Catherine II Alekseevna "The Great" (1729-1796) was born on May 2, 1729 in Prussia, the city of Stettin (today it is Poland). At birth, she was given the name Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, and on July 9, 1744, having converted to Orthodoxy, and having passed the rite of baptism, she received a new name Ekaterina Alekseevna.
The family of her father, the Duke of Zerbst, did not live well, so Sophia was home schooled. She taught English, French and Italian, history, geography, theology, dance, music. She grew up as a very lively, inquisitive and troubled girl, she loved to flaunt her fearlessness in front of the boys she played with on the street.
Appearance in Russia
In Russia, Catherine appeared in 1744, she was invited by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Here she was expected to marry the heir to the throne, Peter Fedorovich. Their betrothal took place on July 10, 1744, and on September 1, 1745 they were married. Arriving in a foreign country, which became her second home, she began to learn the language, Russian customs and history.
After the wedding, Catherine began to live her own life, as the young husband did not pay any attention to her. They did not have children for a long time, and Catherine fell in love with hunting, had fun with horseback riding, funny balls and masquerades, while reading a lot, was interested in painting. In 1754, their first child, Paul (Emperor Paul I), was born. But the young mother did not take care of her son, since Elizaveta Petrovna took him to her. In 1758, her daughter Anna was born. The husband was not sure of his paternity, and therefore was very unhappy with the birth of his daughter. Later, another son was born to her, whose father was considered Count Orlov. The husband also did not remain faithful to Catherine and openly met with his mistress.
Palace coup
Catherine ascended the throne by staging a palace coup, forcing her husband Peter III to sign an abdication. She successfully took advantage of the fact that in Russia her husband was unhappy due to rapprochement with Prussia.
The Empress ruled the state from 1762 to 1796. The Board was filled with the implementation of plans that Peter the Great did not have time to fulfill. The reign of Catherine, called the "golden age of Catherine", was marked by the fact that Russia entered the world stage, becoming a powerful world power. About how to take the throne, Catherine conceived back in 1756. She counted on the help of her close associates Bestuzhev, Apraksin and the guards, and they did not let her down. The coup took place on July 9, 1762, and in Moscow, on October 3, 1762, Catherine II was crowned king.
During her time on the throne, the empress carried out a huge number of reforms. Under her rule, the power of the army and navy increased, the Crimea, the Black Sea region, the Kuban region were annexed, and the population of Russia increased due to the annexation of lands. Libraries opened up educational establishments and printing houses. She left behind many artistic paintings, rare books on philosophy, history, economics, pedagogy, raised the country's culture. But on the other hand, it strengthened the privileges of the nobility, limiting the freedoms and rights of the peasantry, and severely suppressed dissent.
While in the Winter Palace, she suffered a stroke, and in November, on the 17th of 1796, she died. Great Catherine. With the honors you deserve grand empress, she was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Empress of All Russia (June 28, 1762 - November 6, 1796). Her reign is one of the most remarkable in Russian history; and its dark and bright sides had an enormous influence on subsequent events, especially on the mental and cultural development of the country. The wife of Peter III, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbt (born April 24, 1729), was naturally gifted with a great mind and strong character; on the contrary, her husband was a weak man, ill-bred. Not sharing his pleasures, Catherine devoted herself to reading and soon moved from novels to historical and philosophical books. An elected circle formed around her, in which Catherine's greatest confidence was first enjoyed by Saltykov, and then by Stanislav Poniatowski, later the King of Poland. Her relationship with Empress Elizabeth was not particularly cordial: when Catherine had a son, Pavel, the Empress took the child to her and rarely allowed her mother to see him. On December 25, 1761, Elizabeth died; with the accession to the throne of Peter III, the situation of Catherine became even worse. The coup on June 28, 1762 elevated Catherine to the throne (see Peter III). The harsh school of life and a huge natural mind helped Catherine herself to get out of a very difficult situation, and to bring Russia out of it. The treasury was empty; the monopoly crushed trade and industry; factory peasants and serfs were agitated by rumors of freedom, now and then renewed; peasants from the western border fled to Poland. Under such circumstances, Catherine came to the throne, the rights to which belonged to her son. But she understood that this son would become a toy of parties on the throne, like Peter II. The Regency was a fragile business. The fate of Menshikov, Biron, Anna Leopoldovna was in everyone's mind.
Catherine's penetrating gaze was equally attentive to the phenomena of life both at home and abroad. Having learned, two months after her accession to the throne, that the famous French Encyclopedia was condemned by the Parisian parliament for godlessness and its continuation was prohibited, Catherine suggested to Voltaire and Diderot that they publish the encyclopedia in Riga. This proposal alone won over the best minds to the side of Catherine, who then gave direction to public opinion throughout Europe. In the autumn of 1762, Catherine was crowned and spent the winter in Moscow. In the summer of 1764, Lieutenant Mirovich decided to enthrone John Antonovich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig, who was kept in the Shlisselburg fortress. The plan failed - Ivan Antonovich, during an attempt to free him, was shot dead by one of the guard soldiers; Mirovich was executed by a court verdict. In 1764, Prince Vyazemsky, sent to pacify the peasants assigned to the factories, was ordered to investigate the question of the benefits of free labor over hired labor. The same question was proposed to the newly founded Economic Society (see Free Economic Society and Serfdom). First of all, it was necessary to resolve the issue of the monastery peasants, which had taken on a particularly acute character even under Elizabeth. At the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth returned the estates to monasteries and churches, but in 1757 she, along with the dignitaries surrounding her, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to transfer the management of church property to secular hands. Peter III ordered the fulfillment of Elizabeth's plan and the transfer of management of church property to the college of economy. Inventories of monastic property were made, under Peter III, extremely rudely. Upon the accession of Catherine II to the throne, the bishops filed complaints with her and asked for the return of management of church property to them. Catherine, on the advice of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, satisfied their desire, canceled the collegium of economy, but did not abandon her intention, but only postponed its execution; she then ordered that the 1757 commission resume its studies. It was ordered to make new inventories of monastic and church property; but the clergy were dissatisfied with the new inventories; Metropolitan Arseny Matseevich of Rostov especially rebelled against them. In his report to the synod, he spoke harshly, arbitrarily interpreting church historical facts, even distorting them and making comparisons offensive to Catherine. The Synod presented the case to the Empress, in the hope (as Solovyov thinks) that Catherine II would show her usual softness this time too. The hope was not justified: Arseny's report caused such irritation in Catherine, which was not noticed in her either before or after. She could not forgive Arseny comparing her with Julian and Judas and the desire to expose her as a violator of her word. Arseny was sentenced to exile in the Arkhangelsk diocese, to the Nikolaevsky Korelsky monastery, and then, as a result of new accusations, to deprivation of monastic dignity and life imprisonment in Revel (see Arseny Matseevich). Characteristic for Catherine II is the following case from the beginning of her reign. A case was reported on allowing Jews to enter Russia. Catherine said that to begin the reign by decree on the free entry of Jews would be a bad way to calm the minds; it is impossible to recognize entry as harmful. Then Senator Prince Odoevsky offered to take a look at what Empress Elizabeth wrote in the margins of the same report. Catherine demanded a report and read: "I do not want selfish profit from the enemies of Christ." Turning to the prosecutor general, she said: "I want this case to be postponed."
The increase in the number of serfs through huge distributions to the favorites and dignitaries of the populated estates, the establishment of serfdom in Little Russia, completely fall as a dark stain on the memory of Catherine II. However, one should not lose sight of the fact that the underdevelopment of Russian society at that time affected every step. So, when Catherine II decided to abolish torture and proposed this measure to the Senate, the senators expressed their fear that if torture was abolished, no one, going to bed, would be sure whether he would get up in the morning alive. Therefore, Catherine, without publicly destroying torture, sent out a secret order that in cases where torture was used, the judges based their actions on Chapter X of the Order, in which torture is condemned as a cruel and extremely stupid thing. At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, an attempt was renewed to create an institution that resembled a supreme privy council or a Cabinet that replaced it, in a new form, under the name of the permanent council of the empress. The author of the project was Count Panin. Feldzeugmeister General Villebois wrote to the Empress: "I don't know who the compiler of this project is, but it seems to me that, under the guise of defending the monarchy, he is in a subtle way more inclined towards aristocratic rule." Villebois was right; but Catherine II herself understood the oligarchic nature of the project. She signed it, but kept it under wraps, and it was never made public. Thus Panin's idea of a council of six permanent members remained a mere dream; private advice Catherine II always consisted of rotating members. Knowing how the transition of Peter III to the side of Prussia irritated public opinion, Catherine ordered the Russian generals to remain neutral and thereby contributed to the end of the war (see the Seven Years' War). The internal affairs of the state demanded special attention: the lack of justice was most striking. Catherine II expressed herself energetically on this subject: “extortion has increased to such an extent that there is hardly the smallest place in the government in which the court would go without infection of this ulcer; if someone is looking for a place, he pays; if someone defends himself from slander, he defends himself with money; if anyone slanders anyone, he backs up all his cunning intrigues with gifts. Catherine was especially amazed when she learned that within the boundaries of the current Novgorod province they took money from the peasants for swearing them allegiance to her. This state of justice forced Catherine II to convene in 1766 a commission to issue the Code. Catherine II handed over to this commission the Order, by which she was to be guided in the preparation of the Code. The order was drawn up on the basis of the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria (see. Order [ Large] and the Commission of 1766). Polish affairs, the first Turkish war that arose from them, and internal unrest suspended the legislative activity of Catherine II until 1775. Polish affairs caused the partitions and the fall of Poland: according to the first partition in 1773, Russia received the current provinces of Mogilev, Vitebsk, part of Minsk, i.e. most of Belarus (see Poland). The first Turkish war began in 1768 and ended in peace in Kuchuk-Kaynardzhi, which was ratified in 1775. According to this peace, the Port recognized the independence of the Crimean and Budzhak Tatars; ceded Azov, Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn to Russia; opened free passage for Russian ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean; granted forgiveness to Christians who took part in the war; allowed Russia's petition on Moldovan affairs. During the first Turkish war, plague raged in Moscow, causing a plague riot; in the east of Russia, an even more dangerous rebellion broke out, known as the Pugachevshchina. In 1770, the plague from the army penetrated into Little Russia, in the spring of 1771 it appeared in Moscow; the commander-in-chief (currently - governor-general) Count Saltykov left the city to the mercy of fate. The retired General Eropkin voluntarily assumed the heavy duty of maintaining order and, by preventive measures, weakening the plague. The townsfolk did not comply with his instructions and not only did not burn clothes and linen from those who died from the plague, but hid their very death and buried them in the backyards. The plague intensified: in the early summer of 1771, 400 people died daily. The people crowded in horror at the Barbarian Gate, in front of miraculous icon. The contagion from crowding people, of course, intensified. The then Archbishop of Moscow Ambrose (see), an enlightened man, ordered the removal of the icon. A rumor immediately spread that the bishop, along with the healers, had conspired to kill the people. The ignorant and fanatical crowd, maddened with fear, put to death a worthy archpastor. There were rumors that the rebels were preparing to set fire to Moscow, exterminate doctors and nobles. Eropkin, with several companies, managed, however, to restore calm. In the last days of September, Count Grigory Orlov, then the closest person to Catherine, arrived in Moscow: but at that time the plague was already weakening and stopped in October. This plague killed 130,000 people in Moscow alone.
The Pugachev rebellion was raised by the Yaik Cossacks, dissatisfied with the changes in their Cossack way of life. In 1773, the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev (see) took the name of Peter III and raised the banner of rebellion. Catherine II entrusted the suppression of the rebellion to Bibikov, who immediately understood the essence of the matter; It's not Pugachev that matters, he said, it's the general displeasure that matters. The Bashkirs, Kalmyks, and Kirghiz joined the Yaik Cossacks and the rebellious peasants. Bibikov, ordering from Kazan, moved detachments from all sides to more dangerous places; Prince Golitsyn liberated Orenburg, Mikhelson - Ufa, Mansurov - Yaitsky town. At the beginning of 1774, the rebellion began to subside, but Bibikov died of exhaustion, and the rebellion flared up again: Pugachev captured Kazan and moved to the right bank of the Volga. Bibikov's place was taken by Count P. Panin, but did not replace him. Mikhelson defeated Pugachev near Arzamas and blocked his path to Moscow. Pugachev rushed to the south, took Penza, Petrovsk, Saratov and hanged the nobles everywhere. From Saratov, he moved to Tsaritsyn, but was repulsed and again defeated by Mikhelson near Cherny Yar. When Suvorov arrived at the army, the impostor held on a little and was soon betrayed by his accomplices. In January 1775, Pugachev was executed in Moscow (see Pugachevshchina). Since 1775, the legislative activity of Catherine II resumed, which, however, had not stopped before. So, in 1768, commercial and noble banks were abolished and the so-called assignation or change bank was established (see Banknotes). In 1775, the existence of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which was already declining, ceased to exist. In the same year, 1775, the transformation of the provincial government began. An institution was published for the administration of the provinces, which took twenty whole years to be introduced: in 1775 it began with the Tver province and ended in 1796 with the establishment of the Vilna province (see Gubernia). Thus, the reform of the provincial administration, begun by Peter the Great, was brought out of a chaotic state by Catherine II and completed by her. In 1776, Catherine commanded the word in petitions slave replace with the word loyal. By the end of the first Turkish war, he received especially importance Potemkin, striving for great things. Together with his collaborator, Bezborodko, he drew up a project known as the Greek one. The grandiosity of this project - destroying the Ottoman Porte, restoring the Greek Empire, on the throne of which Konstantin Pavlovich should be elevated - was liked by E. The opponent of Potemkin's influence and plans, Count N. Panin, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel and president of the College of Foreign Affairs, in order to distract Catherine II from the Greek project , brought her a project of armed neutrality, in 1780. Armed neutrality (see) was intended to patronize the trade of neutral states during the war and was directed against England, which was unfavorable for Potemkin's plans. Pursuing his broad and useless plan for Russia, Potemkin prepared an extremely useful and necessary thing for Russia - the annexation of the Crimea. In the Crimea, since the recognition of its independence, two parties were worried - Russian and Turkish. Their struggle gave a reason to occupy the Crimea and the Kuban region. The manifesto of 1783 announced the annexation of the Crimea and the Kuban region to Russia. The last Khan Shagin Giray was sent to Voronezh; Crimea renamed into Taurida Governorate; Crimean raids stopped. It is believed that due to the raids of the Crimeans, Great and Little Russia and part of Poland, from the 15th century. until 1788, lost from 3 to 4 million people: captives were turned into slaves, captives filled harems or became, like slaves, in the ranks of female servants. In Constantinople, the Mamelukes had Russian nurses and nannies. in the 16th, 17th and even 18th centuries. Venice and France used shackled Russian slaves bought from the markets of the Levant as galley laborers. The pious Louis XIV tried only to ensure that these slaves did not remain schismatics. The annexation of the Crimea put an end to the shameful trade in Russian slaves (see V. Lamansky in the "Historical Bulletin" for 1880: "The Power of the Turks in Europe"). Following that, Erekle II, the king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. The year 1785 is marked by two important pieces of legislation: Complaint to the nobility(see Nobility) and city position(see City). The statute on public schools on August 15, 1786 was implemented only on a small scale. Projects to establish universities in Pskov, Chernigov, Penza and Yekaterinoslav were shelved. In 1783, the Russian Academy was founded to study the native language. The foundation of institutions was the beginning of the education of women. Orphanages were established, smallpox vaccination was introduced, and the Pallas expedition was equipped to study the remote outskirts.
Potemkin's enemies argued, not understanding the importance of acquiring Crimea, that Crimea and Novorossiya were not worth the money spent on their establishment. Then Catherine II decided to inspect the newly acquired region herself. Accompanied by the Austrian, English and French ambassadors, with a huge retinue, in 1787 she set off on a journey. The Archbishop of Mogilev, Georgy Konissky, met her in Mstislavl with a speech, which was famous by his contemporaries as a model of eloquence. The whole character of the speech is determined by its beginning: "Let's leave it to the astronomers to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun: our sun walks around us." In Kanev met Catherine II Stanislav Poniatowski, King of Poland; near Keidan - Emperor Joseph II. He and Catherine laid the first stone of the city of Yekaterinoslav, visited Kherson and inspected the Black Sea Fleet, which had just been created by Potemkin. During the journey, Joseph noticed the theatricality in the setting, saw how hastily they drove the people to the villages supposedly under construction; but in Kherson he saw the real deal - and did justice to Potemkin.
The second Turkish war under Catherine II was waged, in alliance with Joseph II, from 1787 to 1791. In 1791, on December 29, peace was concluded in Iasi. For all the victories, Russia received only Ochakov and the steppe between the Bug and the Dnieper (see Turkish wars and the Peace of Jassy). At the same time, with varying happiness, there was a war with Sweden, declared by Gustav III in 1789 (see Sweden). It ended on August 3, 1790 with the Peace of Verel (see), on the basis of the status quo. During the 2nd Turkish War, a coup took place in Poland: on May 3, 1791, a new constitution was promulgated, which led to the second partition of Poland, in 1793, and then to the third, in 1795 (see Poland). Under the second section, Russia received the rest of the Minsk province, Volhynia and Podolia, under the 3rd - the Grodno province and Courland. In 1796, in the last year of the reign of Catherine II, Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku; his successes were stopped by the death of Catherine.
The last years of the reign of Catherine II were overshadowed, from 1790, by a reactionary direction. Then the French Revolution broke out, and with our domestic reaction all-European, Jesuit-oligarchic reaction entered into an alliance. Her agent and instrument was Catherine's last favorite, Prince Platon Zubov, together with his brother, Count Valerian. European reaction wanted to draw Russia into a struggle against revolutionary France - a struggle alien to the direct interests of Russia. Catherine II spoke kind words to the representatives of the reaction and did not give a single soldier. Then the undermining under the throne of Catherine II intensified, accusations were renewed that she illegally occupied the throne belonging to Pavel Petrovich. There is reason to believe that in 1790 an attempt was being made to elevate Pavel Petrovich to the throne. This attempt was probably connected with the expulsion from St. Petersburg of Prince Frederick of Württemberg. The domestic reaction at the same time accused Catherine of allegedly excessive free-thinking. The basis of the accusation was, among other things, the permission to translate Voltaire and participation in the translation of Belisarius, the story of Marmontel, which was considered anti-religious, because it does not indicate the difference between Christian and pagan virtue. Catherine II grew old, there was almost no trace of her former courage and energy - and now, under such circumstances, in 1790, Radishchev's book "Journey from St. The unfortunate Radishchev was punished by exile to Siberia. Perhaps this cruelty was the result of a fear that the exclusion of articles on the emancipation of the peasants from the Nakaz would be considered hypocrisy on the part of Catherine. In 1792, Novikov was sent to Shlisselburg, who had served Russian education so much. The secret motive for this measure was Novikov's relationship with Pavel Petrovich. In 1793, Knyazhnin suffered severely for his tragedy Vadim. In 1795, even Derzhavin was suspected of taking a revolutionary direction, for transcribing Psalm 81, entitled "To Rulers and Judges." Thus ended the educational reign of Catherine II, which had raised the national spirit, great husband(Catherine le grand). Despite the reaction of recent years, the name of the educational institution will remain with him in history. Since this reign in Russia, they began to realize the importance of humane ideas, they began to talk about the right of a person to think for the benefit of their own kind [We almost did not touch on the weaknesses of Catherine II, recalling the words of Renan: "serious history should not attach too much importance to the morals of sovereigns, if these morals are not had a great influence on the overall course of affairs. Under Catherine, the influence of Zubov was harmful, but only because he was an instrument of a harmful party.].
Literature. The works of Kolotov, Sumarokov, Lefort are panegyrics. Of the new ones, Brickner's work is more satisfactory. The very important work of Bilbasov is not finished; only one volume was published in Russian, two in German. S. M. Solovyov in the 29th volume of his history of Russia dwelled on peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi. The foreign works of Rulière and Caster cannot be bypassed only by the undeserved attention given to them. Of the countless memoirs, the memoirs of Khrapovitsky are especially important (the best edition is N. P. Barsukov). See Waliszewski's latest work: "Le Roman d" une impératrice". Works on individual issues are indicated in the corresponding articles. The publications of the Imperial Historical Society are extremely important.
E. Belov.
Gifted with literary talent, receptive and sensitive to the phenomena of life around her, Catherine II took an active part in the literature of her time. The literary movement she initiated was devoted to the development of enlightenment ideas of the 18th century. Thoughts on education, briefly outlined in one of the chapters of the "Order", were subsequently developed in detail by Catherine in allegorical tales: "About Tsarevich Chlor" (1781) and "About Tsarevich Fevey" (1782), and mainly in "Instructions to Prince N. Saltykov", given when he was appointed tutor of the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich (1784). Pedagogical ideas, expressed in these works, Catherine mainly borrowed from Montaigne and Locke: from the first she took a general view of the goals of education, the second she used when developing particulars. Guided by Montaigne, Catherine II put forward the moral element in the first place in education - the instillation in the soul of humanity, justice, respect for the laws, indulgence towards people. At the same time, she demanded that the mental and physical aspects of education should be properly developed. Personally leading the upbringing of her grandchildren up to the age of seven, she compiled for them a whole educational library. For the Grand Dukes, Catherine also wrote Notes on Russian History. In purely fictional writings, to which magazine articles and dramatic works belong, Catherine II is much more original than in writings of a pedagogical and legislative nature. Pointing to the actual contradictions of the ideals that existed in society, her comedies and satirical articles were to greatly contribute to the development of public consciousness, making more understandable the importance and expediency of the reforms she was undertaking.
The beginning of the public literary activity of Catherine II dates back to 1769, when she was an active collaborator and inspirer of the satirical magazine "Vsyakaya Vsyachina" (see). The patronizing tone adopted by Vsyakoy Vsyachina in relation to other journals, and the instability of its direction, soon armed almost all the journals of that time against it; its main opponent was the bold and direct "Drone" of N. I. Novikov. The latter's sharp attacks on judges, governors, and prosecutors strongly displeased Vsyakaya Vsyachina; who conducted the controversy against Trutnya in this journal cannot be said positively, but it is known for certain that one of the articles directed against Novikov belongs to the empress herself. In the interval from 1769 to 1783, when Catherine again acted as a journalist, she wrote five comedies, and between them her best plays: "On Time" and "Name Day of Mrs. Vorchalkina." The purely literary merits of Catherine's comedies are not high: there is little action in them, the intrigue is too simple, the denouement is monotonous. They are written in the spirit and after the model of French modern comedies, in which the servants are more developed and intelligent than their masters. But at the same time, purely Russian social vices are ridiculed in Catherine's comedies and Russian types appear. Bigotry, superstition, bad education, the pursuit of fashion, blind imitation of the French - these are the themes that Catherine developed in her comedies. These themes had already been outlined earlier by our satirical magazines of 1769 and, among other things, by Vsyakoy Vsachina; but what was presented in the magazines in the form of separate pictures, characterizations, sketches, in the comedies of Catherine II received a more solid and vivid image. The types of the miserly and heartless hypocrite Khanzhakhina, the superstitious gossip Vestnikova in the comedy "On Time", the petimeter Firlyufyushkov and the projector Nekopeikov in the comedy "Mrs. Vorchalkina's Name Day" are among the most successful in Russian comic literature of the last century. Variations of these types are repeated in the rest of Catherine's comedies.
By 1783, Catherine was actively involved in the "Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word", published at the Academy of Sciences, edited by Princess E. R. Dashkova. Here Catherine II placed a number of satirical articles entitled by the common name "Tales and Fables". The original purpose of these articles was, apparently, a satirical depiction of the weaknesses and ridiculous sides of the society of the contemporary empress, and the originals for such portraits were often taken by the empress from among those close to her. Soon, however, "There were also Fables" began to serve as a reflection of the magazine life of the "Interlocutor". Catherine II was the unspoken editor of this magazine; as can be seen from her correspondence with Dashkova, she still read in manuscript many of the articles sent for publication in the journal; some of these articles touched her to the core: she entered into polemics with their authors, often making fun of them. For the reading public, Catherine's participation in the magazine was not a secret; Articles of the letter were often sent to the address of the writer of "Tales and Fables", in which rather transparent hints were made. The empress tried as much as possible to keep her composure and not betray her incognito; only once, enraged by Fonvizin's "impudent and reprehensible" questions, she so clearly expressed her irritation in "Facts and Fables" that Fonvizin found it necessary to hasten with a letter of repentance. In addition to Tales and Tales, the empress placed in the Interlocutor several small polemical and satirical articles, for the most part ridiculing the pompous writings of random collaborators of the Interlocutor - Lyuboslov and Count S. P. Rumyantsev. One of these articles ("Society of the Unknowing Daily Note"), in which Princess Dashkova saw a parody of the meetings of the then newly founded, in her opinion, Russian Academy, served as a pretext for stopping Catherine's participation in the magazine. In subsequent years (1785-1790), Catherine wrote 13 plays, not counting dramatic proverbs in French intended for the Hermitage theatre.
Freemasons have long attracted the attention of Catherine II. If we are to believe her words, she took the trouble to study in detail the enormous Masonic literature, but found nothing in Freemasonry but "folly." Stay in St. Petersburg. (in 1780) Cagliostro, about whom she spoke of as a scoundrel worthy of the gallows, armed her even more against the Masons. Receiving disturbing news about the ever-increasing influence of Moscow Masonic circles, seeing among her close associates many followers and defenders of Masonic teachings, the Empress decided to fight this "folly" literary weapon, and within two years (1785-86) she wrote one the other, three comedies ("Deceiver", "Seduced" and "Siberian Shaman"), in which she ridiculed Freemasonry. Only in the comedy "Seduced" are there, however, life traits reminiscent of Moscow Freemasons. "Deceiver" directed against Cagliostro. In The Shaman of Siberia, Catherine II, obviously unfamiliar with the essence of Masonic teachings, did not hesitate to reduce it to the same level as shamanic tricks. Undoubtedly, Catherine's satire did not have much effect: Freemasonry continued to develop, and in order to deal him a decisive blow, the Empress no longer resorted to meek methods of correction, as she called her satire, but to harsh and decisive administrative measures.
In all likelihood, Catherine's acquaintance with Shakespeare, in French or German translations, also belongs to the indicated time. She remade "Windsor Gossips" for the Russian stage, but this reworking turned out to be extremely weak and very little reminiscent of genuine Shakespeare. In imitation of his historical chronicles, she composed two plays from the life of the ancient Russian princes - Rurik and Oleg. The main significance of these "Historical Representations", which are extremely weak in literary terms, lies in the political and moral ideas that Catherine puts into the mouths of the characters. Of course, these are not the ideas of Rurik or Oleg, but the thoughts of Catherine II herself. In comic operas, Catherine II did not pursue any serious goal: these were situation plays in which the main role was played by the musical and choreographic side. The plot for these operas the Empress took, for the most part, from folk tales and epics known to her from manuscript collections. Only "Unfortunate Hero Kosometovich", despite its fabulous character, contains an element of modernity: this opera put the Swedish king Gustav III in a comic light, who at that time opened hostile actions against Russia, and was removed from the repertoire immediately after the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Catherine's French plays, the so-called "proverbs" - small one-act plays, the plots of which were, for the most part, episodes from modern life. They are of no particular importance, repeating the themes and types already introduced in other comedies by Catherine II. Catherine herself did not attach importance to her literary activities. “I look at my writings,” she wrote to Grimm, “as if they were trifles. I like to make experiments in all kinds, but it seems to me that everything I wrote is rather mediocre, why, apart from entertainment, I did not attach any importance to this.”
Works of Catherine II published by A. Smirdin (St. Petersburg, 1849-50). Exclusively literary works of Catherine II were published twice in 1893, under the editorship of V. F. Solntsev and A. I. Vvedensky. Individual articles and monographs: P. Pekarsky, "Materials for the history of the journal and literary activities of Catherine II" (St. Petersburg, 1863); Dobrolyubov, art. about "The Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word" (X, 825); "Works of Derzhavin", ed. J. Grota (St. Petersburg, 1873, vol. VIII, pp. 310-339); M. Longinov, "Dramatic works of Catherine II" (M., 1857); G. Gennadi, "More on the dramatic works of Catherine II" (in "Bibl. Zap.", 1858, No. 16); P. K. Shchebalsky, "Catherine II as a Writer" ("Dawn", 1869-70); his own, "Dramatic and moral writings of Empress Catherine II" (in "Russian Bulletin", 1871, vol. XVIII, nos. 5 and 6); N. S. Tikhonravov, "Literary little things in 1786" (in the scientific and literary collection, published by "Russian Vedomosti" - "Help for the Starving", M., 1892); E. S. Shumigorsky, "Essays from Russian history. I. Empress-publicist" (St. Petersburg, 1887); P. Bessonova, "On the influence of folk art on the dramas of Empress Catherine and on whole Russian songs inserted here" (in the journal Zarya, 1870); V. S. Lebedev, "Shakespeare in the alterations of Catherine II" (in the Russian Bulletin "(1878, No. 3); N. Lavrovsky, "On the pedagogical significance of the works of Catherine the Great" (Kharkov, 1856); A. Brikner, "Comic Opera Catherine II "The Unfortunate Hero" ("Zh. M. N. Pr.", 1870, No. 12), A. Galakhov, "There were also Fables, the work of Catherine II" ("Notes of the Fatherland" 1856, No. 10).
V. Solntsev.
Upon closer examination, the biography of Catherine II the Great is replete with a large number of events that significantly influenced the empress of the Russian Empire.
Origin
Family tree of the Romanovs
Family ties of Peter III and Catherine II
The hometown of Catherine the Great is Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland), which was then the capital city of Pomerania. On May 2, 1729, a girl was born in the castle of the above-mentioned city, named at birth Sophia Frederick August of Anhalt-Zerbst.
The mother was the great-aunt of Peter III (who was at that time just a boy) Johanna Elizabeth, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp. The father was the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst - Christian August, the former governor of Stettin. Thus, the future empress was of very noble blood, although not from a royally wealthy family.
Childhood and youth
Francis Boucher - Young Catherine the Great
Being educated at home, Frederica, in addition to her native German, studied Italian, English and French. The basics of geography and theology, music and dances - the corresponding education of the nobility coexisted with very active children's games. The girl was interested in everything that was happening around, and despite some dissatisfaction of her parents, she took part in games with the boys on the streets of her native city.
When she first saw her future husband in 1739, at Eitin Castle, Frederica did not yet know about the upcoming invitation to Russia. In 1744, at the age of fifteen, she traveled with her mother through Riga to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth. Immediately after her arrival, she began an active study of the language, traditions, history and religion of her new homeland. The most prominent teachers of the princess were Vasily Adadurov, who taught the language, Simon Todorsky, who taught Orthodoxy with Frederica, and choreographer Lange.
On July 9, Sophia Federica Augusta was officially baptized and converted to Orthodoxy, named Ekaterina Alekseevna - it is this name that she will later glorify.
Marriage
Despite the intrigues of his mother, through which the Prussian king Frederick II tried to remove Chancellor Bestuzhev and increase his influence on foreign policy Russian Empire, Catherine did not fall into disgrace and on September 1, 1745, she was married to Peter Fedorovich, who was her second cousin.
Wedding on the reign of Catherine II. September 22, 1762. Confirmation. Engraving by A.Ya. Kolpashnikov. Last quarter of the 18th century
In view of the categorical inattention on the part of the young spouse, who was exclusively interested in military art and drill, the future empress devoted her time to the study of literature, art and science. At the same time, along with the study of the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu and other enlighteners, the biography of her young years is filled with hunting, various balls and masquerades.
The lack of intimacy with a legal spouse could not but affect the appearance of lovers, while Empress Elizabeth was not happy with the absence of grandchildren.
Having suffered two unsuccessful pregnancies, Catherine gave birth to Pavel, who, by personal decree of Elizabeth, was excommunicated from his mother and brought up separately. According to an unconfirmed theory, Pavel's father was S.V. Saltykov, who was sent from the capital immediately after the birth of the child. In favor of this statement, one can attribute the fact that after the birth of his son, Peter III finally ceased to be interested in his wife and did not hesitate to start favorites.
S. Saltykov
Stanislav August Poniatowski
However, Catherine herself was not inferior to her husband and, thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Williams, entered into a relationship with Stanislav Poniatowski, the future king of Poland (thanks to the patronage of Catherine II herself). According to some historians, it was from Poniatowski that Anna was born, whose own paternity Peter questioned.
Williams, for some time, was a friend and confidant of Catherine, gave her loans, manipulated and received confidential information regarding Russia's foreign policy plans and the actions of its military units during the seven-year war with Prussia.
The first plans to overthrow her husband, the future Catherine the Great, began to hatch and voice as early as 1756, in letters to Williams. Seeing the morbid state of Empress Elizabeth, and no doubt about Peter's own incompetence, Chancellor Bestuzhev promised to support Catherine. In addition, Catherine attracted English loans to bribe supporters.
In 1758, Elizabeth began to suspect Apraksin, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Empire, and Chancellor Bestuzhev of conspiracy. The latter managed to avoid disgrace in time by destroying all correspondence with Catherine. The former favorites, including Williams, recalled to England, were removed from Catherine and she was forced to look for new supporters - they were Dashkova and the Orlov brothers.
British Ambassador C, Williams
Brothers Alexey and Grigory Orlov
On January 5, 1761, Empress Elizabeth died and Peter III ascended the throne by right of succession. The next round in the biography of Catherine began. The new emperor sent his wife to the other end of the Winter Palace, replacing her with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova. In 1762, Catherine's carefully hidden pregnancy from Count Grigory Orlov, with whom she began a relationship back in 1760, could in no way be explained by relations with her lawful spouse.
For this reason, to divert attention, on April 22, 1762, one of Catherine's devoted servants set fire to his own house - Peter III, who loved such spectacles, left the palace and Catherine calmly gave birth to Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky.
Organization of the coup
From the very beginning of his reign, Peter III caused dissatisfaction among his subordinates - an alliance with Prussia, which was defeated in the Seven Years' War, an aggravation of relations with Denmark. secularization of church lands and plans to change religious practices.
Taking advantage of her husband's unpopularity among the military, Catherine's supporters began to actively agitate the guard units to go over to the side of the future empress in the event of a coup.
The early morning of July 9, 1762 was the beginning of the overthrow of Peter III. Ekaterina Alekseevna arrived in St. Petersburg from Peterhof, accompanied by the Orlov brothers, and taking advantage of her husband's absence, took the oath first of the guards units, and then of other regiments.
Oath of the Izmailovsky Regiment to Catherine II. Unknown artist. Late 18th - first third of the 19th century
Moving along with the adjoining troops, the empress received from Peter at first a proposal for negotiations, and why abdicated.
After the conclusion, the biography of the ex-emperor was as sad as it was vague. The arrested husband died while under arrest in Ropsha, and the circumstances of his death have not been fully clarified. According to a number of sources, he was either poisoned or died suddenly from an unknown disease.
Having ascended the throne, Catherine the Great issued a manifesto accusing Peter III of trying to change religion and make peace with hostile Prussia.
Beginning of the reign
In foreign policy, the foundation was laid for the creation of the so-called Northern System, which consisted in the fact that the northern non-Catholic states: Russia, Prussia, England, Sweden, Denmark and Saxony, plus Catholic Poland, united against Austria and France. The first step towards the implementation of the project was considered the conclusion of an agreement with Prussia. Secret articles were attached to the treaty, according to which both allies were obliged to act together in Sweden and Poland in order to prevent their strengthening.
King of Prussia - Frederick II the Great
The course of affairs in Poland was of particular concern to Catherine and Friedrich. They agreed to prevent changes in the Polish constitution, to prevent and destroy all intentions that could lead to this, even resorting to weapons. In a separate article, the allies agreed to patronize Polish dissidents (that is, the non-Catholic minority - Orthodox and Protestants) and persuade the Polish king to equalize their rights with Catholics.
The former King August III died in 1763. Friedrich and Catherine set themselves the difficult task of placing their protege on the Polish throne. The Empress wanted it to be her former lover, Count Poniatowski. In achieving this, she did not stop either at bribing the deputies of the Sejm, or at the introduction of Russian troops into Poland.
The entire first half of the year was spent in active propaganda of the Russian protege. On August 26, Poniatowski was elected king of Poland. Catherine was very happy about this success and, without delay, ordered Poniatowski to raise the issue of the rights of dissidents, despite the fact that everyone who knew the state of affairs in Poland pointed out the great difficulty and almost impossibility of achieving this goal. Poniatowski wrote to his ambassador in St. Petersburg, Rzhevuski:
“The orders given to Repnin (the Russian ambassador in Warsaw) to bring dissidents into the legislative activity of the republic are thunderbolts both for the country and for me personally. If there is any human possibility, inspire the empress that the crown that she delivered to me will become for me the clothes of Nessus: I will burn in it and my end will be terrible. I clearly foresee the terrible choice ahead of me if the empress insists on her orders: either I will have to refuse her friendship, so dear to my heart and so necessary for my reign and for my state, or I will have to be a traitor to my fatherland.
Russian diplomat N. V. Repnin
Even Repnin was horrified by Catherine's intentions:
“The orders given” on the dissident case are terrible, he wrote to Panin, “truly my hair stands on end when I think about it, having almost no hope, except for the only strength, to fulfill the will of the most merciful empress regarding civil dissident advantages” .
But Catherine was not horrified and ordered Poniatowski to answer that she absolutely did not understand how dissidents admitted to legislative activity would, as a result, be more hostile to the Polish state and government than they are now; cannot understand how the king considers himself a traitor to the fatherland for what justice requires, which will be his glory and the solid good of the state.
“If the king looks at this matter in this way,” Catherine concluded, “then I remain eternal and sensitive regret that I could be deceived in the friendship of the king, in the image of his thoughts and feelings.”
Since the empress so unequivocally expressed her desire, Repnin in Warsaw was forced to act with all possible firmness. By intrigues, bribery and threats, the introduction of Russian troops into the suburbs of Warsaw and the arrest of the most stubborn opponents, Repnin achieved his goal on February 9, 1768. The Sejm agreed with the freedom of religion for dissidents and their political equalization with the Catholic nobility.
It seemed that the goal was achieved, but in reality it was only the beginning of a big war. The dissident “equation set fire to all of Poland. The Sejm, which approved the treaty on February 13, had barely dispersed, when in Bar the lawyer Puławski raised the confederation against him. With his light hand, anti-dissident confederations began to flare up all over Poland.
The answer of the Orthodox to the Bar Confederation was the Haydamak revolt of 1768, in which, together with the Haydamaks (Russian fugitives who had gone to the steppes), the Cossacks led by Zheleznyak And the serfs with the centurion Gonta rose up. At the height of the uprising, one of the Haidamak detachments crossed the border river Kolyma and plundered the Tatar town of Galta. As soon as this became known in Istanbul, a 20,000-strong Turkish corps was moved to the borders. On September 25, the Russian ambassador Obrezkov was arrested, diplomatic relations were broken off - the Russian-Turkish war began. Such an unexpected turn was given by the dissident case.
First wars
Having suddenly received two wars in her hands, Catherine was not at all embarrassed. On the contrary, threats from the west and south only added to her enthusiasm. She wrote to Count Chernyshev:
“The Turks and the French took it into their heads to wake up the cat who was sleeping; I am this cat who promises to make himself known to them, so that the memory does not soon disappear. I find that we freed ourselves from a great burden that crushes the imagination when we got rid of the peace treaty ... Now I am free, I can do everything that my means allow me, and Russia, you know, has not small means ... and now we will set the bell, what did not expect, and now the Turks will be beaten.
The inspiration of the Empress was transferred to her surroundings. Already at the first meeting of the Council on November 4, it was decided to wage a war not defensive, but offensive, and above all to try to raise up the Christians oppressed by Turkey. To this end, on November 12, Grigory Orlov proposed sending an expedition to the Mediterranean in order to promote the Greek uprising.
Catherine liked this plan, and she energetically set about implementing it. On November 16, she wrote to Chernyshev:
"I so tickled our marines by their craft that they became firemen."
And a few days later:
“I have a fleet in excellent care today, and I will truly use it in this way, if God commands, as it has not yet been ...”
Prince A. M. Golitsyn
Hostilities began in 1769. The army of General Golitsyn crossed the Dnieper and took Khotyn. But Catherine was dissatisfied with his slowness and transferred the supreme command to Rumyantsev, who soon took possession of Moldavia and Wallachia, as well as the coast of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov with Azov and Taganrog. Catherine ordered to fortify these cities and start building a flotilla.
She developed amazing energy this year, worked like a real chief of the general staff, entered into the details of military preparations, drew up plans and instructions. In April, Catherine wrote to Chernyshev:
“I set fire to the Turkish empire from four corners; I don’t know if it will catch fire and burn, but I know that since the beginning they have not yet been used against their great troubles and worries ... We have boiled a lot of porridge, it will be delicious for someone. I have an army in the Kuban, armies against the brainless Poles, ready to fight with the Swedes, and three more inpetto turmoil, which I don’t dare to show ... "
In fact, there were many troubles and worries. In July 1769, a squadron finally sailed from Kronstadt under the command of Spiridov. Of the 15 large and small ships of the squadron, only eight reached the Mediterranean.
With these forces, Alexei Orlov, who was treated in Italy and asked to be the leader of the uprising of Turkish Christians, raised the Morea, but could not give the rebels a solid combat device, and, having failed from the approaching Turkish army, left the Greeks to their fate, annoyed by the fact that he did not find in them Themistocles. Catherine approved of all his actions.
Connecting with another Elphingston squadron that had approached meanwhile, Orlov chased the Turkish fleet and in the Chios Strait near the fortress of Chesme overtook the armada by the number of ships more than twice as strong as the Russian fleet. After a four-hour battle, the Turks took refuge in the Chesme Bay (June 24, 1770). A day later, on a moonlit night, the Russians launched fireships, and by morning the Turkish fleet crowded in the bay was burned (June 26).
Amazing naval victories in the Archipelago were followed by similar land victories in Bessarabia. Ekaterina wrote to Rumyantsev:
“I hope for God's help and your art in military affairs, that you will not leave this in the best way to satisfy and carry out such deeds that will gain you glory and prove how great your zeal for the fatherland and for me. The Romans did not ask when, where were their two or three legions, how many were the enemy against them, but where is he; they attacked and struck him, and not by the multitude of their troops did they defeat the diverse against their crowd ... "
Inspired by this letter, Rumyantsev in July 1770 twice defeated the many times superior Turkish armies at Larga and Cahul. At the same time, an important fortress on the Dniester, Bendery, was taken. In 1771, General Dolgorukov broke through Perekop to the Crimea and captured the fortresses of Kafa, Kerch and Yenikale. Khan Selim Giray fled to Turkey. The new Khan Sahib-Giray hastened to make peace with the Russians. At this, active actions ended and lengthy peace negotiations began, again returning Catherine to Polish affairs.
Storm Bender
Russia's military successes aroused envy and fear in neighboring countries, primarily in Austria and Prussia. Misunderstandings with Austria reached the point where they started talking loudly about the possibility of war with her. Friedrich strongly inspired the Russian Empress that Russia's desire to annex the Crimea and Moldova could lead to a new European war, since Austria would never agree to this. It is much more reasonable to take part of the Polish possessions as compensation. He directly wrote to his ambassador Solms that it makes no difference to Russia where she gets the reward to which she is entitled for military losses, and since the war started solely because of Poland, Russia has the right to take a reward from the border regions of this republic. At the same time, Austria should have received its part - this will moderate its hostility. The king, too, cannot do without acquiring a part of Poland for himself. This will serve as a reward for the subsidies and other expenses he incurred during the war.
Petersburg liked the idea of partitioning Poland. On July 25, 1772, an agreement between the three powers-shareholders followed, according to which Austria received all of Galicia, Prussia - western Prussia, and Russia - Belarus. Having settled the contradictions with the European neighbors at the expense of Poland, Catherine could start the Turkish negotiations.
Break with Orlov
At the beginning of 1772, through the mediation of the Austrians, they agreed to start a peace congress with the Turks in Focsani in June. Count Grigory Orlov and the former Russian ambassador in Istanbul, Obrezkov, were appointed representatives from the Russian side.
It seemed that nothing foreshadowed the end of the 11-year relationship between the empress and the favorite, and meanwhile Orlov's star had already set. True, before breaking up with him, Catherine suffered from her lover as much as a rare woman is able to endure from her lawful husband
Already in 1765, seven years before the final break between them, Beranger reported from Petersburg:
» This Russian openly violates the laws of love towards the Empress. He has mistresses in the city, who not only do not incur the wrath of the empress for their compliance with Orlov, but, on the contrary, enjoy her patronage. Senator Muraviev, who found his wife with him, almost made a scandal, demanding a divorce; but the queen pacified him by giving him lands in Livonia.
“I can no longer restrain myself from informing Your Majesty of an interesting event that has just happened at this court. The absence of Count Orlov revealed a very natural, but nevertheless unexpected circumstance: Her Majesty found it possible to do without him, change her feelings for him and transfer her disposition to another subject.
A. S. Vasilchakov
Horse guards cornet Vasilchikov, accidentally sent with a small detachment to Tsarskoe Selo to carry guards, attracted the attention of his empress, completely unexpectedly for everyone, because there was nothing special in his appearance, and he himself never tried to advance and is very little known in society. . When the royal court moved from Tsarskoe Selo to Peterhof, Her Majesty for the first time showed him a sign of her disposition, giving him a golden snuffbox for the proper maintenance of the guards.
No significance was attached to this occasion, however, Vasilchikov's frequent visits to Peterhof, the care with which she hastened to distinguish him from others, her calmer and more cheerful disposition since Orlov's departure, the displeasure of the latter's relatives and friends, and finally many other minor circumstances opened the eyes of the courtiers .
Although everything is still kept secret, none of those close to him doubt that Vasilchikov is already in full favor with the Empress; they were especially convinced of this from the day when he was granted by the chamber junker .. "
Meanwhile, Orlov encountered insurmountable obstacles to peace in Focsani. The Turks did not want to recognize the independence of the Tatars. On August 18, Orlov broke off negotiations and left for Iasi, the headquarters of the Russian army. Here he was caught by the news of the dramatic change that followed in his life. Orlov abandoned everything and rushed to Petersburg on post horses, hoping to regain his former rights. A hundred miles from the capital, he was stopped by the order of the empress: Orlov was ordered to go to his estates and not leave there until the quarantine expired (he was traveling from the territory where the plague was raging). Although the favorite did not immediately have to reconcile, at the beginning of 1773 he nevertheless arrived in St. Petersburg and was sympathetically received by the empress, but there could no longer be any talk of previous relations.
“I owe a lot to the Orlov family,” said Ekaterina, “I showered them with riches and honors; and I will always patronize them, and they can be useful to me; but my decision is unchanged: I endured eleven years; now I want to live as I please, and quite independently. As for the prince, he can do whatever he pleases: he is free to travel or stay in the empire, drink, hunt, take his mistresses ... He will behave well, honor and glory to him, they will behave badly - he is ashamed ... "
***
The years 1773 and 1774 were restless for Catherine: the Poles continued to resist, the Turks did not want to make peace. The war, exhausting the state budget, continued, and meanwhile a new threat arose in the Urals. In September, Yemelyan Pugachev raised an uprising. In October, the rebels gathered strength for the siege of Orenburg, and the nobles around the empress openly panicked.
Catherine's heart affairs also did not go well. Later, she confessed to Potemkin, referring to her relationship with Vasilchikov:
“I was more sad than I can say, and never more than when other people are happy, and all sorts of caresses forced tears in me, so I think that from my birth I did not cry as much as these one and a half years; at first I thought that I would get used to it, but what happened next, it got worse, because on the other side (that is, from Vasilchikov’s side) they began to sulk for three months, and I must admit that I have never been happier than when I get angry and leave me alone, and His caress made me cry.
It is known that in her favorites, Catherine was looking for not only lovers, but also assistants in the matter of government. Of the Orlovs, she managed in the end to make good statesmen. Less fortunate with Vasilchikov. However, another contender remained in the reserve, which Catherine had long liked - Grigory Potemkin. Ekaterina knew and celebrated him for 12 years. In 1762, Potemkin served as a sergeant-major in a horse guard regiment and took an active part in the coup. In the list of awards after the events of June 28, he was assigned the rank of cornet. Ekaterina crossed out this line and wrote "captain-lieutenant" in her own hand.
In 1773 he was granted the rank of lieutenant general. In June of this year, Potemkin was in battle under the walls of Silistria. But a few months later, he suddenly asked for leave and quickly, hastily left the army. The reason for this was the event that decided his life: he received the following letter from Catherine:
"Mr Lieutenant General! You, I imagine, are so busy looking at Silistria that you have no time to read letters. I do not know whether the bombardment has hitherto been successful, but, in spite of this, I am sure that - whatever you personally undertake - no other goal can be prescribed than your ardent zeal for the benefit of me personally and dear homeland, whom you lovingly serve. But, on the other hand, since I wish to preserve diligent, brave, intelligent and efficient people, I ask you not to be in danger unnecessarily. After reading this letter, you may ask why it was written; I can answer this for you: so that you have confidence in how I think of you, just as I wish you well.
In January 1774, Potemkin was in St. Petersburg, waited another six weeks, testing the ground, strengthening his chances, and on February 27 he wrote a letter to the Empress, in which he asked graciously to appoint him adjutant general, "if she considered his services worthy." Three days later he received a favorable answer, and on March 20 Vasilchikov was sent an imperial order to go to Moscow. He retired, making way for Potemkin, who was destined to become Catherine's most famous and powerful favorite. In a matter of months, he made a dizzying career.
In May he was introduced to the Council, in June he was granted the title of count, in October he was promoted to general-in-chief, and in November he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. All of Catherine's friends were perplexed and found the choice of the empress strange, extravagant, even tasteless, for Potemkin was ugly, crooked in one eye, bow-legged, harsh and even rude. Grimm could not hide his astonishment.
"Why? Catherine answered him. “I bet because I distanced myself from some excellent, but too boring gentleman, who was immediately replaced by myself, really, I don’t know how, one of the greatest fun, the most interesting eccentric that can be found in our iron age.”
She was very pleased with her new acquisition.
“Oh, what a head this man has,” she said, “and this good head funny as hell."
Several months passed, and Potemkin became a real ruler, an omnipotent man, before whom all rivals humbled themselves and all heads bowed, starting with the head of Catherine. His accession to the Council was tantamount to becoming the first minister. He directs domestic and foreign policy and forces Chernyshev to give him the position of chairman of the military collegium.
On July 10, 1774, negotiations with Turkey ended with the signing of the Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty, according to which:
- the independence of the Tatars and the Crimean Khanate from the Ottoman Empire was recognized;
- Kerch and Yenikale in the Crimea are ceded to Russia;
- Russia departs the castle of Kinburn and the steppe between the Dnieper and the Bug, Azov, Greater and Lesser Kabarda;
- free navigation of merchant ships of the Russian Empire through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles;
- Moldova and Wallachia received the right to autonomy and came under Russian protection;
- The Russian Empire received the right to build in Constantinople christian church, and the Turkish authorities pledged to protect her
- A ban on the oppression of the Orthodox in Transcaucasia, on the collection of tribute by people from Georgia and Mingrelia.
- 4.5 million rubles indemnity.
The joy of the empress was great - no one expected such a favorable peace. But at the same time more and more disturbing news came from the east. Pugachev has already been defeated twice. He fled, but his flight seemed like an invasion. Never was the success of the uprising more significant than in the summer of 1774, never had the rebellion raged with such power and cruelty.
The indignation spread like wildfire from one village to another, from province to province. This sad news made a deep impression in St. Petersburg and overshadowed the victorious mood after the end of the Turkish war. Only in August Pugachev was finally defeated and captured. On January 10, 1775 he was executed in Moscow.
As for Polish affairs, on February 16, 1775, the Sejm finally passed a law on the equalization of dissidents in political rights with Catholics. Thus, despite all the obstacles, Catherine brought this difficult task to the end and successfully completed three bloody wars - two external and one internal.
The execution of Yemelyan Pugachev
***
The Pugachev uprising revealed serious shortcomings of the existing regional administration: firstly, the former provinces represented too extensive administrative districts, secondly, these districts were provided with too few institutions with scanty personnel, and thirdly, various departments were mixed in this administration: one and the same department was in charge of administrative affairs, and finances, and the criminal and civil courts. In order to eliminate these shortcomings in 1775, Catherine began a provincial reform.
First of all, she introduced a new regional division: instead of the 20 vast provinces into which Russia was then divided, now the entire empire was divided into 50 provinces. The basis of the provincial division was taken exclusively by the number of population. The provinces of Catherine are districts of 300-400 thousand inhabitants. They were subdivided into counties with a population of 20-30 thousand inhabitants. Each province received a uniform structure, administrative and judicial.
In the summer of 1775, Catherine stayed in Moscow, where the house of the princes Golitsyns at the Prechistensky Gates was placed at her disposal. In early July, Field Marshal Count Rumyantsev, the winner of the Turks, arrived in Moscow. The news has survived that Catherine, dressed in a Russian sundress, met Rumyantsev. on the porch of the Golitsyn house and, embracing, kissed. At the same time, she drew attention to Zavadovsky, a powerful, stately and exceptionally handsome man who accompanied the field marshal. Noticing the affectionate and interested look of the empress, cast by her at Zavadovsky, the field marshal immediately introduced the handsome man to Catherine, flatteringly speaking of him as a man of excellent education, hardworking, honest and brave.
Catherine granted Zavadovsky a diamond ring with her name on it and appointed her office secretary. Soon he was granted the rank of major general and adjutant general, became in charge of the personal office of the empress and became one of the people closest to her. At the same time, Potemkin noticed that his charm for the Empress had weakened. In April 1776, he went on vacation to revise the Novgorod province. A few days after his departure, Zavadovsky settled in his place.
P. V. Zavadovsky
But, having ceased to be a lover, Potemkin, granted in 1776 to the princes, retained all his influence and sincere friendship with the empress. Almost until his death, he remained the second person in the state, determined domestic and foreign policy, and none of the subsequent numerous favorites, up to Platon Zubov, even tried to play the role of a statesman. All of them were close to Catherine by Potemkin himself, who tried in this way to influence the location of the empress.
First of all, he tried to remove Zavadovsky. Potemkin had to spend almost a year on this, and luck did not come before he discovered Semyon Zorich. He was a hero-cavalryman and a handsome man, a Serb by origin. Potemkin took Zorich to his aide-de-camp and almost immediately presented him for appointment as commander of the life hussar squadron. Since the life hussars were the personal guard of the empress, Zorich's appointment to the post was preceded by his introduction to Catherine.
S. G. Zorich
In May 1777, Potemkin arranged an audience with the empress with a potential favorite - and he was not mistaken in his calculation. Zavadovsky was suddenly granted a six-month vacation, and Zorich was granted the rank of colonel, adjutant wing and chief of the life hussar squadron. Zorich was already under forty, and he was full of manly beauty, however, unlike Zavadovsky, he was poorly educated (later he himself admitted that from the age of 15 he went to war and that until close to the empress he remained a complete ignoramus). Catherine tried to instill in him literary and scientific tastes, but seems to have had little success in this.
Zorich was stubborn and reluctant to educate. In September 1777, he became a major general, and in the fall of 1778, an earl. But having received this title, he was suddenly offended, as he expected a princely title. Soon after, he had a quarrel with Potemkin, which almost ended in a duel. Find out about this, Catherine ordered Zorich to go to her estate Shklov.
Even before Potemkin began to look for a new favorite for his girlfriend. Several candidates were considered, among which, they say, there was even some kind of Persian, distinguished by extraordinary physical data. Finally, Potemkin settled on three officers - Bergman, Rontsov and Ivan Korsakov. Gelbich says that Ekaterina went to the reception room, when all three applicants appointed for an audience were there. Each of them stood with a bouquet of flowers, and she graciously talked first with Bergman, then with Rontsov, and finally with Korsakov. The extraordinary beauty and grace of the latter captivated her. Catherine graciously smiled at everyone, but with a bouquet of flowers sent Korsakov to Potemkin, who became the next favorite. From other sources it is known that Korsakov did not immediately reach the desired position.
In general, in 1778, Catherine experienced a kind of moral breakdown and was fond of several young people at once. In June, the Englishman Harris notes the rise of Korsakov, and in August he speaks of his rivals, who are trying to wrest the grace of the Empress from him; they are supported on the one hand by Potemkin, and on the other by Panin, together with Orlov; in September, Strakhov, the “lowest jester”, prevails over everyone, four months later, Major of the Semenovsky regiment Levashev, a young man patronized by Countess Bruce, takes his place. Then Korsakov again returns to his former position, but now he is fighting with some kind of Potemkin's favorite Stoyanov. In 1779, he finally won a complete victory over his competitors, became a chamberlain and adjutant general.
Grimm, who considered his friend's infatuation a mere whim, Catherine wrote:
"Whim? Do you know what this is: the expression is completely inappropriate in this case when they talk about Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus (as Catherine called Korsakov), and about this subject of temptation for all artists and despair for all sculptors. Admiration, enthusiasm, and not whim, excite such exemplary creations of nature ... Pyrrhus never made a single ignoble or ungraceful gesture or movement ... But all this, in general, is not effeminacy, but, on the contrary, courage, and he is what you would like he was…"
In addition to his amazing appearance, Korsakov charmed the Empress with his wonderful voice. The reign of a new favorite constitutes an epoch in the history of Russian music. Catherine invited the first artists of Italy to St. Petersburg so that Korsakov could sing with them. She wrote to Grimm:
"Never have I met anyone so capable of enjoying harmonic sounds as Pyrrha, King of Epirus."
Rimsky-Korsakov I. N.
Unfortunately for himself, Korsakov failed to maintain his height. Once, in early 1780, Catherine found her favorite in the arms of her friend and confidante, Countess Bruce. This greatly cooled her ardor, and soon Korsakov's place was taken by the 22-year-old horse guard Alexander Lanskoy.
Lanskoy was introduced to Ekaterina by Chief of Police Tolstoy, he liked the empress at first sight: she granted him to the adjutant wing and gave 10,000 rubles to equip him. But he did not become a favorite. However, Lanskoy showed a lot of common sense from the very beginning and turned to Potemkin for support, who appointed him one of his adjutants and directed his court education for about six months.
He discovered in his pupil a mass of excellent qualities, and in the spring of 1780, with a light heart, he recommended him to the Empress as a cordial friend. Catherine promoted Lansky to colonel, then to adjutant general and chamberlain, and soon he settled in the palace in the empty apartments of the former favorite.
Of all Catherine's lovers, this was, without a doubt, the most pleasant and sweetest. According to contemporaries, Lanskoy did not enter into any intrigues, tried not to harm anyone and completely abandoned public affairs, rightly believing that politics would force him to make enemies for himself. The only all-consuming passion of Lansky was Catherine, He wanted to reign in her heart alone and did everything to achieve this. There was something maternal in the 54-year-old empress's passion for him. She caressed and educated him as her beloved child. Catherine wrote to Grimm:
“In order for you to form an idea about this young man, you need to convey what Prince Orlov said about him to one of his friends: “See what a person she will make of him! ..” He absorbs everything with greed! He began by swallowing all the poets and their poems in one winter; and in the other, a few historians ... Without studying anything, we will have countless knowledge and find pleasure in communicating with everything that is the best and most dedicated. In addition, we build and plant; besides, we are charitable, cheerful, honest and full of simplicity.
Under the guidance of his mentor Lanskoy, he studied French, got acquainted with philosophy and, finally, became interested in the works of art with which the empress liked to surround herself. The four years spent in Lansky's company were perhaps the most calm and happy in Catherine's life, as evidenced by many contemporaries. However, she always led a very moderate and measured life.
***
The daily routine of the Empress
Catherine usually woke up at six in the morning. At the beginning of her reign, she herself dressed and kindled the fireplace. Later, she was dressed in the mornings by chamberlain Perekusikhin. Catherine rinsed her mouth warm water, rubbed her cheeks with ice and went to her office. Here, very strong morning coffee was waiting for her, usually accompanied by heavy cream and biscuits. The Empress herself ate little, but half a dozen Italian Greyhounds, who always shared breakfast with Catherine, emptied the sugar bowl and the basket of biscuits. Having finished eating, the empress let the dogs out for a walk, and she herself sat down to work and wrote until nine o'clock.
At nine she returned to the bedroom and received the speakers. The Chief of Police was the first to enter. To read the papers submitted for signature, the Empress put on glasses. Then the secretary appeared and work with documents began.
As you know, the Empress read and wrote in three languages, but at the same time allowed many syntactic and grammatical errors, and not only in Russian and French, but also in their native German. Mistakes in Russian, of course, were the most annoying of all. Catherine was aware of this and once confessed to one of her secretaries:
“Don't laugh at my Russian spelling; I'll tell you why I didn't have time to study it well. Upon my arrival here, I began to learn the Russian language with great diligence. Aunt Elizaveta Petrovna, learning about this, said to my chamberlain: enough to teach her, she is smart enough without that. Thus, I could learn Russian only from books without a teacher, and this is the very reason that I do not know spelling well.
The secretaries had to rewrite all the drafts of the Empress cleanly. But classes with the secretary were interrupted now and then by visits from generals, ministers and dignitaries. This went on until dinner, which was usually at one or two.
Having dismissed the secretary, Ekaterina went to the small dressing room, where the old hairdresser Kolov combed her hair. Catherine took off her hood and cap, put on an extremely simple, open and free dress with double sleeves and wide shoes with low heels. AT weekdays the empress did not wear any jewelry. On ceremonial occasions, Catherine wore an expensive velvet dress, the so-called "Russian style", and adorned her hair with a crown. She did not follow the Parisian fashions and did not encourage this expensive pleasure in her court ladies.
After finishing the toilet, Catherine went to the official restroom, where they finished dressing her. It was time for a small exit. Grandchildren, a favorite and several close friends like Lev Naryshkin gathered here. The empress was served pieces of ice, and she quite openly rubbed her cheeks with them. Then the hair was covered with a small tulle cap, and the toilet ended there. The whole ceremony lasted about 10 minutes. After that, everyone went to the table.
On weekdays, twelve people were invited to dinner. By right hand seated favorite. The dinner lasted about an hour and was very simple. Catherine never cared about the sophistication of her table. Her favorite dish was boiled beef with pickles. As a drink, she used currant juice, last years life, on the advice of doctors, Catherine drank a glass of Madeira or Rhine wine. Dessert was accompanied by fruits, mostly apples and cherries.
Among the chefs of Catherine, one cooked very badly. But she did not notice this, and when, after many years, her attention was finally called to this, she did not allow him to be calculated, saying that he served too long in her house. She managed only when he was on duty, and, sitting down at the table, said to the guests:
“We are now on a Diet, you need to be patient, but after that we will eat well.”
After dinner, Catherine talked with the guests for several minutes, then everyone dispersed. Ekaterina sat down at the hoop - she embroidered very skillfully - and Betsky read aloud to her. When Betsky, having grown old, began to lose his sight, she did not want to replace him with anyone and began to read herself, putting on glasses.
Analyzing the numerous references to the books she read, scattered in her correspondence, we can safely say that Catherine was aware of all the book novelties of her time, and read everything indiscriminately: from philosophical treatises and historical writings to novels. She, of course, could not assimilate deeply all this enormous material, and her erudition in many respects remained superficial, and her knowledge shallow, but in general she could judge a variety of problems.
The rest lasted about an hour. Then the empress was informed about the arrival of the secretary: twice a week she sorted out foreign mail with him and made notes on the margins of dispatches. To others set days officials came to her with reports or for orders.
In the moments of a break in business, Catherine carelessly had fun with the children.
In 1776 she wrote to her friend Madame Boelcke:
“You have to be funny. Only this helps us to overcome everything and move it. I tell you this from experience, because I have overcome and endured a lot in my life. But all the same, I laughed when I could, and I swear to you that at the present time, when I bear the brunt of my position, I play with my heart, when the opportunity presents itself, blind man's blind with my son, and very often without him. We come up with an excuse for it, we say, "It's good for health," but, between us it will be said, we do it just to fool around."
At four o'clock the working day of the Empress ended, and it was time for rest and entertainment. Catherine walked along the long gallery from the Winter Palace to the Hermitage. It was her favorite place to stay. She was accompanied by a favorite. She reviewed and posted new collections, played a game of billiards, and occasionally carved ivory. At six o'clock the Empress returned to the reception rooms of the Hermitage, which were already filled with persons admitted to the court.
Count Hord in his memoirs described the Hermitage as follows:
“It occupies an entire wing of the Imperial Palace and consists of an art gallery, two large rooms for a card game and another where they dine on two tables “family style”, and next to these rooms is winter Garden, indoor and well lit. There they walk among the trees and numerous pots of flowers. Various birds fly and sing there, mainly canaries. The garden is heated by underground stoves; despite the harsh climate, it always reigns a pleasant temperature.
This so charming apartment is made even better by the freedom that reigns here. Everyone feels at ease: the empress has expelled all etiquette from here. Here they walk, play, sing; everyone does what he likes. The art gallery abounds with first-class masterpieces".
All sorts of games were a huge success at these meetings. Catherine was the first to participate in them, aroused gaiety in everyone and allowed all sorts of liberties.
At ten o'clock the game ended, and Catherine retired to the inner chambers. Dinner was served only on ceremonial occasions, but even then Catherine sat down at the table only for show. Returning to her room, she went into the bedroom, drank a large glass of boiled water and went to bed.
Such was the private life of Catherine according to the memoirs of contemporaries. Her intimate life less known, although also not a secret. The Empress was an amorous woman, who until her death retained the ability to be carried away by young people.
There were more than a dozen of her official lovers. With all this, as already mentioned, she was not at all a beauty.
“To tell you the truth,” Catherine herself wrote, “I never considered myself extremely beautiful, but I liked it, and I think that this was my strength.”
All the portraits that have come down to us confirm this opinion. But there is no doubt that there was something extremely attractive in this woman, which eluded the brush of all painters and made many sincerely admire her appearance. With age, the Empress did not lose her attractiveness, although she became more and more stout.
Catherine was not at all windy or depraved. Many of her connections lasted for years, and although the empress was far from being indifferent to sensual pleasures, spiritual communication with a close man remained very important for her too. But it is also true that after the Orlovs, Catherine never raped her heart. If the favorite ceased to interest her, she resigned without any ceremony.
At the next evening reception, the courtiers noticed that the empress was staring intently at some unknown lieutenant, who had been introduced to her only the day before or who had previously been lost in the brilliant crowd. Everyone understood what that meant. In the afternoon, a young man was summoned to the palace by a short order and subjected to repeated tests for compliance in the performance of the direct intimate duties of the favorite of the empress.
A. M. Turgenev tells about this rite, through which all Catherine's lovers went through:
“They usually sent to Anna Stepanovna Protasova for a trial of the favorite of Her Majesty. Upon inspection of the concubine destined for the highest rank to the mother empress by the life physician Rogerson and on the certificate presented as fit for service regarding health, the recruited to Anna Stepanovna Protasova was escorted for a three-night test. When the betrothed fully satisfied the requirements of Protasova, she informed the most merciful empress about the trustworthiness of the tested, and then the first meeting was appointed according to the established etiquette of the court or according to the charter of the highest for consecration to the rank of concubine to the confirmed.
Perekusikhina Marya Savvishna and the valet Zakhar Konstantinovich were obliged to dine with the chosen one on the same day. At 10 pm, when the empress was already in bed, Perekusikhina led the recruit into the bedchamber of the most pious, dressed in a Chinese dressing gown, with a book in her hands, and left him to read in armchairs near the anointed bed. The next day, Perekusikhina took the initiate out of the bedchamber and handed him over to Zakhar Konstantinovich, who led the newly appointed concubine to the halls prepared for him; here Zakhar reported already servilely to the favorite that the most merciful empress deigned to appoint him with the highest person as her adjutant wing, brought him an adjutant wing uniform with a diamond agraph and 100,000 rubles of pocket money.
Before the empress even went out, in the winter to the Hermitage, and in the summer, in Tsarskoe Selo, to the garden, to take a walk with the new adjutant wing, to whom she gave her hand to guide her, the front hall of the new favorite was filled with the first state dignitaries, nobles, courtiers to bring him the most zealous congratulations on receiving the highest mercy. The most highly enlightened pastor, the metropolitan, usually came to the favorite the next day to consecrate him and blessed him with holy water..
Subsequently, the procedure became more complicated, and after Potemkin, the favorites were checked not only by the assayer-maid of honor Protasova, but also by Countess Bruce, and Perekusikhina, and Utochkin.
In June 1784, Lanskoy fell seriously and dangerously ill - it was said that he undermined his health by abusing stimulant drugs. Catherine did not leave the sufferer for an hour, almost stopped eating, left all her affairs and looked after him, like a mother for her only infinitely beloved son. Then she wrote:
"Malignant fever combined with a toad brought him to the grave in five days."
On the evening of June 25, Lanskoy died. Catherine's grief was boundless.
“When I began this letter, I was in happiness and joy, and my thoughts raced so fast that I did not have time to follow them,” she wrote to Grimm. “Now everything has changed: I suffer terribly, and my happiness is no more; I thought I couldn't bear the irretrievable loss I suffered a week ago when my best friend passed away. I hoped that he would be the support of my old age: he also aspired to this, tried to instill in himself all my tastes. This was a young man whom I brought up who was grateful, meek, honest, who shared my sorrows when I had them, and rejoiced in my joys.
In a word, I, sobbing, have the misfortune to tell you that General Lansky is gone ... and my room, which I used to love so much, has now turned into an empty cave; I can hardly move on it like a shadow: on the eve of his death, I had a sore throat and a violent fever; however, since yesterday I have been on my feet, but I am weak and so depressed that I cannot see a human face, so as not to burst into tears at the first word. I can neither sleep nor eat. Reading irritates me, writing exhausts my strength. I don't know what will become of me now; I know only one thing, that never in all my life have I been so unhappy as since my best and kindest friend left me. I opened the drawer, found this started sheet, wrote these lines on it, but I can no longer ... "
“I confess to you that all this time I have been unable to write to you, because I knew that this would make us both suffer. A week after I wrote you my last letter in July, Fyodor Orlov and Prince Potemkin came to see me. Until that moment I could not see a human face, but these knew what to do: they roared along with me, and then I felt at ease with them; but I still had a long time to recover, and because of the sensitivity to my grief, I became insensitive to everything else; my grief increased and was remembered at every step and at every word.
However, do not think that because of this terrible state I have neglected even the smallest thing that requires my attention. In the most painful moments, they came to me for orders, and I gave them sensibly and reasonably; this particularly struck General Saltykov. Two months passed like this without any relief; at last the first quiet hours came, and then the days. It was already autumn outside, it was getting damp, and the palace in Tsarskoe Selo had to be heated. All of mine went into a frenzy from this and so strong that on September 5, not knowing where to lay my head, I ordered the carriage to be laid down and arrived unexpectedly and in such a way that no one suspected it, to the city where I stopped in the Hermitage ... "
In the Winter Palace, all the doors were locked. Catherine ordered to knock down the door to the Hermitage and went to bed. But waking up at one in the morning, she ordered the cannons to be fired, which usually announced her arrival, and alarmed the whole city. The entire garrison rose to their feet, all the courtiers were frightened, and even she herself was surprised that she had made such a fuss. But a few days later, after giving an audience to the diplomatic corps, they appeared with their usual face, calm, healthy and fresh, friendly, as before the disaster, and smiling as always.
Soon life went back into its groove, and the eternally in love returned to life. But ten months passed before she wrote to Grimm again:
“I will tell you in one word, instead of a hundred, that I have a friend who is very capable and worthy of this name.”
This friend was the brilliant young officer Alexander Yermolov, represented by the same indispensable Potemkin. He moved to the long-empty chambers of the favorites. The summer of 1785 was one of the most joyful in Catherine's life: one noisy pleasure was replaced by another. The aging empress felt a new surge of legislative energy. This year, two famous letters of commendation appeared - to the nobility and cities. These acts completed the local government reform begun in 1775.
At the beginning of 1786, Catherine began to grow cold towards Yermolov. The resignation of the latter was accelerated by the fact that he took it into his head to intrigue against Potemkin himself. In June, the Empress asked her to tell her lover that she allowed him to go abroad for three years.
Yermolov's successor was the 28-year-old captain of the guard Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov, distant relative Potemkin and his adjutant. Having made a mistake with the previous favorite, Potemkin looked closely at Mamonov for a long time before recommending him to Catherine. In August 1786, Mamonov was introduced to the Empress and was soon appointed adjutant wing. Contemporaries noted that he could not be called handsome.
Mamonov was distinguished by his tall stature and physical strength, had a bony face, slightly slanted eyes, glowing with intelligence, and conversations with him gave the Empress considerable pleasure. A month later, he became an ensign of the cavalry guards and a major general in the army, and in 1788 he was granted a count. The first honors did not turn the head of the new favorite - he showed restraint, tact and gained a reputation as smart, careful person. Mamonov spoke German and English well, and knew French perfectly. In addition, he proved himself to be a good poet and playwright, which especially appealed to Catherine.
Thanks to all these qualities, as well as the fact that Mamonov constantly studied, read a lot and tried to seriously delve into state affairs, he became an adviser to the empress.
Catherine wrote to Grimm:
“The red caftan (as she called Mamonov) is worn by a creature with a beautiful heart and a very sincere soul. Mind for four, inexhaustible gaiety, a lot of originality in understanding things and conveying them, excellent education, a lot of knowledge that can give brilliance to the mind. We hide as a crime the inclination to poetry; we love music passionately, we understand everything unusually easily. What only we do not know by heart! We recite, chatter in the tone of a better society; exquisitely polite; we write in Russian and French, as rarely anyone else, as much in style as in beauty of writing. Our appearance is quite consistent with our internal qualities: we have wonderful black eyes with eyebrows that are extremely outlined; below average height, noble appearance, free gait; in a word, we are just as reliable in our souls as we are dexterous, strong and brilliant on the outside.
***
Travel to Crimea
In 1787, Catherine made one of her longest and most famous journeys - she went to the Crimea, which from 17.83 was annexed to Russia. Before Catherine had time to return to St. Petersburg, the news broke out about the severance of relations with Turkey and the arrest of the Russian ambassador in Istanbul: the second Turkish war. To top it off, the situation of the 60s was repeated) when one war pulled another.
As soon as they gathered forces to repulse in the south, it became known that the Swedish king Gustav III intended to attack defenseless Petersburg. The king came to Finland and sent a demand to Vice-Chancellor Osterman to return to Sweden all the lands ceded under the Nystadt and Abov worlds, and to return the Crimea to Porte.
In July 1788, the Swedish War began. Potemkin was busy in the south, and all the hardships of the war fell entirely on the shoulders of Catherine. She was personally involved in everything. affairs for the management of the maritime department, ordered, for example, to build several new barracks and hospitals, to fix and put in order the Revel port.
A few years later, she recalled this era in a letter to Grimm: “There is a reason why it seemed that I did everything so well at that time: I was then alone, with almost no helpers, and, being afraid to miss something out of ignorance or forgetfulness, I showed an activity that no one considered me capable of; I interfered in incredible details to such an extent that I even turned into an army quartermaster, but, according to everyone, soldiers have never been fed better in a country where it was impossible to get any provisions ... "
On August 3, 1790, the Treaty of Versailles was concluded; the borders of both states remained the same as they were before the war.
Behind these troubles in 1789 there was another change of favorites. In June, Catherine found out that Mamonov was having an affair with the maid of honor Daria Shcherbatov. The Empress reacted to treason quite calmly. She recently turned 60 years old, besides a long experience love relationship taught her leniency. She bought several villages for Mamontov, with more than 2,000 peasants, gave her bride jewelry and betrothed them herself. Over the years of his favor, Mamonov had gifts and money from Catherine for about 900 thousand rubles. The last hundred thousand, in addition to the three thousand peasants, he received when leaving with his wife for Moscow. At this time, he could already see his successor.
On June 20, Ekaterina chose the 22-year-old second-captain of the Horse Guards Platon Zubov as the favorite. In July, Toth was granted the rank of colonel and adjutant wing. At first, the empress's entourage did not take him seriously.
Bezborodko wrote to Vorontsov:
“This child is well-mannered, but not far-sighted; I don't think he will last long in his place.
However, Bezborodko was wrong. Zubov was destined to become the last favorite of the great empress - he retained his position until her death.
Catherine confessed to Potemkin in August of the same year:
“I came back to life like a fly after hibernation… I am cheerful and healthy again.”
She was moved by Zubov's youth and the fact that he cried when he was not allowed into the rooms of the Empress. Despite his mild appearance, Zubov turned out to be a prudent and dexterous lover. His influence on the empress became so great over the years that he managed to achieve the almost impossible: he nullified Potemkin's charm and completely ousted him from Catherine's heart. Having taken all the threads of management into his own hands, in the last years of Catherine's life he acquired a tremendous influence on affairs.
***
The war with Turkey continued. In 1790, Suvorov took Izmail, and Potemkin - Vendors. After that, Porte had no choice but to yield. In December 1791, peace was concluded in Iasi. Russia received the interfluve of the Dniester and the Bug, where Odessa was soon built; Crimea was recognized as her possession.
Potemkin did not live long enough to see this joyful day. He died on October 5, 1791 on the way from Iasi to Nikolaev. Catherine's grief was very great. According to the testimony of the French commissioner Genet, "at this news she lost consciousness, blood rushed to her head, and she was forced to open a vein." Who can replace such a person? she repeated to her secretary Khrapovitsky. “I and all of us are now like snails who are afraid to stick their heads out of their shells.”
She wrote to Grimm:
“Yesterday I was hit like a butt on the head ... My student, my friend, one might say, an idol, Prince Potemkin of Tauride died ... Oh, my God! Now I am truly my own helper. I have to train my people again!”
The last remarkable act of Catherine was the division of Poland and the annexation of western Russian lands to Russia. The second and third sections, which followed in 1793 and 1795, were a logical continuation of the first. Many years of anarchy and the events of 1772 brought many nobles to their senses. During the four-year Sejm of 1788-1791, the reforming party drafted a new constitution, adopted on May 3, 1791. She established hereditary royal power with the Sejm without the right to veto, the admission of deputies from the townspeople, the complete equality of dissidents, the abolition of confederations. All this happened in the wake of frenzied anti-Russian speeches and in defiance of all previous agreements, according to which Russia guaranteed the Polish constitution. Catherine was forced to endure impudence for the time being, but she wrote to members of the foreign collegium:
“... I will not agree to any of this new order of things, the approval of which not only did not pay any attention to Russia, but showered her with insults, bullied her every minute ...”
And indeed, as soon as peace was concluded with Turkey, Poland was occupied by Russian troops, and a Russian garrison was brought into Warsaw. This served as a prologue to the section. In November, the Prussian ambassador in St. Petersburg, Count Goltz, presented a map of Poland, which outlined the area desired by Prussia. In December, after a detailed study of the map, Catherine approved the Russian share of the partition. Most of Belarus went to Russia. After the final collapse of the May constitution, its adherents, both those who had gone abroad and those who remained in Warsaw, had one means of acting in favor of a lost enterprise: plotting, arousing displeasure, and waiting for an opportunity to raise an uprising. All this has been done.
Warsaw was to become the center of the performance. A well-prepared uprising began early in the morning on April 6 (17), 1794 and was a surprise for the Russian garrison. Most of the soldiers were killed, and only a few units with heavy damage were able to break out of the city. Not trusting the king, the patriots proclaimed General Kosciuszko as supreme ruler. In response, a third partition agreement was reached between Austria, Prussia and Russia in September. Krakow and Sendomierz provinces were to go to Austria. The Bug and Neman became the borders of Russia. In addition, Courland and Lithuania retreated to it. The rest of Poland with Warsaw was given to Prussia. On November 4, Suvorov took Warsaw. The revolutionary government was destroyed and power returned to the king. Stanislav-August wrote to Catherine:
“The fate of Poland is in your hands; your power and wisdom will solve it; whatever the fate that you assign to me personally, I cannot forget my duty to my people, imploring Your Majesty's generosity for them.
Catherine replied:
“It was not in my power to prevent disastrous consequences and to fill under the feet of the Polish people the abyss dug by their corrupters and into which they are finally carried away ...”
On October 13, 1795, the third section was made; Poland disappeared from the map of Europe. This partition was soon followed by the death of the Russian empress. The decline of Catherine's moral and physical strength began in 1792. She was broken both by the death of Potemkin and by the extraordinary tension that she had to endure in last war. The French envoy Genet wrote:
“Catherine is clearly aging, she herself sees this, and melancholy takes possession of her soul.”
Catherine complained: "The years make everyone see in black". Dropsy overcame the Empress. It became increasingly difficult for her to walk. She stubbornly fought old age and ailments, but in September 1796, after the engagement of her granddaughter to King Gustav IV of Sweden did not take place, Catherine fell into bed. She did not leave colic, wounds opened on her legs. Only at the end of October did the empress feel better. On the evening of November 4, Catherine gathered an intimate circle in the Hermitage, was very cheerful all evening and laughed at Naryshkin's jokes. However, she left earlier than usual, saying that she had colic from laughter. The next day, Catherine got up at her usual hour, talked with the favorite, worked with the secretary, and, dismissing the latter, ordered him to wait in the hallway. He waited an unusually long time and began to worry. Half an hour later, the faithful Zubov decided to look into the bedroom. The Empress was not there; was not in the toilet room. Zubov called people in alarm; they ran to the dressing room and there they saw the immovable empress with a reddened face, foaming at the mouth and wheezing with a death rattle. Ekaterina was carried into the bedroom and laid on the floor. She resisted death for about a day and a half, but did not come to her senses and died on the morning of November 6.
She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Thus ended the reign of Catherine II the Great, one of the most famous Russian women politicians.
Catherine composed the following epitaph for her future tombstone:
Catherine II is buried here. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth, and the people. She did not miss anything in order to achieve success in this respect. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness led her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She forgave easily and hated no one. She was indulgent, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a good heart. She had friends. The job was easy for her. She enjoyed secular entertainment and the arts.
CATHERINE II the Great(1729-96), Russian empress (since 1762). German Princess Sophia Frederick Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. From 1744 - in Russia. Since 1745, the wife of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future emperor, whom she overthrew from the throne (1762), relying on the guards (G. G. and A. G. Orlovs and others). She reorganized the Senate (1763), secularized the lands (1763-64), abolished the hetmanship in Ukraine (1764). Headed the Legislative Commission 1767-69. During her time, the Peasants' War of 1773-75 took place. In 1775, she published the Institution for the Administration of the Province, the Letter of Letter to the Nobility in 1785, and the Letter of Letter to the Cities in 1785. Black Sea coast, Crimea, Kuban region. Adopted under Russian citizenship Vost. Georgia (1783). During the reign of Catherine II, sections of the Commonwealth were carried out (1772, 1793, 1795). Corresponded with other figures of the French Enlightenment. Author of many fiction, dramaturgical, journalistic, popular science works, "Notes".
EKATERINA II Alekseevna(nee Sophia Augusta Frederica, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst), Russian Empress (from 1762-96).
Origin, upbringing and education
Catherine, the daughter of Prince Christian-August of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the Prussian service, and Princess Johanna-Elisabeth (nee Princess of Holstein-Gottorp), was related to the royal houses of Sweden, Prussia and England. She was educated at home: studied German and French, dance, music, the basics of history, geography, theology. Already in childhood, her independent character, curiosity, perseverance and, at the same time, a penchant for lively, outdoor games, manifested itself. In 1744, Catherine with her mother was summoned to Russia by the empress, baptized Orthodox custom under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna and named the bride of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (future Emperor Peter III), whom she married in 1745.
Life in Russia before accession to the throne
Catherine set herself the goal of winning the favor of the Empress, her husband and the Russian people. However, her personal life was unsuccessful: Peter was infantile, so during the first years of marriage there was no marital relationship between them. Paying tribute to the cheerful life of the court, Catherine turned to reading French enlighteners and works on history, jurisprudence and economics. These books shaped her worldview. Catherine became a consistent supporter of the ideas of the Enlightenment. She was also interested in the history, traditions and customs of Russia. In the early 1750s. Catherine began an affair with the Guards officer S.V. Saltykov, and in 1754 gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Paul I, but the rumors that Saltykov was Paul's father are unfounded. In the second half of the 1750s. Catherine had an affair with the Polish diplomat S. Poniatowski (later King Stanislaw August), and in the early 1760s. with G. G. Orlov, from whom she gave birth in 1762 to a son, Alexei, who received the surname Bobrinsky. The deterioration of relations with her husband led to the fact that she began to fear for her fate if he came to power and began to recruit supporters for herself at court. The ostentatious piety of Catherine, her prudence, sincere love for Russia - all this contrasted sharply with the behavior of Peter and allowed her to gain authority both among the high-society capital society and the general population of St. Petersburg.
Accession to the throne
During the six months of the reign of Peter III, Catherine's relationship with her husband (who openly appeared in the company of E. R. Vorontsova's mistress) continued to deteriorate, becoming clearly hostile. There was a threat of her arrest and possible deportation. Catherine carefully prepared a conspiracy, relying on the support of the Orlov brothers, N.I. Panin, E.R. Dashkova and others. On the night of June 28, 1762, when the emperor was in Oranienbaum, Catherine secretly arrived in St. Petersburg and was proclaimed autocratic empress. Soldiers from other regiments soon joined the rebels. The news of Catherine's accession to the throne quickly spread throughout the city and was greeted with enthusiasm by the people of St. Petersburg. To prevent the actions of the deposed emperor, messengers were sent to the army and to Kronstadt. Meanwhile, Peter, having learned about what had happened, began to send proposals for negotiations to Catherine, which were rejected. The empress herself, at the head of the guards regiments, set out for Petersburg and on the way received Peter's written abdication from the throne.
The nature and manner of government
Catherine II was a subtle psychologist and an excellent connoisseur of people, she skillfully selected her assistants, not being afraid of bright and talented people. That is why Catherine's time was marked by the appearance of a whole galaxy of outstanding statesmen, generals, writers, artists, and musicians. In dealing with subjects, Catherine was, as a rule, restrained, patient, tactful. She was an excellent conversationalist, able to listen carefully to everyone. By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she was good at capturing any sensible thought and using it for her own purposes. During the entire reign of Catherine, there were practically no noisy resignations, none of the nobles was disgraced, exiled, let alone executed. Therefore, there was an idea of Catherine's reign as the "golden age" of the Russian nobility. At the same time, Catherine was very vain and valued her power more than anything in the world. For the sake of her preservation, she is ready to make any compromises to the detriment of her beliefs.
Attitude towards religion and the peasant question
Catherine was distinguished by ostentatious piety, considered herself the head and defender of the Russian Orthodox Church, and skillfully used religion in her political interests. Her faith, apparently, was not too deep. In the spirit of the time, she preached religious tolerance. Under her, the persecution of the Old Believers was stopped, Catholic and Protestant churches, mosques were built, but the transition from Orthodoxy to another faith was still severely punished.
Catherine was a staunch opponent of serfdom, considering it inhumane and contrary to the very nature of man. In her papers, many harsh statements on this subject, as well as discussions about various options for the elimination of serfdom, have been preserved. However, she did not dare to do anything concrete in this area because of the well-founded fear of a noble rebellion and another coup. At the same time, Catherine was convinced of the spiritual underdevelopment of the Russian peasants and therefore was in danger of granting them freedom, believing that the life of the peasants among caring landowners was quite prosperous.
After the shameful reign of Emperor Peter 3, the Russian throne was occupied by Empress Catherine 2 the Great. Her reign lasted 34 (thirty-four) years, during which Russia managed to restore order within the country and strengthen the position of the fatherland in the international arena.
The reign of Catherine II began in 1762. From the moment she came to power, the young empress was distinguished by her mind and desire to do everything possible so that order would come to the country after long palace coups. For these purposes, Empress Catherine 2 the Great carried out in the country the so-called policy of enlightened absolutism. The essence of this policy was to educate the country, endowing the peasants with minimal rights, facilitating the opening of new enterprises, joining church lands to state lands, and much more. In 1767, the empress gathered in the Kremlin the Legislative Commission, which was supposed to develop a new, fair code of laws for the country.
Dealing with the internal affairs of the state, Catherine 2 had to constantly look back at her neighbors. In 1768 the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia. Each side pursued different goals in this war. The Russians entered the war hoping to secure access to the Black Sea. The Ottoman Empire expected to expand the boundaries of its possessions at the expense of the Russian Black Sea lands. The first years of the war did not bring success to either side. However, in 1770, General Rumyantsev defeated the Turkish army near the Larga River. In 1772, the young commander A.V. Suvorov, transferred to the Turkish front from the Commonwealth, was involved in the war. The commander immediately, in 1773, captured the important fortress of Turtukai and crossed the Danube. As a result, the Turks proposed peace, signed in 1774 at Kuciur-Kaynardzhi. Under this treaty, Russia received the territory between the southern But and the Dnieper, as well as the Yenikale and Kerch fortresses.
Empress Catherine 2 the Great was in a hurry to end the war with the Turks, since by 1773, for the first time, popular unrest began to rise in the south of the country. These unrest resulted in a peasant war led by E. Pugachev. Pugachev, posing as a miraculously saved Peter 3, raised the peasants to war with the empress. Russia did not know such bloody uprisings. It was only completed in 1775. Pugachev was quartered.
In the period from 1787 to 1791, Russia was again forced to fight. This time we had to fight on two fronts: in the south with the Turks, in the north with the Swedes. The Turkish company became a benefit performance of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. The Russian commander glorified himself by winning great victories for Russia. In this war, under the command of Suvorov, his student, Kutuzov M.I., began to win the first victories. The war with Sweden was not as fierce as with Turkey. The main events unfolded in Finland. The decisive battle took place in the Vyborg naval battle in June 1790. The Swedes were defeated. A peace treaty was signed, with the preservation of the existing borders of the state. On the Turkish front, Potemkin and Suvorov won one victory after another. As a result, Turkey was again forced to ask for peace. As a result of which, in 1791, the Dniester River became the border between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
Empress Catherine II the Great did not forget about the western borders of the state. Together with Austria and Prussia, Russia participated in three sections of the Commonwealth. As a result of these partitions, Poland ceased to exist, and Russia regained most of the original Russian lands.
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