Biography
Ekaterina II - the Great Russian Empress, the reign of which became the most significant period in Russian history. The Epoch of Catherine Great is marked by the "golden age" of the Russian Empire, the cultural and political life of which the queen erected to the European level.
The biography of Catherine II was saturated with light and dark stripes, numerous plans and achievements, as well as a stormy personal life, which until today films are shooting and writing books.
Childhood and youth
Catherine II was born on May 2 (April 21, on the old style) of 1729 in Prussia in the family of Governor Shttitin Prince Czyrbst and Duchess of Hollytein-Gottorpskaya. Despite the rich pedigree, the princess family did not have a meaningful state, but this did not prevent parents to provide home learning for her daughter. At the same time, the future Russian empress at a high level learned English, Italian and French, took possession of dancing and singing, and also received knowledge about the basics of history, geography and theology.
As a child, the young princess was a frisky and curious child with a pronounced "boyish" character. She did not show bright mental abilities and did not demonstrate their talents, but helped his mother in the upbringing of the younger sister Augustus, which was satisfied with both parents. In the young years, the mother called Catherine II Fie, which means a little Federica.
In 15 years, it became known that Princess Czyrbst was chosen by Elizabeth I as a bride for the heir to Peter Fedorovich, who later became the Russian emperor Peter III. Princess and her mother secretly invited to Russia, where they went under the name Council of Reinbek.
The girl immediately began to study Russian history, tongue and Orthodoxy, to more fully learn about his new homeland. Soon she switched to Orthodoxy and was identified by Catherine Alekseevna, and the next day he wonted with Peter Fedorovich, who had to her a secondary brother.
Palace coup and climbing the throne
After the wedding with Peter III in the life of the future Russian, the Empress did not change - she continued to devote themselves to self-education, study philosophy, jurisprudence and essays of world-famous authors, as the spouse did not show any interest in her and openly entertained with other ladies in her eyes. After 9 years of marriage, when the relationship between Peter and Catherine was finally buried, the queen gave birth to the heir to the throne of Paul, whom she immediately selected and did not give with him.
Then, in the head of Catherine, a plan was ripe on the overthrow of his spouse with the throne. She is fine, clearly and prolocably organized a palace coup, which the English ambassador Williams and Chancellor of the Russian Empire - Count Alexey Bestuzhev helped her.
Soon it turned out that both trusted persons of the future Russian empress were betrayed. But Catherine did not abandon this plan and found new allies in his execution. They became the Orlov brothers, Adjutant Fyodor Khitrov and Wahmistr Grigory Potemkin. Participated in the organization of the palace coup and foreigners who allocated sponsorship to bribe the necessary people.
In 1762, the Empress was ready for a irrepected step - she went to St. Petersburg, where the guards parts were sworn, which by that time were already dissatisfied with the Military Policy of Emperor Peter III. After that, he renounced the throne, was enclosed in custody and soon died under unknown circumstances. After 2 months, September 22, 1762, Sofia Frederick Augustus Anhalt-Crebstskaya was crowned in Moscow and became Russian Empress Catherine II.
Board and achievement of Catherine II
From the very first day of climbing the throne, the Queen clearly identified its monk tasks and began to implement them. She quickly formulated and conducted reforms in the Russian Empire, which touched upon all the lives of the population. Catherine Great led politics, taking into account the interests of all classes, than won subjects support.
To stretch the Russian empire from the financial bog, the queen held secularization and took the land of churches, turning them into secular property. This made it possible to pay off the army and replenish the treasury of the empire by 1 million souls of peasants. At the same time, she managed to Boyko to establish trade in Russia, having increased 2 times the number of industrial enterprises in the country. Due to this, the amount of government revenues increased 4 times, the empire was able to contain a numerous army and begin the development of the Urals.
As for the internal policy of Catherine, today she is called "enlightened absolutism," because the empress tried to achieve a "common good" for society and the state. Absolutism Catherine II was marked by the adoption of new legislation, which was accepted on the basis of the "Empress of Empress Catherine" containing 526 articles.
They said about the principles that were to be guided by deputies-lawmakers, primarily about the ideas of Deni Didro, Charles de Montcape, Jean Lerona D'Aembert and other enlighteners. The draft law was developed specifically convened in 1766 by the commissioned commission.
Due to the fact that the political activities of the Tsaritsa still had a "Prodvlyansky" character, from 1773 to 1775 she faced the uprising of the peasants under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev. The peasant war covered almost the entire empire, but the state army suppressed a riot and arrested Pugachev, who was subsequently beheaded. It was the only decree on the death penalty, which was published by Empress over the years of his reign.
In 1775, Ekaterina Great conducted the territorial division of the empire and expanded Russia to 11 provinces. During her reign, Russia acquired Azov, Crimea, Kuban, as well as part of Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and the western part of Volyn. The provincial reform of Catherine, according to researchers, had a number of significant drawbacks.
In the formation of the province, the national composition of the population was not taken into account, besides, it was required to increase budget expenditures. At the same time, elected courts were introduced in the country, which were engaged in the proceedings of criminal and civil cases.
In 1785, the Empress organized local self-government in the cities. Decree of Catherine II brought a clear arch of noble privileges - she freed the nobles from the payment of filters, the mandatory service in the army and endowed the right to own lands and peasants. Thanks to the Empress in Russia, a secondary education system was introduced, for which special closed schools were built, institutions for girls, educational homes. In addition, Catherine founded the Russian Academy, which was among the leading European scientific bases.
Special attention during the Board of Catherine paid the development of agriculture. It was considered for Russia the fundamental industry, which influenced the economic development of the state. An increase in the arable land led to an increase in grain exports.
With her, for the first time in Russia, bread began to sell, which the population was bought for paper money, also entered into use by the empress. Also, the Protusen of Monarchin includes the introduction of vaccination in Russia, which made it possible to prevent the deaths of epidemics in the country, thereby preserving the number of citizens.
During the reign of Catherine, the second survived 6 wars in which the desired trophies received in the form of lands. Her foreign policy, many people consider immoral and hypocritical to today. But the woman managed to enter the history of Russia as a powerful monarchine, which became an example of patriotism for future generations of the country, despite the lack of even the drops of Russian blood in it.
Personal life
The personal life of Catherine II has a bright nature and to today's days is interested. Already in the youth, the Empress became committed to "free love", which turned out to be a consequence of her unsuccessful marriage with Peter III.
Ekaterina's love novels are marked by a series of scandals, and its favorite list contains 23 surnames, as evidenced by the research of authoritative "Ekaterinovdov". The Favoritism Institute has negatively affected the state time of that time. He contributed to corruption, incorrect personnel solutions and the fall of the morals.
Grigory Orlov, Alexander Lanskaya, Grigory Potemkin and Platon of the teeth, became the most famous lovers of the monarchyn, who at the 20th age became the favorite of 60-year-old Catherine Great. The researchers do not exclude that the lovelines of the Empress were its peculiar weapons, with the help of which she carried out its activities on the monarch of the throne.
It is known that Catherine was a great for three children - the Son from her legitimate husband of Peter III - Pavel Petrovich, Alexey Bobrinsky, born from Orlov, and daughter Anna Petrovna, who died in an annual age from illness.
The years of sunset of the Empress dedicated to the care of his grandchildren and heirs, since it was in stretched relations with his son Paul. She wanted to pass the power and crown to the senior grandson Alexander, who personally prepared for the monaster of the throne. But its plans were not destined to happen, since her legal heir learned about the Mother's plan and carefully prepared for the fight for the throne. In the future, the favorite grandson of the Empress after all joined the throne, becoming Emperor Alexander I.
Catherine Great in everyday life tried to remain unpretentious, she was indifferent to fashionable clothes, but he was fond of needlework, carving on wood and bone. Every day, she paid his favorite occupation in the afternoon. The Empress itself embroidered, knit, once personally made a dress of a suit for the grandson of Alexander. The queen possessed a literary gift, which implemented a play for the court theater in writing.
Despite the fact that in the youth of the Empress adopted Orthodoxy, she was interested in the ideas of Buddhism. Catherine established the position of head of the Lamisian Church of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia. The government was officially recognized as the embodiment of the enlightened being of the Eastern Religion - White Tara.
Death
The death of Catherine II came on a new style on November 17, 1796. The Empress died from the strongest stroke, she rushed in agony for 12 hours and, without causing consciousness, left life in flour. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. On the tombstience there is an epitaph written by herself.
After joining the throne, Paul I destroyed most of her mother's heritage. In addition, the foreign debt of the state was discovered, which lay down at the subsequent rulers and was repaid only at the end of the XIX century.
Memory
In honor of the Empress, more than 15 monuments in St. Petersburg, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Krasnodar and other cities of the Russian Empire were erected. Later, many of the pedestals were lost. Since Catherine contributed to the spread of paper money, later her portrait decorated 100-ruble banknotes of the Times of Nicholas II.
The memory of the Great Empress was repeatedly immortalized in the literary works of Russian and foreign writers - Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin, Bernard Shaw, Valentina Pikul and others.
The image of Catherine is often used in world cinema. Its bright and rich biography are taken as the basis of scenarios, since the Great Russian Empress Ekaterina II had a stormy life filled with intrigues, conspiracy, love novels and the struggle for the throne, but at the same time became a decent government.
The image of Catherine's Great on the screen was embodied Marlene Dietrich, Alla Larionov, Viya Artman, Julia Ormond, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Marina Aleksandrov and other stars of Russian and foreign cinema.
In 2015, the show of the exciting series "Great" started in Russia. For his scenario, facts from the diaries of the queen itself were taken, which was in the nature of the "man-ruler", and not a feminine mother and his wife. In the image of the empress, Julia Snigir appeared.
Films
- 1934 - "Slutty Empress"
- 1953 - "Admiral Ushakov"
- 1986 - Mikhail Lomonosov
- 1990 - "Tsarist Hunt"
- 1992 - "Dreams of Russia"
- 2002 - "Evenings on the farm near Dikanka"
- 2015 - "Great"
- 2018 - Bloody Baryna