Catherine the Great was born into the royal German house of Anhalt-Zerbst. She was selected by the Russian Empress Elisabeth to be the wife of the Russian prince Grand Duke Peter at the tender age of fourteen. Peter and Catherine were both German, and they were also cousins. Peter and Catherine were always at each others throats, and often had affairs with secret lovers. Catherine gave up her German name and religious beliefs, and began to take on everything Russian. After the death of Empress Elisabeth, Peter claimed the throne. Peter loved his German roots, and hated the Russian way of life. Peter began to abuse his power, doing everything he could to influence his German roots in Russia. He removed Russian icons from the church. This caused the uprising of a military revolt. Among the people who planned to take over Peter was Catherines lover, Grigory Orlov. She made sure to place herself at the front of this rebellion, and crowned herself empress.
The article entitled "The Memoirs of Catherine the Great" is two accounts of Catherine the great coming to rule. The second was a letter to her lover Count Poniatowski. The article portrays Catherine as the savior of Russia. It begins at the death of Empress Elisabeth. The Russians were weary after her death over this death, because they feared the harsh governing of Peter. Many people saw their only hope in that of Catherine. They talk of how Catherine only wanted the best for Russia, and how all her hope was for the success of this country. The rule of Peter got so bad the Catherine decided it was time to take measures into her own hands. She ordered an arrest on her husband after returning from one of her trips. The people began to worship her for what she had done. She was named Empress of Russia. During her rise in power Peter III died and in her article she says that he died of natural causes, but I don't think many believed this.
Differing from the previous article by Prince M.
I believe that there was so much attention given to Peter the Great because of his extensive reforms. Peter brought both social and economic changes to his country. He wanted to make Russia big. Peter transformed the culture; he wanted his people to wear the western European fashion. Many of the people were not thrilled with the change because they did not like the ways of the western European societies. He made his navy stronger, he reformed his army to meet the western standards, and he gained control over the church.
Peter the Great, the Russian Czar, inherited his absolutist power from his brother, Ivan V. Born in aristocracy, Peter’s dad was the Czar, and later his brother, and after his brother’s death, him. He was a firm believer in the possible benefits from the control of a single leader to make decisions for the people, and he exercised this divine right to create many renouned institutions. At the beginning of Peter’s reign, Russia was in a poor condition: many rejected modernization from the Renaissance, and large spending from his brother’s reign caused economic droughts. He took advantage of his absolutist power to help ameliorate Russia’s situation and first decided to minimalize power from the other aristocrats. The subduction of the rich allowed
In conclusion, though the goals and outcomes were different in many ways, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both sought to do great things. Louis XIV died unpopular in his country, having had the spotlight on him for years in Europe. He hadn’t made the huge leaps that he had hoped as far as land goes, but he had made small gains of land, and had gained the crown for his grandson, Phillip V of Spain. He also built fortresses around the country and reshaped the French economy. Peter the Great succeeded in modernizing and westernizing Russia. By his death, Russia was considered much more of a leading state in Europe than ever before. He modernized the army, created a navy, and succeeded in centralizing the government.
(weternize) Catherine the great proceeded to finish what Peter the Great started; she made sure that by the end of her reign Russia was westernized. The enlightenment period had a huge impact in her decision making, by limiting the use of torture
Frederick II, the Great was the King of Prussia from 1740-1786, he was the successor of his father Frederick William I (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien). Catherine the Great was married to Peter III and the Empress of Russia during the years of 1762-1796 (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien). Even though they were both leaders that made lasting changes for their countries they had different methods of ruling, making different contributions along with mistakes. The following paragraphs will give more detail about the accomplishments and failures of both leaders.
An avid admirer of Peter the Great, she created her version of Peter the Great’s decrees known as The Grand Instructions in 1768 even though she never really put these ideas into practice. Catherine the Great tightened her control on serfs and peasants through the creation of the Decree of Serfs. This decree stated that serfs and peasants must submit to their landlords in all matters or they face arrest. They were banned from sending petitions complaining about their landlords. This allowed the monarchy to control serfs and peasants in the prevention of any uprising or revolts in the future which also favored the nobles. Ironically, Catherine claimed to believe in “the liberal rhetoric of the Enlightenment” (Catherine 2nd Proposals and Decree on Serfs) however, she evidently ruled Russia with a tight rein. By putting the nobility on such a high pedestal she was ensuring that she had the support and backing of the nobility to maintain her government in Russia. After all, no monarchies in 17th and 18th centuries were secure never without the beloved
Peter redefined the duty of the Russian autocracy by binding together the notion of an autocrat who rules over the populace without any limitations and the notion of the autocrat who reforms society for the benefit of the populace (Whittaker, 1992, p. 78). Catherine wanted to become the enlightened and reforming despot that Peter the Great was, but she also realized the flaws that he possessed that she saw in herself. She criticized Peter for moving the capital to St Petersburg as opposed to moving it elsewhere and Peter’s failure to change the Sobornoye Ulozheniye of 1649 (Rasmussen, 1974, p. 56). However, Catherine was also unsuccessful in changing the Russian legal code as the Legislative Commission was a failure because it had not accomplished its task and she realized that this showed she herself had shortcomings much like Peter did (Rasmussen, 1974, p. 59). Nevertheless, Catherine had a vast amount of respect toward Peter and she used his image to her advantage as a political device. She used his image to overthrow Peter III and gain power over the throne. She realized that this was a necessity because “her claim to power was shaky and she worked to buttress it by projecting the image of a reforming tsar […]” (Whittaker, 1992, p. 92). Catherine did not ascend to the throne by legal right, but she had ascended to it because she had usurped her husband in order to claim power. Therefore, she
Peter the Great would come to be one of Russia’s most influential and powerful rulers by implementing easily the greatest amount of reforms a Russian ruler has ever attempted and altering the course of Roman history for good. The Tsar’s many reforms brought Russia out of archaic times and into a more Europeanized modern age where not only was the entire structure of government changed but so too were extensive reforms brought onto late 17th century and early 18th century Russia’s industry, commerce, technology, military, and culture among other things. Peter the Great’s legacy brought Russia to the height of her power and is one that has inspired many Russians and historians alike through the centuries since his death.
One of Russia’s finest leaders was Catherine II. Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great was a leader who used her power to benefit Russia for advancement in the future and to lead Russia to be one of the most successful countries in Europe at that time. Catherine ruled the Russian Empire from 1762 until her death in 1796, she was very focused on the political and foreign advancements of the Russian Empire. Much of what she did during her rule in the late 1700’s has assisted Russia in the advancements that they have made as a country today. Catherine II was good to her people and also cared very much about their rights, she developed laws to assist the people and to further benefit Russia as a nation.
Peter Alexeevich, also known as Peter the Great, is generally acknowledged to be the most outstanding of the Russian czars (Mano, 2010). For 29 years Peter ruled Russia. When Peter first came into unshared power, he felt that Russia was quite medieval compared to the rest of Europe. After his first year in power, he decided to leave Russia to discover what was going on in the western side of Europe. Upon his return, he began incorporating practices he had seen in the rest of Europe into Russia.
Peter the Great, was, as his name implies, “great”. He made many accomplishments during his lifetime including expanding Russia’s land, heightening their military, and improving the Russian’s ways of life overall. He assisted with most of the reform in Russia, helped them defeat other countries, and formulated one of the strongest armies in Europe.
Peter the Great was born in Moscow on Thursday, May 30, 1672 on the feast of Saint Isaac of Dalmatia (Hughes 1). Pyotr Alexeevich, his formal name, was the fourteenth child born to Alexi I and his second wife Nataliya Kryillovna Naryshkina. Peter towered an astounding six feet seven inches tall. He started out sharing Power with his step-brother, Ivan, who was an invalid, but obtained sole power when he was twenty-four, after Ivan's death in 1696 ('Peter I of Russia' 1). Through his domestic, military, and government reforms, Peter the Great enabled Russia to be considered a leading eastern European state ('Peter the Great' 1).
The age of exploration and discovery in Europe was a time of various absolute rulers. An absolute monarch is a ruler who has unlimited power and controls every aspect of life. Many rulers were great examples of absolute monarchs, but none of them even compared to the absolute monarch Peter the Great of Russia. Peter I, more commonly known as Peter the Great, was born June 9, 1672. At ten years of age, Peter took over the throne, but other people helped him make decisions. He was obliged to rule with his mentally challenged half-brother, Ivan (Beck, 609). It wasn’t until after Ivan died that he gained complete control and was the sole ruler of Russia. During his own reign, he was able to change the way Russia operated. He was aware that his country was behind the rest of his world in many things, such as culture and technology. He was determined to change Russia for the better. With his determination and love for Russia, he was able to conquer his ideas and was able to do what he wanted with his nation. His ruling is known as the period of transformation because, thanks to him, he was able to lead Russia in the right direction and modernize it. Peter the Great was an absolute monarch; he changed Russia’s culture, created new cities, and reformed the church.
Peter the Great was trying ultimately to make the Russian Empire more Europeanized or Westernized. He wanted to protect and enhance the vulnerable Russian Empire. Peter the Great saw that other European countries are colonizing in other regions like the New World, Asia, and Africa. Peter saw this as a threat and didn’t want for the Europeans to conquer Russia. Through decrees to shave and provisions on dress, he was trying to make them European. He also wanted to make military and economic reforms that could help the empire itself. If they built factories, they didn’t need to get supplies from Europe.
Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia, ruling from 1762 up until her death in 1796. Catherine was born a Prussian noble, but married Peter III the heir to Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Catherine was an important woman in Russian history whose ideals and contributions truly embodied those of the Enlightenment period. Catherine the Great was an important figure in the Enlightenment and feminist movement because of her contributions to human rights activism and because she single-handedly broke gender stereotypes, both of which positively affected the lives of Russians for centuries.