Catherine II of Russia Summary

The Russian empress Catherine II (1729-1796), known as Catherine the Great, reigned from 1762 to 1796. She expanded the Russian Empire, improved administration, and vigorously pursued the policy of We... Read more

In the excerpts below, Waliszewski discusses Catherine's personal and intellectual relationship with the philosophers of the European Enlightenment, particularly Voltaire, but also Diderot, Rou... Read more

In the following excerpt, Haslip focuses on Catherine's relationship with Voltaire, noting that Catherine's correspondence with him and other French philosophers demonstrates the challen... Read more

In this excerpt from his biography of Catherine the Great, generally considered the scholarly standard, Alexander provides the historical and political contexts for the production and reception of Cat... Read more

In this essay, Levitt examines Catherine's Antidote, her response to Chappe d'Auteroche's attack on Russian culture in his Voyage en Sibérie. Levitt argues that although th... Read more

In the essay below, O'Malley demonstrates how Catherine appropriated English comedy to create plays that advanced the cause of Russian nationalism. Focusing on This 'tis to Have Linen an... Read more

Critical Essay by Nicholas N. Riasanovsky Henri Troyat's biography of Catherine the Great is an immensely readable book…. (p. 7) I happened to be reading one of Balzac's novel... Read more

In a time where ideas and thoughts spread rapidly, the high and middle class people, began to question its world and the ways of thinking. They had always been followers but the leaders of a new age... Read more

The real figure and story of Catherine the Great and Peter the Third has been overlaid by gilt and varnish much like the church mural paintings of old. Some of the true story would be uncovered, while... Read more