion retained the right to public administration of faith. Religious affairs and disputes were left under the jurisian courts. Jews, depending on their existing capital, were ranked at the appropriate class and could be elected to local governments, becoming judges and other civil servants.

By decree Catherine II in 1787 in the printing house of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg for the first time in Russia, the full Arabic text was printed islamic The sacred book of the Quran for free distribution of "Kirgizam". The publication was significantly different from European primarily by what Muslim character was worn: the text to the press was prepared by Mullah Usman Ibrahim. In St. Petersburg from 1789 to 1798, 5 editions of the Quran appeared. In 1788, a manifest was released, in which the Empress commanded "the spiritual assembly of the Moometansky law in Ufa, which has its own entire spiritual officials, ... excluding the Tauride region." Thus, Catherine began to embed the Muslim community into the system of the government of the Empire. Muslims received the right to build and restore mosques.

Buddhism Also received state support in the regions where it traditionally confessed. In 1764, Catherine established the post of Hambo Lama - the heads of Buddhists in Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia. In 1766, Buryat Lama recognized Catherine to the embodiment of Bodhisattva White Tara for the benevolence to Buddhism and the humane board.

Ekaterina allowed Order of Jesuitwhich was officially forbidden in all European countries (solutions of European states and Bully Pope), transfer their headquarters to Russia. In the future, she patronized the Order: provided him with the opportunity to open his new residence in Mogilev, banned and confiscated all the issued specimens of "slanderous" (in her opinion) of the history of the Order of Jesuit, visited their institutions and provided other courtesy.

Domestic political problems

The fact that the Empress was proclaimed by a woman who did not have any formal rights on it, gave rise to many challengers on the throne, muttered a significant part of the reign of Catherine II. So, only from 1764 to 1773. Seven Litegeters III appeared in the country (they argued that they were nothing more than the "Risen" Peter III) - A. Aslanbekov, I. Evdokimov, Kremin, P. Chernyshov, Ryabov, F. Bogomolov, N. Crosses; Eighth became Emelyan Pugachev. And in 1774-1775. Another "Case of Princess to Tarakanova" was added to this list, Imbered the daughter of Elizabeth Petrovna.

During 1762-1764 Three conspiractions were revealed, who had the goal of the overthrow of Catherine, and two of them were associated with the name Ivan Antonovich - the former Russian emperor Ivan VI, which at the time of the end of the throne of Catherine II continued to be alive in conclusion in the Shlisselburg Fortress. In the first of them, 70 officers participated. The second took place in 1764, when the Podororuk V. Ya. Movievich, an inferior guard service in the Shlisselburg fortress, bowed to his side part of the garrison to release Ivan. Guards, however, in accordance with the instructions of the prisoner's instructions given by them, and the world itself was arrested and executed.

In 1771, a large plague epidemic occurred in Moscow, complicated by folk unrest in Moscow, which received the name of the plague riot. The rebels defeated the mongs of the monastery in the Kremlin. On another day, the crowd took the attack of the Don Monastery, killed the amboll archbishop of Ambrose hidden in him, began to smash quarantine outposts and at home. For the suppression of the uprising, troops were sent under the command of the city of Orlov. After three-day battles, the riot was depressed.

Peasant War 1773-1775

In 1773-1775, the peasant uprising occurred led by Emelyan Pugachev. It covered the Earth of Yaitsky Forces, Orenburg province, the Urals, Kama, Bashkiria, part of Western Siberia, the secondary and lower voltage. During the uprising to the Cossacks, Bashkirs, Tatars, Kazakhs, Ural factory workers and numerous serf peasants of all provinces, where military actions unfolded were joined. After the uprising suppression, some liberal reforms were cooled and conservatism intensified.

Main steps:

• september 1773 - March 1774
• march 1774 - July 1774
• july 1774-1775

17 (28) September 1773 begins the uprising. Near the Yailsky Town on the side of 200 Cossacks, government detachments are transferred, the sown to suppress the rebellion. Without taking the town, the rebels go to Orenburg.

March - July 1774 - the rebels capture the factories of the Urals and Bashkiria. Under the Trinity Fortress, the rebels suffer defeat. July 12, Kazan is captured. On July 17, defeat again and retreat on the right bank of the Volga.

Historians believe that the peasant war is 1773-1775. It was one of the manifestations of an acute social crisis, which broke out in the middle of the reign of Catherine, who was marked by many uprisings in different parts of the country (the Kizhsky rebellion in Zauchery in 1769-1770, a plaque Bounce of 1771 in Moscow, the uprising of the Yaitsky Cossacks 1769-1772, etc.) . A number of historians indicate a change in the nature of social protests, the acquisition of them class, anti-dvoryan, character. So, D. Blum notes that the participants of Pugachev's uprising killed about 1600 nobles, and almost half of them were women and children, leads other cases of murder of the nobles during the peasant uprisings of that era. As V. O. Klyuchevsky writes, the peasant uprisings in the Catherine reign "were painted with social color, there were uprisings not managed against the administration, but the lower classes - against the highest, ruling, against the nobility."

Masonry

1762-1778 - characterized by organizational registration of Russian world and domination english system (Elaginskoye Freemasonry).

In the 60s and especially in the 70s. XVIII century Freemasonry acquires in the circles of the educated nobility is becoming more popular. The number of masonic lies increases repeatedly. Everything is known about about 80 Masonic lips established during the reign of Catherine II, whereas previously they had fewers. Researchers of Masonry bind it, on the one hand, with a fashion for all new and foreign (one of the founders of Russian Freemasonry I. P. Elagin called him a "toy for idle mind"), and on the other hand, with new trends in the educational era and the awakening of public Interests among the nobility.

The policy of Catherine in relation to Masonry was quite controversial. On the one hand, it has nothing to reproach Masons, except for the strange rituals that she rinsed in their comedies. But there were no prohibitions for the activities of Masons in her reign, with the exception of isolated cases. On the other hand, as the historian writes V. I. Kurbatov, "Catherine with great suspicion referred to Masonicity", in which "saw a threat to his rule." These suspicions concerned two points. First, it feared the excessive strengthening of the foreign influence distributed through the Masonic lodges. So, when in 1784, Elaginian lodges for unknown reasons, but own willing, suspended their work, resumed its meetings only after 2 years, then Catherine honored to transfer the Order "For the good faith of its members to avoid any contacts with overseas masons, with these political relations, it nourishes great respect to them."

Secondly, the suspicions of the Empress concerned the publishing and journalistic activities of the Moscow Masonic Lies of Martinists and Rosenkreycers, headed by N. I. Novikov, I. G. Schwartz, et al., In whose books and articles, she saw hints addressed to her own rule. In 1786, all these lodges were closed, which was the only case of this kind in Catherine, and some members of these lies, primarily of the Novikov himself, as well as M. I. Nevzorov and V. Ya. Kolokolnikov, subjected to repression. In addition, in 1786, 6 books published by Moscow Rosenkreyers were prohibited. These facts indicate the desire of Catherine II to control the Freemasonry and allow only its activities that did not contradict its interests.

Development of literature. Business Novikov and Radishcheva

Domestic literature in Epoch Catherine, as in general, in the XVIII century, according to a number of historians, was in its infancy, according to K. Wishevsky, mainly "processing foreign elements". The same opinion expresses A. Truiai, who writes that Sumarokov, Heraskova, Bogdanovich and other Russian writers of that era have a lot of direct borrowing from French writers. As stated in the XIX century. The French historian A. Lerua-Paradict, the trend of Russia of the XVIII century to imitating everything foreign on the whole century slowed down the birth of original national literature.

"Official" literature of the era of Catherine is presented in several famous names: Fonvizin, Sumarokov, Derzhavin, - and a very small number and volume of works written by them, and does not go to any comparison with Russian literature of the first half of the XIX century. True, there was still "unofficial" literature: Radishchev, Novikov, Dresses, - which was subjected to a ban, and the authors - cruel repression. A number of other, less well-known, authors, for example, princess, whose historical drama (Vadim Novgorod) were also prohibited, and the whole circuit was burned. According to historians, the policy of the Empress, which consisted, on the one hand, in a peculiar personal "leadership" with literary creativity, and on the other hand, hard censorship and repression against disadvantaged writers did not contribute to the development of national literature.

It concerned both individual works and literary magazines. During its reign, several magazines appeared, but none of them, with the exception of the magazine "Everyone, published by Catherine himself, could not long exist. The reason was how G. V. Plekhanov wrote, and with what the historian N. I. Pavlenko agrees that the publishers of magazines "considered themselves to criticize themselves, meanwhile as Felitsa [Ekaterina II] considered them to admire them."

Thus, Novikov's magazine "TRUNEEN" was closed by the authorities in 1770, as historians believe, due to the fact that there were sharp social topics in it - the arbitrarians against the peasants, the cooking corruption among officials, etc. After that, Novikov managed to start The release of the new magazine "Painter", in which he has already tried to avoid sharp social topics. However, this magazine was closed in a few years. The same fate was subjected to the "St. Petersburg Bulletin", which existed only to a little more than two years, and other magazines.

The same policy was conducted in relation to the published books - and not only in the country, but also abroad related to Russia and the Imperial Policy. So, a sharp criticism of Catherine was subjected to the French Astronomer with Shappe d'Letter (CHAPPE D'AUTEROCHE), a book about his trip to Russia, in which he wrote about the reigned among officials bribery and about trafficking in persons, as well as published in 1782 G. France "History of Russia" Levka (L'Evessque), in which, in her opinion, it was too little praise to the empress.

Thus, according to a number of historians, not only "harmful" works, but also "not useful", dedicated to not glorifying Russia and its empress, and some other, "outsiders", and therefore "unnecessary", things. In particular, it is believed that not only the content of individual books and articles, but also the publishing activities of Novikov, who has been launched with a large scale (from 2685 books published in 1781-1790 in Russia, 748 books, that is 28%, was published Novikov), caused irritation of the empress.

So, in 1785, Ekaterina II instructed Archbishop Platon to find out if there is no "harmful" in the books produced by Novikov. He learned the books published by him, which mostly produced in the goal of folk enlightenment, and eventually did not find in them "nothing reprehensible from the point of view of the faith and interests of the state." Nevertheless, in a year, Novikovsky Masonic lodges were closed, a number of his books were banned, and after a few years he himself was repressed. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, "the composition of the crime could not convincingly formulate, and Novikov without a court, the personal decree of Catherine II of May 1, 1792 was sharpened to the Schlisselburg fortress for 15 years. The decree declared him with a state criminal, charlatan, who was based on the deception of gullible people. "

Very similar to the fate of Radishchev. As historians indicate, in his book "Traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow" there are no calls for the overthrow of the existing building and to the elimination of serfdom. Nevertheless, the author was sentenced to the death penalty (after the pardon, he was replaced with a 10-year reference to Tobolsk) - for the fact that his book was filled with harmful qualities that destroy the peace, with respect to power, respect ... ".

According to historians, and in the "Novikov case", and in the "Radishchev case", a certain role was played by the vulnerable pride of Catherine, accustomed to the bowling and not enduring people who dared to express their critical judgments, reaching against her own.

Foreign policy

The foreign policy of the Russian state in Catherine was aimed at strengthening Russia's role in the world and expanding its territory. The motto of her diplomacy was as follows: "You need to be in friendship with all powers, to always keep the opportunity to be over the side of a weaker ... to keep yourself loose hands ... I do not drag your tail." However, this motto was often neglected, preferring to attach the weak to strong contrary to their opinion and desire.

Expansion of the limits of the Russian Empire

The new territorial growth of Russia begins with the top of Catherine II. After the first Turkish war, Russia acquires important items in the mouths of Dnipro, Don and in the Kerch Strait (Kinburn, Azov, Kerch, Yenikale) in 1774. Then, in 1783, the Balta, Crimea and Kuban region joins. The second Turkish war ends with the acquisition of the coastal strip between the Bug and the Dniester (1791). Thanks to all these acquisitions, Russia becomes a solid foot on the Black Sea. In the same time, Polish sections give Russian Western Russia. In the first of them in 1773, Russia receives part of Belarus (province Vitebskaya and Mogilyovskaya); According to the second section of Poland (1793), Russia received areas: Minsk, Volyn and Podolsk; According to the third (1795-1797) - Lithuanian provinces (Vilen, Koven and Grodno), Black Rus, the upper course of Pripyati and the western part of Volyn. Simultaneously with the third section was joined to Russia and Duchy Kurland.

Sections of speech plugged

The Compulsioned Polish-Lithuanian state in the federal Polish-Lithuanian state included the Polish kingdom and the Grand Principality of Lithuania.

The reason for interfering in the affairs of the Commonwealth was the question of the situation of dissidents (that is, a noncatolic minority - Orthodox and Protestants) so that those equalized with the rights of Catholics. Catherine has provided a strong pressure on the gentry in order to election to the Polish throne of its protege of Stanislav Augustus, which was elected. Part of the Polish gentry opposed these solutions and organized an uprising raised in the Bark Confederation. It was suppressed by Russian troops in the Union with the Polish king. In 1772, Prussia and Austria, fearing the strengthening of Russian influence in Poland and its success in the war with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), offered Catherine to hold a section of the Commonwealth in exchange for the termination of the war, threatening the war against Russia. Russia, Austria and Prussia introduced their troops.

In 1772, the first section of the Commonwealth speech took place. Austria received all Galicia with districts, Prussia - Western Prussia (Pomorie), Russia - the eastern part of Belarus to Minsk (Vitebskaya and Mogilevskaya) and part of the Latvian lands that were previously in the Livonia. The Polish Sejm was forced to agree with the section and abandon the claims for lost territories: Poland was lost 380000 km² with a population of 4 million people.

Polish nobles and industrialists contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1791; The conservative part of the population of the Targovitsky Confederation appealed to Russia for help.

In 1793, the second section of the Commonwealth, approved on the Grodno Sejm, took place. Prussia received Gdansk, Torun, Poznan (part of the land by r. Varta and Vistula), Russia - Central Belarus with Minsk and Novorossia (part of the territory of modern Ukraine).

In March 1794, an uprising began under the leadership of Tadeusch Kostyshko, whose goals were the restoration of territorial integrity, sovereignty and the Constitution on May 3, but in the spring of the same year it was suppressed by the Russian army under the command of A. V. Suvorov. During the uprising of Kostyshko by the rebel Poles who captured the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, documents that had a large public resonance were discovered, in accordance with which King Stanislav understood and a number of members of the Grodno Seima at the time of approval of the 2nd section of the Commonwealth received money from the Russian government - in Particularly received several thousand dukatov.

In 1795, the third section of the Commonwealth was held. Austria received South Poland with Lyuban and Krakow, Prussia - Central Poland with Warsaw, Russia - Lithuania, Kurland, Volyn and Western Belarus.

13 (24) October 1795 - the conference of three powers on the fall of the Polish state, it lost statehood and sovereignty.

Russian-Turkish wars. The accession of the Crimea to Russia

An important direction of the foreign policy of Catherine II was also the territories of Crimea, the Black Sea and the North Caucasus, which were under Turkish dominion.

When the rebellion of the Bark Confederation broke out, the Turkish Sultan declared the war of Russia (the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774), using as an excuse that one of the Russian detachments, pursuing Poles, entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Russian troops broke the confederates and began to worship one after another victory in the south. Having achieved success in a number of land and sea battles (the battle of the goats, the battle with a row of the grave, the kagul battle, the Larg battle, Chesman battle, etc.), Russia forced Turkey to sign Kychuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, as a result of which the Crimean Khanate formally gained independence, but De facto began to depend on Russia. Turkey paid Russia military contracting in the order of 4.5 million rubles, and also lost to the northern coast of the Black Sea along with two important ports.

After graduating from the Russian-Turkish war, 1768-1774, Russia's policy towards Crimean Khanate was aimed at establishing a pro-Russian ruler and accession to Russia. Under the pressure of Russian diplomacy, Han was elected Shahin Gire. Previous Khan - Miller of Turkey Devlet IV Gary - In early 1777, I tried to resist, but it was suppressed by A. V. Suvorov, Devlet IV fled to Turkey. At the same time, the landing of the Turkish landing in the Crimea was unacceptable and thereby prevented an attempt to unleash a new war, after which Turkey recognized Shahina Gurya Khan. In 1782, an uprising broke out against him, which was suppressed by Russian troops introduced on the peninsula, and in 1783, the Crimean Khanate was joined by the II manifesto.

After the victory, the Empress, together with the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, made a triumphal trip along the Crimea.

The next war with Turkey occurred in 1787-1792 and was an unsuccessful attempt to the Ottoman Empire to regain their lands, who were departed to Russia during the Russian-Turkish War, 1768-1774, including the Crimea. Here, the Russians also won a number of essential victories, like land - Kinburn Batalia, Battle at Rymnik, Taking Shakhalov, the capture of Izmail, the battle near Fokshans, beat off the hiking of the Turks for Bendery and Akkerman, etc. and the marine - the battle of Fidonisi (1788), Kerch Battle (1790), Battle at the Tender Cape (1790) and the Battle of Kaliacria (1791). As a result, the Ottoman Empire in 1791 was forced to sign the Yaski peace treaty, enshrining Crimea and Ochakov for Russia, as well as the boundary between the two empires before the Dniester.

Wars with Turkey were marked by the major military victories of Rumyantsev, Orlov-Chesmensky, Suvorov, Potemkin, Ushakov, the statement of Russia on the Black Sea. As a result of them, the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, Skubanye, strengthened its political positions in the Caucasus and Balkans, strengthened its political positions in the Caucasus and Balkans, strengthened Russia's authority in the world stage.

According to many historians, these conquests are the main achievement of the reign of Catherine II. At the same time, a number of historians (K. Wishevsky, V. O. Klyuchevsky and others) and contemporaries (Friedrich II, French ministers, etc.) explained the "amazing" victories of Russia over Turkey not so much by the Russian army and fleet that were It is still quite weak and poorly organized as a consequence of emergency decomposition during this period of the Turkish army and the state.

Relationship with Georgia and Persia

With the king of Kartli and Kakheti Irakali II (1762-1798), the United Kagali-Kakhetian state increases significantly, it grows its influence in the Transcaucasus. Turks are expelled from the country. Georgian culture is reborn, typography arises. One of the leading areas of public thought is the education. Heraclius turned to Russia to protect against Persia and Turkey. Ekaterina II, who fought with Turkey, on the one hand, was interested in an ally, on the other, did not want to send significant military forces to Georgia. In 1769-1772, a slight Russian squad under the command of General Totleben fought against Turkey on the side of Georgia. In 1783, Russia and Georgia signed Georgievsky treatiseBy establishing the Russian protectorate over the kingdom of Kartil-Kakheti in exchange for military protection of Russia. In 1795, the Persian Shah Aga Mohammed Khan Kajar invaded Georgia and raised Tbilisi after the Krtsanis battle. Russia, fulfilling the terms of the treatise, started against her fighting and in April 1796, Russian troops assigned to Derbent and supputed the resistance of the Persians on the territory of modern Azerbaijan, including major cities (Baku, Shemach, Ganda).

Relations with Sweden

Taking advantage of the fact that Russia entered the war with Turkey, Sweden, supported by Prussia, England and Holland, unleashed war with her for the return of previously lost territories. The troops entered into the territory of Russia were stopped by General-Annefom V. P. Musin-Pushkin. After a number of marine battles that did not have a decisive outcome, Russia defeated the linear fleet of the Swedes in the battle of the Vyborg, but because of the injured storm suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of rowing fleets during ricoensalm. The parties signed the Relief Peace Treaty in 1790, according to which the border between the countries has not changed.

Relationships with other countries

In 1764, the relations between Russia and Prussia were normalized and the Union Agreement was concluded between the countries. This contract served as the basis for the formation of the Northern System - the Union of Russia, Prussia, England, Sweden, Denmark and Commonwealth against France and Austria. Russian-Prussian-English cooperation continued further. In October 1782, an agreement was signed on friendship and trade with Denmark.

In the third quarter of the XVIII century. The struggle of North American colonies for independence from England - the bourgeois revolution led to the creation of the United States. In 1780, the Russian government adopted a declaration of armed neutrality, supported by the majority european countries (Courts of neutral countries had the right to armed protection when attacking them the Fleet of the Warring Country).

In European affairs, the role of Russia has increased during the Austro-Prussian war of 1778-1779, when it made the mediation between the warring parties at the Teshen Congress, where Catherine essentially dictated its reconciliation conditions that restored balance in Europe. After that, Russia often performed an arbitrator in disputes between the German states, which were treated for mediation directly to Catherine.

One of the grand planes of Catherine on the foreign policy arena became the so-called Greek project - joint plans of Russia and Austria under the division of Turkish land, the expulsion of the Turks from Europe, the revival of the Byzantine Empire and the declaration of Her Emperor's grandson of Catherine - the Grand Prince Konstantin Pavlovich. According to the plans, on the site of Bessarabia, Moldova and Valahia, the buffer state of Dakia is created, and the western part of the Balkan Peninsula is transmitted to Austria. The project was developed in the early 1780s, but was not carried out due to the contradictions of the allies and the restoration of Russia of significant Turkish territories independently.

After the French revolution, Ekaterina made one of the initiators of the Anti-Francuz coalition and the establishment of the principle of legitimism. She said: "The weakening of the monarchical power in France exposes the risk of all other monarchies. For my part, I am ready to resist with all my might. It's time to act and take for weapons. " However, in reality, it was eliminated from participation in hostilities against France. In a common opinion, one of the actual reasons for the creation of the anti-armnce coalition was the distraction of Prussia and Austria from Polish affairs. At the same time, Catherine abandoned all contracts with France, ordered to send all suspects in sympathy to the French revolution from Russia, and in 1790 issued a decree on returning all Russians from France.

Shortly before death, in 1796, Catherine began a Persian campaign: it was planned that the commander-in-chief of Valerian teeth (nominated to the commander, thanks to the protection of his brother Plato Zubov - the favorite of the Empress) from 20 thousand. Soldier will capture all or a significant part of the territory of Persia. Further grand conquest plans that are believed to be developed by Plato tooths themselves, included a campaign to Constantinople: from west through Small Asia (Teeth) and at the same time from the north on the part of the Balkans (Suvorov), - for the realization of the celian Catherine of the Greek project. These plans were not destined to come true because of her death, although the teeth managed to win a few victories and capture some of the Persian territory, including Derbent and Baku.

Results and evaluation of foreign policy

In the reign of Catherine, the Russian Empire gained the status of the Great Power. As a result of two successful Russian-Turkish wars for Russia, 1768-1774 and 1787-1791. The Crimean Peninsula and the entire territory of the Northern Black Sea region was attached to Russia. In 1772-1795 Russia took part in the three sections of the Commonwealth, as a result of which joined the territories of the current Belarus and Western Ukraine, Lithuania and Kurland. In the period of the Board of Catherine, the Russian colonization of the Aleutian islands and Alaska began.

At the same time, many historians consider individual elements of the foreign policy of Catherine II (liquidation of the speech by compulcient as an independent state, the desire to seize Constantinople) as those who had more negative than positive, results. So, N. I. Pavlenko calls the elimination of Poland as a sovereign state of the "Robbing Promotion by the neighbors". As K. Erickson writes, "the current historians of Catherine's encroachment on the independence of Poland are perceived as barbarism, which comes against the ideals of humanism and the enlightenment, which she preached." According to K. Wishevsky and V. O. Klyuchevsky, during the sections of the Commonwealth of 8 million Slavs turned out to be under the "IGA" of Prussia and Austria; Moreover, these sections have become very strengthened by the latter, much more than Russia. As a result, Russia created with his own hands on its Western border in the person of the strengthened German states of the Terrible potential opponents, with which she will have to fight in the future.

The successors of Catherine critically evaluated the principles of its foreign policy. Her son Paul I treated them negatively and hurried to completely reconsider immediately after the end of the throne. In the reign of her grandson, Nikolai I Baron Brunnov, a report was prepared, which said: "We cannot not recognize that the methods chosen by Empress Catherine to fulfill its plans are far from being consistent with the nature of the directness and honor, which are now the invariable rule of our policy. ... ". "And our true force," the emperor Nicholas I was attributed to my own hand.

Catherine II as a Worker of Employ

Catherine II - legislation in the Temple of Justice (Levitsky DG, 1783, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)

The long reign of Catherine II 1762-1796 is filled with significant and very contradictory events and processes. The golden age of the Russian nobility was at the same time a century of Pugachevschin, "Okaz" and the laid commission adjacent to persecution. And yet, Catherine tried to preach among the Russian nobility the philosophy of European enlightenment, with which the empress was well acquainted. In this sense, its board is often called the epoch of enlightened absolutism. Historians argue about what enlightened absolutism was - the utopian teachings of enlighteners (Voltaire, Didro, etc.) about the ideal union of kings and philosophers or a political phenomenon who found their own real embodiment In Prussia (Friedrich II Great), Austria (Joseph II), Russia (Catherine II) and others. These disputes are not sufficient. They reflect the key contradiction of the theory and practice of enlightened absolutism: between the need to radically change the current order of things (the estimated system, despotism, the powerlessness, etc.) and the inadmissibility of the upheavals, the need for stability, the inability to conceal the social force on which this order is kept - the nobility . Catherine II, how, perhaps, no one else understood the tragic overwhelmingness of this contradiction: "You, by the fenal philosophy of D. Didro, - write on paper, which will even erase, I, poor Empress, - on the skin of man, so sensitive and painful. " Its position is very significant in the question of the fortress peasantry. There is no doubt in the negative attitude of the empress to the fastener right. She repeatedly thought about the ways to cancel him. But on cautious reflections did not go. Catherine II clearly realized that the elimination of serfdom with indignation would be perceived by nobles. Freight legislation has been expanded: the landowners were allowed to link peasants to the cautious for any time, and the peasants were forbidden to submit complaints about landowners. Putting transformations in the spirit of enlightened absolutism were:

• convocation and activities of the laid commission (1767-1768);
• reform of administrative and territorial division of the Russian Empire;
• the adoption of a humble diploma to the cities, which issued the right and the privileges of the "Third Society" - citizens. The urban class was divided into six discharges, received limited rights to self-government, elected the urban head and members of the city Duma;
• the adoption in 1775 by the manifesto on the freedom of entrepreneurship, according to which the permission of government bodies was not required to open an enterprise;
• reforms 1782-1786 in the field of school education.

Of course, these transformations had a limited nature. The autocratic principle of management, serfdom, the estate remained unshakable. Pugacheva's peasant war (1773-1775), Taking Bastille (1789) and the execution of King Louis XVI (1793) did not contribute to the deepening of reforms. They walked with interruptions, in the 90s. And they stopped at all. Pursuit of A. N. Radishcheva (1790), Arrest N. I. Novikova (1792) was not random episodes. They testify to the deep contradictions of the enlightened absolutism, the impossibility of the unequivocal estimates of the "Golden Age of Catherine II".

Perhaps it is these contradictions that gave rise to an opinion that is among the part of historians, about the emergency cynicism and hypocrisy of Catherine II; Although she herself contributed to the emergence of this opinion in their words and actions. First of all, the bulk of the population of Russia as a result of its actions has become even more disheveled, devoid of normal human rights, although in its power it was to achieve the opposite - and for this it was not necessary to cancel the serfdom. Other of its actions, such as the elimination of sovereign Poland, also hardly corresponded to the ideas of enlightenment, which she adhered to words. In addition, historians lead examples of its specific words and actions supporting this opinion:

• According to V. O. Klyuchevsky and D. Blum, in 1771, Catherine seemed "indecent" that the peasants sell in the public auction "from the hammer", and she released the law prohibiting public auction. But since this law was ignored, Ekaterina did not seek his execution, and in 1792 again allowed the trade in the auction on the auctions, forbid to use the auctioneer hammer that, apparently, it seemed to her especially "indecent."
• In another, the example of this is the example of Catherine, prohibiting the peasants to file complaints on landowners (for it now they threatened the beating of the whip and lifelong katorga). Catherine issued this decree on August 22, 1767, "At that time, the deputies of the commissions listened to the articles of" ordinary "about freedom and equality";
• D. Blum also cites the following example: the landowners were often expelled to the street of old or sick peasants (giving them free), which, as a result, were doomed to death. Catherine his decree ordered landlords before it takes to the peasants receipt that they agree to it
• As A. Truiaya points out, Catherine constantly in his correspondence called the serfs of the peasants "slaves." But it was worth the Didro's French enlightener during a meeting with her to use this word, as it was scary outraged. "There are no slaves in Russia, she said. - Fortress peasants in Russia in the spirit of their independent, although the body is also tested. "
• N. I. Pavlenko leads a number of letters Catherine Voltera. In one of them (1769) she wrote: "... Our taxes are so unfounded that there is no man in Russia, who would not have chicken when he wants her, and from some time they prefer Indiek Kuram." In another letter (1770), written in the midst of the Holodomor and the Buntov, which covered different parts of the country: "In Russia, everything is ordinary order: there are provinces that almost do not know that the war continues for two years. Nowhere does not have a shortage of anything: you sing thanksgiving prayers, dancing and having fun. "

The relationship between Catherine and French enlighteners (Didro, Voltaire) is a special topic. It is well known that she was with them in a constant correspondence, and they expressed a high opinion about her. However, many historians write that these relationships were the character of the obvious "sponsorship", on the one hand, and flattery, on the other. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, having learned that Didro needs money, Catherine bought his library for 15 thousand livres, but did not take her, but left him, "appointing" his lifelong caretaker of his library with the payment of "Slashing" from Russian treasury in the amount of 1000 livra per year. Voltaire showered with a variety of mortars and money, and acquired his library after death, paying generous amounts to heirs. For its part, and they did not remain in debt. Didro was crushed by praise and flattery at its address, and its critical notes "put under the cloth" (so, only after death, its sharp critical "comments on the mandatory" of Catherine) were discovered. As K. Wishevsky points out, Voltaire called it "North Semiramid" and claimed that the sun, illuminating the world of ideas, passed from the west to the north; Posted according to the "prepared" for him by ordering Catherine materials by the history of Peter I, which caused ridicule of other European scientists. A. Truiaya notes that Voltaire and Didro competed in the exaggerated praise Catherine, leading the appropriate examples (so, Didro in turn wrote that "puts it for one level" with Caesar, Likurg and Solon, above Friedrich the Great, and only after the meeting With her in Russia, his soul, earlier the "soul of slave", became the "soul of free", etc.), and even jealous of each other to her Milutions and attention. Therefore, A. S. Pushkin wrote about the "disgusting philosion" of the Empress "In intercourse with philosophers of her century", and according to Friedrich Engels, "Catherine II courtyard turned into the capital of the then enlightened people, especially the French; ... It was so possible to mislead the public opinion that Voltaire and many others challenged "North Semiramid" and proclaimed Russia the most progressive country in the world, the fatherland of liberal principles, a champion of religious tolerance "

Nevertheless, it was precisely in this era that a free economic society (1765), a free typography was worked, a hot magazine controversial was worked, in which the Empress was personally founded, Hermitage (1764) and the Public Library in St. Petersburg (1795), Smolny Institute Noble maidens (1764) and pedagogical colleges in both capitals.

Catherine and educational institutions

In May 1764, the first educational institution for girls was founded in Russia - Smolny Institute of Noble Devitz. Supervisory Institute has opened a Novodevichi Institute for Educating Meshchansky Maiden. Soon, Catherine II drew attention to the Land Shuttle Corps, and in 1766 his new charter was adopted. Developing a decree "institutions for the management of the provincial All-Russian Empire" in 1775, Catherine II actively began to resolve problems in education. The obligation to discover the School of the provincial and county level was entrusted to the orders of public charity. In 1780, Catherine made an inspection trip along the Northwestern regions of Russia. This trip showed the achieved successes and what else was to do in the future. For example, in Pskov, she reported to her that school for burghers, unlike the noble, did not open. Catherine immediately spoke 1000 rubles. on the establishment of the city school, 500 rubles. - On the spiritual seminary, 300 - on the orphanage shelter and 400 - on the alm. In 1777, a state commercial school was opened for merchants. In St. Petersburg, Ekaterina II on its own funds in 1781 founded an educational institution under St. Isaac Cathedral. In the same year, six schools were organized at the temples. By 1781, 486 people were studied in them.

At the same time, as historian Kazimir Valishevsky writes, "the beginning of a folk education in the form, as it exists now in Russia, it was found by educational institutions, open in St. Petersburg Novikov, whom Catherine considered the enemy and rewarded the prison and chains for his work for the benefit of Russia "

Catherine - Writer and Publisher

Catherine belonged to a small number of monarchs, which so intensely and directly communicated with their subjects by drawing up manifestos, instructions, laws, polemical articles and indirectly in the form of satirical writings, historical drams and pedagogical covers. In her memoirs, she admitted: "I can't see a pure pen without taking the desire to immediately dip him in the ink."

Catherine was engaged in literary activities, leaving after himself a large collection of works - notes, translations, fables, fairy tales, comedies "Oh, Time!", "Name Day Mrs.", "Front Notable boyar", "Mrs. Bulletin with a family", "Invisible Bride "(1771-1772), essay, libretto to five operas (" Febia "," Novgorod Bogatiry Moorwell "," Brave and Bold Vityaz Ahrimade "," Gorishhhortyar Kostomovich "," Fedul with children "; the premieres took place in St. Petersburg in 1786-91). Catherine initiated, the organizer and author of the libretto of a pompous national-patriotic project - "Historical Deal" "The initial administration of Oleg", for which she attracted the best composers, singers and choreographers (the premiere took place in St. Petersburg on October 22 (November 2) in 1790). All St. Petersburg performances on the works of Catherine were furnished extremely rich. Operas "Febia" and "Gorubhortyar", as well as the Orata "Primary Management" were published in a key and score (which at the time in Russia - extraordinary rarity).

Catherine participated in the weekly satirical magazine "Everybody", published since 1769. The Empress turned to journalism to influence public opinion, so the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe magazine was the criticism of human vices and weaknesses. Other irony objects were superstitions of the population. Catherine herself called the magazine: "Satire in a smiling spirit."

However, some historians believe that a number of its writings and even letters were written by himself, but some anonymous authors, pointing to too sharp differences in style, spelling, etc. Between its various writings. K. Wishevsky believes that some of her letters could be written by Andrei Shuvalov, and the literary works - N. I. Novikov during their "reconciliation" after 1770. So, all her comedies who had success were written only during her period " Friendship "with Novikov, at the same time written later comedy" Mount-Bogatyr "(1789) criticized for rudeness and vulgarity, uncharacteristic for comedies of the 70s.

Jealously refer to negative estimates of her creativity (if any). So, after learning, after the death of Didro about his critical note addressed to her "punishment", she in a letter of Grimma on November 23 (December 4), 1785 spoke with rude statements to the French enlightener.

Development of culture and art

Catherine considered himself the "philosopher on the throne" and favorably belonged to the Epoch of Enlightenment, consisted of correspondence with Voltaire, Didro, D "Alamber. With her, the Hermitage and Public Library appeared in St. Petersburg. She patronized various areas of art - architecture, music, painting . It is impossible not to mention the initiated by Catherine mass population of German families in various regions of modern Russia, Ukraine, as well as the Baltic countries. The goal was to modernize Russian science and culture.

At the same time, many historians indicate a unilateral nature of such patronage from Catherine. The money and awards were generously gifted mainly foreign figures of science and culture, which were broadcasting glory about Catherine II abroad. The contrast in relation to domestic artists, sculptors and writers is especially striking. "Catherine does not support them," writes A. Troyia, "and shows a feeling, mean between indulgence and contempt. Living in Russia, Falcone was outraged by the rudeness of the queen in relation to the excellent artist Losenko. "The poor fellow, humiliated, without a piece of bread, wanted to leave St. Petersburg and came to me to pour his grief," he writes. Training in Russia Fortia de Pilales is surprised that her Majesty admits that the talented sculptor Shubin juts in close camork, having no models or students or official orders. For all his reign of Catherine, Catherine made an order or gave subsidies to very few Russian artists, but not burned to the purchase of works of foreign authors. "

As N. I. Pavlenko notes, "Poet G. R. Derzhavin for the entire life of the service at the courtyard received only 300 shower of peasants, two gold tobacker and 500 rubles." (although he was not only a writer, but also an official who fulfilled various instructions), while foreign writers, without doing anything special, received whole conditions from it. At the same time, it is well known what "award" received from her a number of Russian writers of Radishchev, Novikov, Dresses, Princess, who were repressed, and their works are prohibited and burned.

As K. Valishevsky writes, Catherine surrounded himself "mediocities from foreign artists" (Brompton, König, etc.), throwing the fate of talented Russian artists and sculptors. Gabriel Gavrodumov Graveyard, who studied his art in France and written out Catherine from there in 1782, did not find work at the court of Her Majesty, and he was forced to work as a carpenter or subset. Sculptor Shubin and the artist Losenko did not receive orders from the empress and its courtiers and stayed in poverty; Losenko with despair was given to drunkenness. But when he died, and it turned out that he was a great artist, the historian writes, Catherine "willingly joined his apotheosis to his greatness." "In general, national art," concludes Valishevsky, "obliged Catherine only by several models of the Hermitage, served to study and imitate Russian artists. But, besides these models, she did not give him anything: even a piece of bread. "

Related and episode with Mikhail Lomonosov, which occurred at the very beginning of the Board of Catherine II: In 1763, Lomonosov, without holding a single struggle in the dispute between norms and antinormists, filed a resignation in the rank of Stat adviser (then he was a college adviser); Catherine initially satisfied his request, but after he canceled his decision, obviously not wanting to quarrel with one of the most prominent Russian scientists. In 1764, Catherine II personally visited the house of Lomonosov, having he had the honor of him, but in January 1765 she resolved the young German historian to Slacera across the historical archives, against which Lomonosov made himself, who assumed that Schleser takes them abroad for publication and enrichment (here, perhaps, the personal insult of Lomonosov, who did not allow to visit these archives); But his reproaches were left unanswered, especially since in January 1765 he fell ill with pneumonia and died in April.

Catherine II and Propaganda

Many historians indicate that propaganda played an extremely important role in the activities of Catherine, and some even believe that propaganda was the basic meaning of its entire reign. Among the obvious examples of the propaganda shares of Catherine II indicate:

1. Announced in 1765 under the auspices of the Volsk Economic Society Competition on the best decision peasant question. For 2 years, 162 competitive work were sent, including 155 - from abroad. The award was awarded a member of the Dijon Academy Baard de Laby, who presented an "weighted" writing, which was not to rush to the abolition of serfdom, nor with the endowment of the peasants of Earth, and first prepare peasants to perceive freedom. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, despite the wide resonance, which the competition had in Russia and abroad, "the competitive essays were kept secret, their content was the property of persons included in the competition commission."

2. "Okaz" Catherine (1766) and the work of the commissioned commission (1767-1768), the debate of which lasted a year and a half with the participation of more than 600 deputies and ended with the RosPack of the Commission. "Okaz" during the reign of Catherine only in Russia was published 7 times, and "acquired broad fame not only in Russia, but also beyond it, because it was transferred to the main European languages."

3. The trip Catherine and her suits in 1787 with a large group of foreigners (only about 3,000 people) from St. Petersburg to the south of Russia to glorify Russia's victories over the Ottoman Empire and success in mastering conquered land. It cost a treasury in the amount of from 7 to 10 million rubles. To organize a trip: In some cities, on the path of following, buildings were specifically built in which the tuple was stopped; urgently were made (according to Count Langeron) Repair and painting of facades of buildings along the progress of the tavern, and the population was obliged to wear the best clothes on the day of his passage; from Moscow (according to the testimony of M. M. Shcherbatova) all beggars were removed; The battle of the battle was organized under Poltava, in which 50 thousand people participated; Some cities (Bakhchisarai) were illuminated by numerous lights, so they shone at night as day. In Kherson, guests met the inscription: "Path to Constantinople." As N. I. Pavlenko notes, at that time in Russia was drought, and hunger, which then swept the whole country; And Turkey regarded all the event as a provocation and immediately began with Russia a new war. In Europe, after this trip, a myth of the "Potemkin villages", built by Potemkin, appeared specifically for "allowing dust in the eyes" by Empress.

4. Among the achievements of the Catherine reign, the figure of 3161 factories and plants built by 1796 appeared, while before the reign of Catherine II, the number of factories and factories on the territory of the Russian Empire was calculated only by several hundreds. However, as the Academician S. G. Strumilin installed, this figure highly overestimated the real number of factories and factories, because in her, "only for the glorification of this queen", even the intelligence "factory" and sheepskin "plants" were included.

5. Letters of Catherine to foreigners (Grimma, Voltera, etc.), as historians believed, were also part of its propaganda. So, K. Valishevsky compares her letters to foreigners with the work of the modern news agency, and then writes: "Her letters for beloved correspondents, like Voltaire and Grimm in France and Tsimmerman and partly Ms. Belka in Germany, can not be called otherwise as purely journalistic Articles. Even before being printed, her letters to the Voltera became the property of everyone who followed the slightest act and the word of the Ferneal Patriarch, and watched them literally the entire educated world. Grimm, although she did not show usually her letters, but told them their content everywhere, where he had been, and he had been in all the houses of Paris. The same can be said about the rest of Catherine's correspondence: she was her newspaper, and individual letters were articles. "

6. So, in one of the letters of Grimma, she completely seriously assured him that there are no thin people in Russia, only the fastened. In a letter to Belka at the end of 1774, she wrote: "It happened before, driving around the village, you see little children in one shirt running with bass legs in the snow; Now there is no one who would not have a top dress, turpentine and boots. There are still wooden houses, but most of them are already in two floors. " In a letter in Grimma in 1781, she presented to him "the result" of his reign, where along with the number of provincial and urban institutions established by her, he pointed out, by the way that he released 123 "declaration of facilitation of the fate of the people."

7. In a letter to Belka 18 (29) May 1771, after the epidemic began in Moscow, the official quarantine was introduced, she wrote: "The one who tells you that in Moscow by sea ulcers, tell me that he lied ..." .

Personal life

Unlike his predecessor, Catherine did not led for his own needs of wide palace construction. For comfortable movement around the country, it has equipped a network of small travel palaces along the road from St. Petersburg to Moscow (from Chesmensky to Petrovsky) and only at the end of life engaged in the construction of a new suburban residence in Pelle (not preserved). In addition, she was cared for the absence of a spacious and modern residence in Moscow and its surroundings. Although she was in the old capital not often, Catherine for a number of years cherished plans for the restructuring of the Moscow Kremlin, as well as the construction of suburban palaces in Lefortovo, Kolomensky and Tsaritsyn. For various reasons, none of these projects was communicated to the end.

Catherine was a brunette of medium height. It was known for his connections with numerous lovers, the number of which (according to the list of authoritative Ekaterinovda Petra Barteneva) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergey Saltykov, Gregory Orlov, Horse Guard Lieutenant Vasilchikov, Gregory Potemkin, Gusar Semyon Zorich, Alexander Lanskaya; The last favorite was Cornet Platon of the teeth, which became a general. With Potemkin, according to some reports, Catherine was secretly applied (1775, see the wedding of Catherine II and Potemkin). After 1762, she planned the marriage with Orlov, however, on the advice of approximated refused to this idea.

Catherine's love connections are marked by a series of scandals. So, Grigory Orlov, being her favorite, at the same time (according to Mikhail Shcherbatov's testimony) coited with all her Freilli and even with his cousin 13-year-old sister. The favorite of the Empress Lanskaya used the exciting means to increase the "male force" (consorteda) in ever-increasing doses, which, apparently, to conclude a court doctor Waita, and was the cause of his unexpected death at a young age. Her last favorite, Platon Zubov, was a little more than 20 years, while the age of Catherine at that time had already exceeded 60. Historians mention many other scandalous details ("bribe" in 100 thousand rubles, paid to the Preamkin to the future favorites of the Empress, many of which were his adjutants before it, the testing of their "male strength" with its Freillias, etc.).

The bewilderment of contemporaries, including foreign diplomats, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, etc., caused enthusiastic reviews and characteristics that Catherine had given to their young favorites, mostly devoid of any outstanding talents. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, "neither Catherine, nor after her, the breakdown did not achieve such broad scale and did not appear in such a frankly defiant form.

Catherine II for a walk in the Tsarsko Selo Park. Picture of the artist Vladimir Borovikovsky, 1794

It is worth noting that in Europe "debauchery" Catherine was not so rare phenomenon against the background of the general promotion of the morals of the XVIII century. Most of the kings (except, perhaps Friedrich the Great, Louis XVI and Karl XII) had numerous mistresses. However, this does not apply to the reign of queens and empress. Thus, the Austrian Empress Maria Teresia wrote about "disgust and horror", which she instill such persons as Catherine II, and this attitude to the latter shared her daughter Maria-Antoinette. As I wrote in this regard, K. Valishevsky, comparing Catherine II with Louis XV, "The difference in floors to the condation of the centuries, we think, will give a deeply unequal nature of the same actions, depending on that, whether they are made by a man or a woman ... The same mistress Louis XV has never affected the fate of France. "

There are numerous examples of how the exceptional influence (both negative and positive) were the favorites of Catherine (Orlov, Potemkin, Platon of Teeth, etc.) on the destiny of the country, starting from June 28 (July 9), 1762 and up to death Empress, as well as on its inner, foreign policy, and even for hostilities. As N. I. Pavlenko writes, in favor of Favorita Gregory Potemkin, who envied the glory of Field Marshal Rumyantsev, this outstanding commander and hero of Russian-Turkish wars was removed Catherine from the command of the army and was forced to retire in his estate. The other, very mediocible commander, Musin-Pushkin, on the contrary, continued to lead the army, despite his missions in the military campaigns (for which the Empress itself called him, "the Bulgarian") - due to the fact that he was "favorite on June 28," one of Those who help Catherine capture the throne.

In addition, the Institute of Favoritism negatively acted on the Mrava of the Supreme Nobility, which was looking for benefits through a new favorite, tried to hold in lovers to the Soviet "of his man", etc. Sovremennik M. M. Shcherbatov wrote that Favoritism and the breakdown of Catherine II contributed to the fall of the morals of the nobility of the era, and the historians agree with this.

Catherine had two sons: Pavel Petrovich (1754) and Alexey Bobrinsky (1762 - Son Grigoria Orlova), as well as the daughter of the daughter of Anna Petrovna who was the deceased in infancy (1757-1759, perhaps from the future king of the Poland of Stanislav understood). The motherhood of Catherine is less likely to pupil of Potemkin named Elizabeth, which was born when the Empress exceeded in 45 years.

The translator of the Foreign Affairs College Ivan Pacarin issued himself for his son (and for another version - for the son-in-law Catherine II).

Awards

• Holy Ekaterina Order (10 (21) February 1744)
• Order of St. Andrew the First Called (June 28 (July 9) 1762)
• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (June 28 (July 9) 1762)
• Order of St. Anne (June 28 (July 9) 1762)
• Order of St. George 1 Art. (November 26 (December 7) 1769)
• Order of St. Vladimir 1 Art. (September 22 (October 3) 1782)
• Black Eagle Prussian Order (1762)
• Swedish Order of Serafimov (February 27 (March 10) 1763)
• Polish Order of the White Eagle (1787)

Artistic images of Catherine

To the cinema

• "FORBIDDEN PARADISE", 1924. In the role of Catherine - Floor Negri
• "Caprice Catherine II", 1927, Ussr. In the role of Catherine - Vera Argutin
• "Slutty Empress", 1934 - Marlene Dietrich
• Münhhausen, 1943 - Horney Brigitta.
• "A Royal Scandal", 1945 - Tallula Bankhad.
• "Admiral Ushakov", 1953. In the role of Catherine - Olga Visital.
• "John Paul Jones", 1959 - Bett Davis
• "Evenings on the farm near Dikanka", 1961 - Zoya Vasilkova.
• "Missing Gram", 1972 - Lydia Vakula
• "There is an idea!", 1977 - Alla Larionova
• "Emelyan Pugachev", 1978; Golden Age, 2003 - Viya Artman
• "Tsarist Hunt", 1990 - Svetlana Kryuchkova.
• "Young Ekaterina", 1991. In the role of Catherine - Julia Ormond
• "Dreams about Russia", 1992 - Marina Vlad
• "Anecdotiad", 1993 - Irina Muravyova
• "Russian Bun", 2000 - Olga Antonova
• Russian Arkheg, 2002 - Maria Kuznetsova
• "As the Cossacks", 2009 - Nonna Grishaeva.
• "The sovereign and the robber", 2009. In the role of Catherine - Alena Ivchenko.

Telefils

• "Great Catherine", 1968. In the role of Catherine - Jeanne Moro
• "MEETING OF MINDS", 1977. In the role of Catherine - Jane Meduse.
• "Captain's daughter", 1978. In the role of Catherine - Natalia Gundareva
• Mikhailo Lomonosov, 1986. In the role of Catherine - Catherine Kokhv
• "Russia", England, 1986. In the role of Valentina Azov.
• "Countess Sheremetyeva", 1988. In the role of Ekaterina - Lydia Fedoseeva-Shukshina.
• "Vivat, Marthemaryarins!", 1991; "Gardemaryna-3", (1992). In the role of Princess Fici (future Catherine) - Christina Orbakayte
• "Catherine The Great", 1995. In the role of Catherine - Catherine Zeta-Jones
• "Evening on the farm near Dikanka," (2002). In the role of Catherine - Lydia Fedoseeva-Shukshina.
• "Favorit", 2005. In the role of Catherine - Natalia Surkov
• "Catherine The Great", 2005. In the role of Catherine - Emily Bruni
• "Feather and sword", 2007. In the role of Catherine - Alexander Kulikova
• "Mystery Maestro", 2007. In the role of Catherine - Olesya Zhurakovskaya
• "Ekaterina Musketeers", 2007. In the role of Catherine - Alla Oding
• "Silver Samurai", 2007. In the role of Catherine - Tatyana Polonskaya
• "Romanovs. Fifth film, 2013. In the role of young Catherine - Vasilisa Elitatyevskaya; In maturity - Anna Yashina.
• "Ekaterina", 2014. In the role of Catherine - Marina Aleksandrov.
• "Great", 2015. In the role of Catherine - Julia Snigir.
• "Catherine. Takeoff ", 2016. In the role of Catherine - Marina Aleksandrov.

In art prose

• Nikolay Gogol. "Evening on the farm near Dikanka" (1832)
• Alexander Pushkin. "Captain's daughter" (1836)
• Gregory Danilevsky. "Princess Tarakanova" (1883)
• Evgeny Salias. Petersburg Action (1884), "in Old Moscow" (1885), "Senate Secretary" (1896), "Petrovsky Days" (1903)
• Natalia Manseign. "Crebst Princess" (1912)
• Bernard Show. "Great Ekaterina" (1913)
• Lion Zhdanov. "Last Favorite" (1914)
• Peter Krasnov. "Catherine Great" (1935)
• Nikolay Ravich. "Two Capitals" (1964)
• Vsevolod Ivanov. "Empress Fie" (1968)
• Valentin Pikul. "Feather and sword" (1963-72), "Favorit" (1976-82)
• Maurice Simashko. "Semiramid" (1988)
• Nina Sorotokina. "Date in St. Petersburg" (1992), "Chancellor" (1994), "Parity Law" (1994)
• Boris Akunin. "Extracurricular reading" (2002)
• Vasily Aksenov. "Voltairians and Voltaryanka" (2004)

Monuments Catherine II.

Simferopol (lost, restored in 2016)

Simferopol (restored)

• In 1846, the Monument to Empress was solemnly open in the city, named after her honor - Ekaterinoslava. During the Civil War, the monument from drowning in the Dnieper Makhnovtsy saved director of the local historical museum. During the occupation of Dnepropetrovsk, the monument is exported by the fascists in an unknown direction. Until today is not found.
• In Veliky Novgorod on the monument "1000th anniversary of Russia" among 129 figures of the most prominent personalities in Russian history (for 1862) there is a figure of Catherine II.
• In 1873, the monument to Catherine II was opened on Alexandrin Square in St. Petersburg.
• In 1890, a monument to Catherine II in Simferopol was established. Destroyed by the Soviet government in 1921.
• In 1904, a monument to Catherine II was opened in Wilna. Demonstrated and evacuated deep into Russia in 1915.
• In 1907, a monument to Catherine II was opened in Ekaterinodar (stood until 1920, was restored on September 8, 2006).
• In Moscow, in front of the building of the M. Grekov military artists studio (ul. Soviet Army, 4), a monument to Catherine II was opened, which is a bronze statue of the empress on the pedestal.
• In 2002, a monument was opened in Ekaterina II founded by Catherine II.
• On September 19, 2007, a monument to Catherine II was opened in the city of Vyshny Volochok; Sculptor Yu. V. Zlin.
• On October 27, 2007, the monuments of Catherine II were opened in Odessa and Tiraspol.
• In 2007, a monument to Catherine II was opened in the city of Marx (Saratov region).
• On May 15, 2008, an monument to Catherine II in Sevastopol was opened.
• On September 14, 2008, a monument to Catherine II Great in Podolsk was opened. The monument is captured by Empress at the time of signing the Decree dated October 5, 1781, where the entry is: "... We command the guests to rename the city the Economic village of Podol ...". Author - Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Alexander Roznikov.
• July 7, 2010 Monument to Catherine Great installed in the east of Germany in the city of Zerbst.
• On August 23, 2013, in the framework of the Irbit Fair, the monument in Irbit was renewed in 1917.
• In June 2016, a monument to Catherine II in the capital of the Crimea Simferopol was restored.
• On August 13, 2017, a monument of Catherine II was opened in the city of Luga, which is a bronze statue of the Empress on the pedestal. The author of the figure is the sculptor V. M. Rychkov.

Catherine on coins and banknotes

Golden Poltina for palace ego with Ekaterina II profile. 1777.

Golden 2 rubles for palace egoe with Ekaterina II profile, 1785

Here is buried
Catherine Second Born in Shatttin
April 21, 1729.
She spent 34 years in Russia, and came out
There married Peter III.
Fourteen years
She was a triple project - like
Spouse, Elizabeth I and the people.
She used everyone to achieve success.
Eighteen years of boredom and privacy made her read a lot of books.
Having joined the Russian throne, she sought to good
I wanted to deliver happiness, freedom and property with his subjects.
She easily forgot and did not feed anyone hate.
Indulgent, loved by easiteness in life, fun from nature, with the soul of Republicans
And a good heart - she had friends.
Lucky work was lung,
In society and verbal sciences she
I found pleasure.

Portrait of the future emperor Peter III - G. K. GOOD, 1743

Family tree - Proof of the relationships of Peter III and Catherine II

The history of the greatest Russian empress begins in 1729 in the city of Shttin. She was born under the name of Sophia August Federica Anhalt-Crebst. In 1744, Elizabeth Alekseevna invited Ekaterina II to St. Petersburg, where she accepted Orthodoxy. She did not agree with her destiny, but her upbringing and humility took over. Soon, a great prince Petr Ulrich was sucking young person in the bride. The wedding of Peter III and Catherine II took place in 1745 on September 1.

Childhood and education

Mother Peter III - Anna Petrovna

Father Peter III - Karl Friedrich Golstein-Gottorpsky

Ekaterina II husband was born in 1728 in the German town of Kiel. He was unarked by Karl Peter Ulrich Hollytein-Gottorpsky, since childhood he had to inherit the Swedish throne. In 1742, Elizabeth Alekseevna declared Charles heir to the Russian throne, he remained the only descendant of Peter I Great. Peter Ulrich arrived in St. Petersburg, where he was painted and gave the name Peter Fedorovich. The procedure has passed with great strength, the young heir resisted to Orthodoxy and openly declared dislike for Russia. Education and education did not betrayal, this affected the future views of the emperor.

Cesarevich Petr Fedorovich and the Grand Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna, 1740s Grot

Portrait of Peter III - Antropov A.P. 1762.

The volitional, ambitious, fair Empress of the Russian and his spouse was not lucky. Ekaterina II husband was not a worthy person, not too physically and mentally developed. With the first acquaintance of Peter III and Catherine II, it was outraged by his ignorance and low-education. But the choice of young people was not, the future was predetermined by Elizabeth Petrovna. Marriage was not formed by Peter Fedorovich, on the contrary, he expanded the range of his fun and hobbies. He was a man with strange preferences. The emperor could rush around the room with a whip or collect all the Laces, in order to play soldiers. Peter Fedorovich had a genuine interest in military serviceBut exclusively in the game form, he was not going to do this seriously.

Relationships between spouses

Catherine's husband was cold to her, indifferent and even hostile. For example, he could wake her at night to eat oysters or tell about the lady like him. Peter Fedorovich was tactless, not only to his wife, but also to others. Even after the appearance of the son of Pavel Petrovich in 1754, Peter remained a big child. Catherine all this time was engaged in self-development and education. Even during the reign of Elizabeth, she took her decent niche at the court, where she soon found like-minded people and minions. People saw in her the future for the Russian Empire, many of her liberal views were close. The neat mind was one of the reasons that pushed the future empress in the embrace of the first lovers and favorites.

Ekaterina Alekseevna led diplomatic correspondence, intervened in the affairs of state, tried to influence them. And it did not remain not seen by Elizabeth Petrovna and her husband Catherine Great to avoid links, she began to play his game secretly, convincing the courtyard in her simplicity and harmlessness. If it were not for the sustainable death of Aunt Peter Fedorovich, he would not climb the throne, because the conspiracy already existed. With the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the old branch of the genus Romanov was interrupted.

Peter III with Catherine II and Son - G.K. Grot

Minopery Board

Peter III began his Board with the destruction of the "secret office", gave the liberty of the nobles in 1762, pardoned many people. But it did not arrange the people to the emperor. His desire to reform the church and the return of all the land all the land in the Prussia in a seven-year war made the emperor the subject of nationwide resentment. Catherine II used hostility to his spouse, all this time, preparing a coup, for the day of which for her back was 10 thousand. Army soldiers and supporters among the nobles, including the Orlov brothers. Which, while Ekaterina's husband was Great in Oranienbaum, secretly brought it to St. Petersburg and proclaimed the Empress, and Paul I in the future, the heir of the Russian crown on July 9, 1762.

The next day, Peter III renounced the throne. The letter of Peter III has been preserved to his spouse who overthrown him.

Despite this request, during his conclusion in Ropsch, he died with unexplained circumstances, according to one of the versions - from hitting the head during the booze, on the other was poisoned. The people declared that he died from the "hemorrhoidic colic". This was the beginning of the Epoch of the Board of Catherine II Great.

Cathedral of Catherine II in the Assumption Cathedral. 1762 year. Figure J.L. Devili and M. Makhaev

Version of the murder

According to one of the versions, Alexey Orlova called the killer. Three letters of Alexey are known to Catherine from Ropsha, of which the first two exist in the scringers.

"The freak is very zalenor and covered his unexpected colic, and I'm dangerous, Stob he did not die today, and I'm afraid, I can't come to life ..."

"I'm afraid of the wrath of your Majesty, the Stob you did not know how to think on us did not know and stretch, we were not the parable of the death of the villain of your<…> He himself is so sick now, I don't think, I did not think to life until the evening and almost completely in no way, about what the whole team knows and praiths God, it's easier from our hands. "

From these two letters, the researchers realized that the depleted sovereign suddenly Zalemog. For example, the guardsmen were not required for violence in view of heavy disease.

The third letter refers to the violent nature of Peter III death:

"Mother, it is not in the world, but no one thought about this, and how we think to raise your hands on the sovereign. But, the sovereign, the trouble was accomplished: we were drunk, and he, too, he hovered with Prince Fedor [Baryatinsky]; We did not have time to fill, and it was no longer. "

The third letter is the only one who has been known for today's documentary evidence of the murder of the deployed emperor. Before us, this letter came in the copy, removed F. V. Rostopchin. The original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the first days of his reign.

An ambiguous personality was Catherine 2 Great - Russian Empress of German Origin. In most articles and films, it is shown as a lover of court balls and luxury toilets, as well as numerous favorites with which she once consisted in very close relationships.

Unfortunately, few know that she was very clever, bright and talented organizer. And this is an indisputable fact, since the political changes that occurred during the years of its rule applied to in addition, numerous reforms that touched the country's public and state life are another proof of the originality of her personality.

Origin

Catherine 2, the biography of which was so amazing and unusual, was born on May 2, 1729 in German Shtttytin. Her full name - Sofia August Frederica, Princess Anhalt-Crebst. Her parents were the prince of Christian-August Anghath-Church and equal to Him on the title of Johann-Elizabeth Hollytein-Gottorspskaya, who dreamed of kinship with such royal houses as English, Swedish and Prussian.

The future Russian Empress received an education at home. She was taught theology, music, dancing, the basics of geography and history, as well as, in addition to the native German, she knew perfectly well. Already in early childhood, she showed its independent character, perseverance and curiosity, preferred live and moving games.

Marriage

In 1744, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna invited Princess Anhalt Crebst, along with his mother to come to Russia. Here the girl was painted in Orthodox custom and began to call Catherine Alekseevna. From that moment on, she received the status of the official bride of Prince Peter Fedorovich, the future of Emperor Peter 3.

So, the exciting history of Catherine 2 in Russia began with their wedding, which took place on August 21, 1745. After this event, she received the title of Great Princess. As you know, her marriage turned out to be unhappy initially. Her husband Peter was still an immature young man who played with soldiers instead of spending his time in his wife's society. Therefore, the future empress was forced to entertain himself: she read for a long time, and also invented various fun.

Children of Catherine 2.

While Peter 3's spouse had a kind of pleasing lady, the heir to the throne itself was never hiding, so almost the entire courtyard knew about his romantic preferences.

After five years, Catherine 2, the biography of which, as you know, also a variety of love stories, started his first novel on the side. His chosen was the Guards officer S. V. Saltykov. September 20, after 9 years after marriage, she gave birth to the heir. This event has become the subject of the court discussions, which, however, continue to this day, but already in scientific circles. Some researchers are confident that the father of the boy actually was the lover of Catherine, and not her husband Peter. Others argue that he was born of her husband. But be that as it may, the mother had no time to engage in a child, so his upbringing assured Elizabeth Petrovna. Soon the future empress again became pregnant and gave birth to a girl called Anna. Unfortunately, this child lived only 4 months.

After 1750, Catherine associated love bonds from S. Sadovovsky, a Polish diplomat, who later became King Stanislav Augustus. At the beginning of the 1760, she was already with the city of Orlov, from which the third child gave birth to the Son Alexei. The boy was given the surname of Bobrinsky.

It must be said that because of numerous rumors and woven, as well as the disadvantaged behavior of the spouse, the children of Catherine 2 did not cause any warm feelings in Peter 3. A man clearly doubted his biological paternity.

Is it worth saying that the future empress categorically rejected all sorts of accusations, nominated by his spouse against her. Hiding from Petra 3 attacks, Ekaterina preferred the bulk of the time in his future. Right to the extreme relationship with her husband led to the fact that she was seriously feared for her life. She was afraid that, having come to power, Peter 3 would take revenge on her, so she began to look for reliable allies at the courtyard.

Entry into the throne

After his mother's death, Peter 3 rules by the state just for 6 months. For a long time they were talking about it as an ignorant and low-minded ruler with many vices. But who made him such an image? IN lately Historians are increasingly inclined to think that such an unsightly image was created by memoirs, written by the organizers of the coup - Catherine 2 and E. R. Dashkova.

The fact is that the attitude of her husband was not just bad, it was clearly hostile. Therefore, the threat of a link or even arrest over it served to prepare a conspiracy against Peter 3. To organize the rebellion of the Brothers Orlov, K. G. Razumovsky, N. I. Panin, E. R. Dashkov and others. On July 9, 1762, Peter 3 was overthrown, and a new Empress came to power - Catherine 2. The depth monarch was almost immediately taken to Ropsh (30 miles from St. Petersburg). He was accompanied by Karaul Guardsmen under the command of Alexei Orlova.

As you know, the history of Catherine 2 and, in particular, arranged to be fed by riddles, who excite the minds of most researchers to this day. For example, the bottom of the death of Peter 3 is definitely not established 8 days after its overthrow. According to the official version, he died from a whole bouquet of diseases caused by continuous alcohol consumption.

Until recently, Peter 3 died for a violent death by the proof of this, a certain letter written by the killer and sent by Catherine from Ropshi was believed. The original of this document has not been preserved, and there was only a copy, allegedly filmed by F. V. Rostopchin. Therefore, there is no direct evidence of the murder of the emperor.

Foreign policy

I must say, Catherine 2 Great in many of the views of Peter 1 on the fact that Russia on the world stage should take the dominant positions in all areas, while conducting an offensive and even to some extent aggressive policy. The proof of this can be the gap of the union contract with Prussia, concluded earlier by her husband Peter 3. She made this decisive step almost immediately, as soon as he entered the throne.

The foreign policy of Catherine 2 was based on the fact that she tried everywhere to build their gender to the throne. It is thanks to her, the Duke of E. I. Biron returned to the Kurland Throne, and in 1763 he began to rule it in Poland - Stanislav Augusta understood. Such actions led to the fact that Austria began to fear the excessive strengthening of the influence of the Northern State. Her representatives immediately began to incite the long-standing enemy of Russia - Turkey - to start a war against her. And Austria still achieved his own.

It can be said that the Russian-Turkish war, which lasted 6 years (from 1768 to 1774), was successful for the Russian Empire. Despite this, the prevailing the best way The internal political situation inside the country forced Catherine 2 to look for the world. As a result, she had to restore the former allied relations with Austria. And the compromise between the two countries was achieved. Poland became his victim, part of the territory of which in 1772 was divided between the three states: Russia, Austria and Prussia.

Earth accession and new Russian doctrine

The signing of Kychuk-Kainardzhi world with Turkey provided the independence of the Crimea favorable for the Russian state. In subsequent years, the imperial influence was increased not only on this peninsula, but also in the Caucasus. The result of such a policy was the inclusion of Crimea in 1782. Soon the St. George treatise with the king of Kartil-Kakheti Irakli 2 was signed, which provided for the finding of Russian troops in Georgia. Subsequently, these land were also attached to Russia.

Catherine 2, whose biography was integrally connected with the history of the country, from the second half of the 70s of the 18th century, together with the then government began to form a completely new foreign policy position - the so-called Greek project. His ultimate goal was the restoration of Greek, or the Byzantine Empire. Her capital was to become Constantinople, and his ruler - grandson of Catherine 2, Pavlovich.

By the end of the 70s, the foreign policy of Catherine 2 returned the country to the world's international authority, which was even more strengthened after Russia made an intermediary at the Teshen Congress between Prussia and Austria. In 1787, Empress with the Polish king and the Austrian monarch, accompanied by his courtiers and foreign diplomats, made a long journey to the Crimean Peninsula. This grand event has demonstrated all military power of the Russian Empire.

Domestic politics

Most reforms and transformations that were conducted in Russia were as contradictory as Catherine herself 2. The years of its rule is noted by the maximum reassurance of the peasantry, as well as the deprivation of their even the most minimal rights. It was when it appeared a decree on the ban of filing a complaint against the municipality of the landowners. In addition, corruption flourished among the highest state apparatus and officials, and the Empress itself served as an example for them, which generously gave both relatives and the numerous army of his fans.

What she was

Personal qualities of Catherine 2 were described by her in their own memoirs. In addition, studies of historians based on numerous documents, they say that it was a subtle psychologist who had a well-dealt in people. The proof of this can be the fact that she picked up into assistants only talented and bright people. Therefore, its epoch is marked by the appearance of a whole cohort of brilliant commander and statesmen, poets and writers, artists and musicians.

In communicating with subordinates, Catherine 2 was usually tactical, restrained and patient. According to her, she always carefully listened to her interlocutor, while trapping every little thought, and then used her for the benefit. With it, there was actually not a single noisy resignation, she did not refer any one of the items and especially did not execute. No wonder its board is called the "golden age" of the heyday of the Russian nobility.

Catherine 2, the biography and personality of which are full of contradictions, at the same time, was quite vain and very much treated the conquered power. In order to preserve it in his hands, she was ready to make a compromise even to the detriment of his own beliefs.

Personal life

Portraits of the Empress written in the years of her youth say that she had a rather pleasant appearance. Therefore, it is not surprising that the story included numerous love fun Catherine 2. To do the truth, she could well be married, but in this case, her title, the situation, and the main thing, the fullness of the authorities would be threatened.

According to the increasing opinion of most historians, in his entire life, Catherine Great changed about twenty lovers. Very often she gave them the most various valuable presentations, generously distributed honors and titles, and all this for them to be favorable to her.

Results of the Board

It must be said that historians are not taken to unequivocally evaluate all the events that occurred in the Catherine Epoch, since at that time despotism and enlightenment went alongside the hand in hand and were inextricably linked. During the years of its board was all: the development of education, culture and science, a significant strengthening of Russian statehood in the international arena, the development of trade relations and diplomacy. But, as in any ruler, it did not cost without oppression of the people who endured numerous deprivation. Such an internal policy could not not cause the next national unrest, which turned into a powerful and full-scale uprising under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev.

Conclusion

In 1860, an idea appeared: to erect the monument to Catherine 2 in St. Petersburg in honor of her 100-year-old at the throne. Its structure lasted 11 years, and the discovery took place in 1873 on the Alexandria Square. This is the most famous monument to Empress. During the years of Soviet power, 5 of its monuments were lost. After 2000, several monuments opened both in Russia and abroad: 2 - in Ukraine and 1 - in Transnistria. In addition, in 2010, a statue appeared in Cerbst (Germany), but not by Empress Catherine 2, and Sophia Frederic Augustus, the princess of the Anhalt Cerebst.

Portrait of Catherine II, F. S. Rockots

• Years of life: May 2 (April 21) 1729 - 17 (6) November 1796
• Years of reign: July 9 (June 28) 1762 - 17 (6) November 1796
• Father and mother: Christians-August Anhalt Church and Johann-Elizabeth Golstein-Gottorpskaya.
• Spouse: .
• Children: Pavel (Paul I), Anna, Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky.

Catherine II Rule Rules in the period from 1762 to 1796. She was born on April 21 (on May 2 in a new calendar) of 1729 in Prussia in the city of Shttttin (at the moment it is called Szczecin and is part of Poland).

Ekaterina II Alekseevna: Childhood and Young Years

At birth, she was called Sofia Frederick August Anhalt-Crebst. Her father was Prince Christian-August Anhalt-Crebst, consisting of the service of King Prussia. And the mother, Johanna Elizabeth, was a cousin Peter III.

Sofia studied at home, she was taught dancing, foreign languages, history, geography, theology, etc. Since childhood, she was distinguished by perseverance, curiosity, independence and loved mobile and active games. Catherine has had a strong character from the Small years.

Catherine II in Russia

In 1744, Elizaveta Petrovna invited Sofia to Russia and her mother. Sofia immediately began to diligently study the language, traditions and customs of his new homeland. She did even at night. On June 28, Sofia adopted Christianity and received a new name - Ekaterina Alekseevna.

From the very beginning, Catherine and Peter's marriage was not successful. At first, he was absolutely not interested in his wife, even stated that he had another. Catherine continued to actively engage in self-education: he studied the works of French enlighteners, jurisprudence, economy and history. It is obvious that all this has significantly affected the worldview of Catherine and the politics conducted by it: she was a supporter of the ideas of enlightenment. She also paid great attention to the study of traditions and customs of the Russian people. Entertainment Catherine was hunting, dancing and riding on horseback.

The lack of relationship between spouses led to the fact that Catherine had lovers. In early 1750, she started a novel with an officer Guard Saltykov S.V. But despite the cold relationship between spouses and their infidelity of Empress Elizabeth was dissatisfied with the lack of heirs.

Catherine had two unsuccessful pregnancies, but on September 20, 1754, she gave birth to the son of Paul. There was an opinion that his real father was Saltykov, but evidence of these rumors were not presented. After the birth of the heir, Empress Elizabeth ordered him to pick up him immediately, did not allow his mother's education. Catherine first saw Paul only when he was for more than a month.

After these events, the relationship between Peter and Catherine was finally spoiled, and he stopped hiding his mistresses. Ekaterina had a new novel with Stanislav understood, which later became the king of Poland.

December 9, 1757 Anna - the second child of Catherine appeared on the world. Peter was dissatisfied, because I suspected that he was not a father. The girl lived for a short time - only two years.

During this period, the situation of Catherine II was quite rude. It was caused not only by the lack of married relations, but also by the fact that Catherine kept correspondence with his close friend - English Ambassador Williams. He repeatedly provided her loans in return to the information concerning political issues. Catherine promised him that the friendly alliance between Russia and England concludes in the future.

Elizabeth Petrovna was sick, and Catherine was preparing a conspiracy against her husband, so that the throne would get to her, not him. Supporters of Catherine were Apraksin, Bestuzhev. But Elizabeth learned about this treason and arrested them, later Ekaterina had to look for new allies, with which the Orlov GG, Panin N.I., Dashkova E.R., Razumovsky K.G. etc.

On December 25, 1761, Peter III climbed to the throne. His relationships with his spouse deteriorated even more: he began to live with his mistress Elizabeth Vorontsova, and his wife settled on the other side of the Winter Palace. During these events, Catherine had love relationships with Grigory Orlov, from which she in 1762 gave birth to the son of Alexei Bobrinsky. Of course, she had to hide her pregnancy, the birth was also secretly, because at that moment she had almost never seen her husband.

Peter's actions in both external and internal politics caused discontent. He concluded a treaty with Prussia and returned to her part of the lands, despite the fact that Russia won in a number of battles of the seven-year war. In addition, he planned along with Prussia opposing Denmark. In addition, Peter III was going to cancel church land tenure by making them secular property, and change church rites. In parallel with this, the supporters of Catherine were inclined to their side of the officers.

The actions of Peter led to the fact that he was considered unworthy to manage the state, he looked ignorant, not respected traditions, in his background, Catherine looked profitable, who conceived a coup.

Board of Catherine II. The essence of politicians

On June 28, 1762, Catherine arrived in St. Petersburg, where Izmailovsky regiments swore to her loyalty. At this time, Peter III was in Oranienbaum. Upon learning of a coup, he proposed negotiations that were immediately rejected, so he was forced to renounce the throne. The head of state was Catherine II. But Peter did not leave attempts to return the throne, on July 17, 1762 he died.

Catherine, becoming an empress, issued a manifesto, in which substantiated the overthrow of Peter due to the conclusion of the world with Prussia and attempted church reform. The emperor should be the son of Peter Paul, but the justification for the transition to power Catherine was the desire of the entire Russian people.

The Board of Catherine II is called the "golden age" of the Russian Empire. She knew how to choose the helpers well and was not afraid to surround himself with bright people, many famous statesmen and creative people appeared during her board.

In his policy, Catherine acted smoothly, she conducted the reform of the Senate, turned into secular property of church lands, introduced changes to the administrative and judicial sphere.

She believed that it was important to enlighten people who were managed. It was during the reign of Catherine II that new educational institutions were opened, for the first time and special for women were created free printing houses, the Hermitage and Public Library were opened. She loved writing, during his life wrote not few comedy, fairy tales, fables and even libretto to operations.

Catherine II was categorically against serfdom, but she did not decide to cancel it, because I understood that as a result, he would lose the support of the nobility, and, perhaps, the next coup will come. In addition, the peasants were not formed and not yet ready to live freely.

As for the foreign policy, Catherine believed, as well as it is necessary to occupy an active position and act. The first thing she ruined the contract with Prussia, which Patr III concluded. Catherine II has achieved that the Polish throne took its gold to Stanislav Augusta understood. Austria and Prussia offered Russia to divide the land of speech by compolutely, in the case of disagreement they threatened the war. As a result, after three sections, Russia received part of Belarus, Lithuanian province and Ukrainian lands.

From 1768 to 1792 there were Russian-Turkish wars, the result of which was the expansion of the territory of Russia at the expense of the land of Crimea, the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region. Relations are also normalized both with Sweden and Prussia.

Catherine's novels with each were short-lived: she lived with them for several years, after which he broke up. But she did not subjected to any of them, he awarded titles, good positions and money. It is under Catherine II that the peak of Favoritis was occurred.

Death of Catherine II.

November 17 (November 6, according to the old calendar) Catherine II passed away. She was buried with her husband Peter III (his ashes moved from the Winter Palace) in the Petropavlovsky Cathedral.