Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great was empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Her reign expanded the empire and pursued reforms shaped by Enlightenment ideas, while preserving autocratic rule and serfdom.

Partitions of Poland: The three eighteenth-century divisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Catherine’s Russia annexed large territories in the first and second partitions.
Nakaz: Catherine II’s 1767 Instruction, a statement of principles intended to guide the Commission on the New Code. It set out the Enlightenment-inflected principles behind her proposed legal revision.
Grigory Potemkin: A Russian statesman and military commander who became one of Catherine II’s closest advisers and helped direct southern expansion. Potemkin helped implement her policies in the south and oversaw the annexation and development of Crimea.
Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst: The German-born princess who became Catherine II after marrying the future Peter III and converting to Russian Orthodoxy. Her transformation from Sophie into Catherine began the path to the Russian throne.
Enlightened absolutism: A form of monarchy in which rulers adopted selected Enlightenment reforms while retaining concentrated political authority. The label captures the tension between Catherine’s reform language and her continued autocratic rule.
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774): A war between the Russian and Ottoman empires that ended with Russian gains and increased influence around the Black Sea. Its outcome strengthened Catherine’s position in southern Europe and the Black Sea region.
Legislative Commission of 1767: An assembly convened by Catherine II to discuss a new Russian code of laws, drawing representatives from different social groups. The commission gathered grievances and proposals but did not produce a new code.
Grigory Orlov: A Russian officer and courtier who helped Catherine seize power in the 1762 coup. His role in the coup was central to Catherine’s accession to the throne.
Coup of 1762: The palace coup that deposed Peter III and brought Catherine II to power in Russia. It established her rule through elite military and court support rather than hereditary succession alone.
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor: The Habsburg ruler from 1765 to 1790 who pursued centralized reforms influenced by Enlightenment ideas. His more sweeping reforms offer a comparison with Catherine’s cautious accommodation of Russian elites.

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