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Catherine the Great of Russia

Catherine II
Portrait of Empress Catherine II(a).jpg
Reign 9 July 1762 – 17 November 1796
Coronation 12 September 1762
Predecessor Peter III
Successor Paul I
Empress consort of All the Russias
Tenure 5 January 1762 – 9 July 1762
Born 2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729
Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia
(now Szczecin, Poland)
Died 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796 (aged 67)
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Burial Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg
Spouse Peter III of Russia
Issue
among others…
Paul I of Russia
Full name
German: Sophie Friederike Auguste
House Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov (by marriage)
Ascania (by birth)
Father Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
Mother Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
Religion Russian Orthodox (1744-1796)
prev. Lutheran (1729-1744)
Signature Catherine II's signature
Full name
German: Sophie Friederike Auguste

Catherine II (Russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Yekaterina Alekseyevna; 2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729 – 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796), also known as Catherine the Great (Екатери́на Вели́кая, Yekaterina Velikaya), born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, the country's longest-ruling female leader and arguably its most renowned, regardless of gender (although Peter the Great was the only Tsar officially designated as "The Great"). She came to power following a coup d'état when her husband, Peter III, was assassinated. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger as well as stronger in military terms and becoming recognised as one of the great powers of Europe.

In both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev, and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars, and Russia colonised the territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.


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