CATHERINE THE GREAT

Catherine was born Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1729, the eldest daughter of an obscure German princeling Christian August and Princess Joanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Little Sophia was nicknamed Feke or Figchen. After Peter III was proclaimed as successor to the Russian throne, King Frederick II of Prussia quickly realized that the future Russian Emperor would need a wife, a Princess humble enough to be sent out to ‘barbarian Russia’ but one who would be wise enough to toe the Prussian line. The invitation came in the winter of 1744 and on January 10 Princess Feke and her mother secretly departed for St. Petersburg posing as Countesses Reinbeck carrying just a few blouses, three dresses and a copper pitcher for washing.

The wedding happened 18 months later when Princess Sophia was 16 and her bridegroom only a year her senior.  The young Peter was still unfit for family life going more for dancing, hunting and other pleasantries of royal life. While her husband was having a good time, his young wife was studying hard and reading from Plutarch, Tacit, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and also from Russian chronicles. Intelligent and quick on the uptake, she soon realized that if you need someone, you are better off ignoring his weak points and should instead seek his strong points to lean on. Always a hardworking young lady, she did the washing, prepared her own food, worked in the garden, was a fine seamstress and sometimes even indulged in carving ivory. She usually woke up at 6 o’clock in the morning, washed her face with ice cubes and, taking a cup of strong coffee, worked until 9 o’clock after which she would listen to her ministers’ reports. 

On weekdays the Empress walked around in casual attire never putting on her jewels. She dined with boiled beef, picked cucumbers and currant infusion in the company of about a dozen guests. At 4 pm she usually retired into her beloved Hermitage admiring new art collections and playing billiards.  

Catherine was an attractive woman and knew it. She was also very much attracted to men. At 30, already a mature woman, she easily got men running after her, not only because she was Empress, but primarily because she was an intelligent and beautiful woman. She could no longer live without love, without the adoration of the men around her and she remained so until the last moment of her life. “There is no way you can control your heart, squeezing it one moment only to release the other,” she wrote in a bid to justify her behavior to herself and to posterity. In her private life she was anything but flighty or virtueless, though: her affairs normally lasted for years. Losing her husband early on, Catherine never married again but she had many favorites, there is absolutely no doubt about that… Always very serious about the matters of state, Catherine never allowed her feelings to interfere with her duties. Yes, she encouraged favoritism because she believed that handsome young men should always be by her side with the only purpose of entertaining her and making her invigorated so that she could do a better job for her country. The moment she lost interest in a lover she just sent him away without even bothering to explain the reason of her disfavor. 

During her ebbing years Catherine II concentrated more on her grandchildren and her heirs. Throughout her life she had been estranged from her son and Heir Apparent Pavel and so the Empress was pinning high hopes on her eldest and best-beloved grandson Alexander whom she was bringing up and educating as Russia’s future Emperor. 

Catherine the Great died on November 6, 1796. She was 67. Her achievements were many. She left Russia much stronger, more prosperous and beautiful than she had found it. She added 11 new regions bringing the Russian population to 34 million from 19 million it had when she ascended the throne. State revenues had risen fourfold, 144 new cities had been built, and there was a steady influx of migrants from around Europe. The Russian army had nearly doubled in size; its naval strength had risen from 20 to an impressive 67 capital ships alone, not mentioning other vessels. The Russian Army and Navy had won 78 major victories that made Russia and Russians much respected everywhere, primarily thanks to the tireless effort bent by this great Empress who had spent most of her life trying to prove the unique nature of the people she was destined to rule by the whim of Fate…