Catherine the great biography 2011 calendar

CATHERINE THE GREAT

Catherine the Great (born 1729, ruled from 1762-1796) was one of Russia's greatest leaders. Regarded as both an Age of Enlightenment reformer and a frivolous opportunist, she ruled Russia for 34 years, one of the longest reigns in Russian history, even though she wasn't even Russian, had no legal claim to the throne and seized power by killing her husband, the tsar Peter III.

[Source: Erla Zwingle, National Geographic, September 1998]

Catherine ruled in the age of Cossacks, diamonds and French ideas. She came to Russia as a 15 year-old from Prussia to marry Peter III, and later staged a coup and had herself crowned as empress.

She did more to advance real reform than Peter the Great but also cruelly crushed a serf rebellion and drove her country into debt.

Historians have debated Catherine's sincerity as an enlightened monarch, but few have doubted that she believed in government activism aimed at developing the empire's resources and maki