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Catherine II[ a ] (born Princess Sophie Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), [ b ] most commonly known as Catherine the Great, [ c ] was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. [ 1 ] She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III.
Sep 10, 2024 · Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (1762–96) who led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe. With her ministers she reorganized the administration and law of the Russian Empire and extended Russian territory, adding Crimea and much of Poland.
- Catherine the Great’s name wasn’t Catherine, and she wasn’t even Russian. The woman whom history would remember as Catherine the Great, Russia’s longest-ruling female leader, was actually the eldest daughter of an impoverished Prussian prince.
- Catherine’s eldest son—and heir—may have been illegitimate. Catherine and her new husband had a rocky marriage from the start. Though the young Prussian princess had been imported to produce an heir, eight years passed without a child.
- Catherine came to power in a bloodless coup that later turned deadly. Elizabeth died in January 1762, and her nephew succeeded to the throne as Peter III, with Catherine as his consort.
- Catherine faced more than a dozen uprisings during her reign. Of the various uprisings that threatened Catherine’s rule, the most dangerous came in 1773, when a group of armed Cossacks and peasants led by Emelyan Pugachev rebelled against the harsh socioeconomic conditions of Russia’s lowest class, the serfs.
Aug 22, 2023 · Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great) was empress regent of Russia from 1762-1796. She was born in Prussia to Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst (1690-1747) and Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (1712-1760), and although her family was noble, they were not wealthy.
May 15, 2020 · Derided both in her day and in modern times as a hypocritical warmonger with an unnatural sexual appetite, Catherine was a woman of contradictions whose brazen exploits have long overshadowed the...
- Meilan Solly
Oct 21, 2019 · Here's what's fact and fiction about Russia's longest-reigning female ruler, Catherine the Great, played by Helen Mirren in a new series.
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Jul 21, 2019 · Catherine the Great (May 2, 1729–Nov. 17, 1796) was empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, the longest reign of any female Russian leader. She expanded Russia's borders to the Black Sea and into central Europe during her reign.