17.6.1773: Catherine
the Great passes the
Edict of Tolerance
Influenced by French Enlightenment
thinking, Catherine the Great carried
out a number of internal reforms.
The tolerance of all forms of religion
as laid down in the edict was
intended to show the world that a
modern and enlightened monarch
was ruling Russia.
Catherine read the works of
Montesquieu and exchanged letters
with Voltaire. She supported the
sciences and the arts, made reforms
to the educational system and
generously encouraged German
settlers to prosper in the Volga
region. During her reign, St.
Petersburg became one of Europe’s
most beautiful capital cities.
Referring to Voltaire, she wrote in a
letter to Baron Friedrich Melchior
Grimm in 1778: "He is my teacher,
or rather, his works have formed my
thought and my intellectual
development.“
But Catherine was also a woman
with strong political instincts and an
iron will to control. Her numerous
lovers from the Russian nobility
attempted unsuccessfully to
influence her, even while her
husband was still alive.
As a young queen, she arranged the
coup of her inept husband, Peter III,
from the throne. While she never
directly ordered his death, she
condoned it. Following his demise,
nothing else prevented her from
enacting complete and absolute
control of Russia.
Catherine used her power to wage
two successful wars against the
Osman Empire. She gained direct
access to the Crimean and annexed
regions of Poland into the Russian
Empire. Russia’s territory grew by a
sizeable amount during her reign.
She ruled this enormous empire
with an iron hand. Despite the
impression she created of being an
admiring student of the French
Enlightenment movement, her
internal reforms caused no longterm improvement in the country‘s
social structure. Her enlightenment
spirit did indeed encourage
modernization, but the obvious
social inequalities actually became
worse under her reign.
The outdated social order continued
its downwards spiral when she
extended feudalism to also cover
the Ukraine. This left the fate of
bondsmen totally in the hands of
the land-owning nobles. The
desperate uprising of those deprived
smallholders in 1776 was mercilessly
stamped out, the leaders were
publicly executed in Moscow and
the few minor attempts of the state
to decentralize and reorganize
amounted to nothing.
Even so, Voltaire continued to
believe that Catherine was a truly
enlightened reformist. He
maintained that she was a monarch
who had at heart the best interests
of her subjects, as well as the
protection of human rights and the
division of power.
A liberal command issued by
Catherine to her officials regarding a
future reform, which was never
actually implemented, was enough
to convince Voltaire that a Russian
Renaissance was taking place. He
insisted that Catherine the Great
was its chief protagonist. His
admiration for the Czar was
unyielding.
Voltaire wrote to the queen: "May I
say that I am a little confused that
your name is Catherine? Heroines of
old did not bear the names of saints.
Ancients like Homer and Virgil
would not have known how to
praise a lady with such a name. But
under whatever name, I prostrate
myself at the feet of Your Majesty,
with a deep and grateful respect.“
The monarch used this personal
connection with Voltaire to have a
European accomplice and champion
for her plans and activities. Not all
contemporary intellectuals
approved of her actions. The ruling
houses of Germany and Austria, too,
viewed her activities with suspicion.
Catherine’s reign was full of
contradictions. The tolerance edict
of June 17, 1773 expressly forbade
all forms of religious persecution
and serves as proof of her modern
and liberal attitude. This law was of
great benefit to the Old Believers,
the branch of the Russian Orthodox
Church which had been
excommunicated following the
Schism of 1666.
In diametric contrast to this were
the restrictions placed on the Jewish
population. They were limited to
designated areas of the western
Czardom, which covered large parts
of annexed Poland. From 1791
onwards, Jews there were
ghettoized. Their social and religious
activities could only be carried out in
the designated zones.
This was not the only bone of
contention in Catherine’s politics
during her reign. Her expansionist
politics and her desire for absolute
power were also against the spirit of
French Enlightenment. It was above
all the contradictions in her
personality and in her reign, which
made her one of the most
interesting figures in world politics.
Catherine the Great was a lady of high intellect, a tireless
worker for the good of Russia, and above all, she was
human and she was kind. She was a legend in her own
time. Her behavior throughout her exceptional life was at
all times understandable. No other ruler had her many
fine qualities.
Catherine the Great (1729-1796), empress of Russia (17621796), continued the process of Westernization begun by
Peter the Great and made Russia a European power. She
was born a German princess in Stettin (now Szczecin,
Poland) as Sophie Fredericka Augusta von Anhalt-Zerbst
and in time turned out to be a powerful and enlightened
ruler of the vast Russian Empire. In 1745 she was married
to prince Carl Peter Ulrich, the heir to the Russian throne
(the future Emperor Peter III). She bore three children to
whom she was a devoted and caring mother. Being a
bright personality with a strong sense of determination,
she joined the Russian Orthodox Church, learned the
Russian language and by doing a lot of reading acquired a
brilliant education. She was proud to be a friend and an
active correspondent to the best thinkers of the time,
such as the prominent French Enlightenment personalities
Rousseau and Diderot.
After the death of her husband she became Russia's
autocratic ruler. Throughout her long reign many reforms
were undertaken and the territory of Russia was further
extended by acquiring the lands of Southern Ukraine and
the Crimea. The rights of the Russian nobility were
extended, which won Catherine popularity among the
Russian social elite.
Catherine's more benevolent achievements included the
foundation of the first Russian schools for girls and of a
medical college to provide health care for her subjects. In
1776 she created a major cultural institution, the Great
Theater in Moscow, which became a cradle of wonderful
music and ballet achievements and is widely recognized
today in the international artistic world. She established
the Free Economic Society (1765) to encourage the
modernization of agriculture and industry. She promoted
trade and the development of underpopulated regions by
inviting foreign settlers, and she founded new towns.
University of Moscow and Academy of Science became an
internationally recognized learning center under her
sponsorship. Being very well educated and knowing the
importance of education she also increased the number of
state and private schools.
Catherine undertook major reforms of provincial and
urban administrations to ensure better control of the
empire. She aimed at completing the job started by Peter I
-- westernizing Russia--but she chose different methods.
Unlike Peter, she didn't force society into service of the
state, but rather encouraged individual initiative in pursuit
of self-interest. She succeeded to a degree with the upper
class, but didn't quite do it with the majority of the
population -- the peasantry.
Catherine the Great, being the outsider of the Romanov
dynasty, wanted to establish strong links with earlier
Russian history and the Romanov tsars. She commissioned
an impressive monument to Peter the Great - the Bronze
Horseman. Most experts agree that the St. Petersburg of
Catherine the Great changed its appearance significantly
and turned out to be one of the most impressive European
capitals.
Under Catherine, the territory of the Russian Empire was
greatly expanded, especially through two wars with the
Ottoman Empire (1768-1774 and 1787-1791) and the
annexation of Crimea (1783), which gave Russia control
over the northern coast of the Black Sea.
Catherine the Great died in 1796 at the age of 67, having
lived longer than any other Romanov monarch. She was
buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
At the time of her death modern Russian was organized
and its culture had struck firm roots. Russia was also
playing a determining role in world affairs.
Catherine was born in 1729 in Stettin, Prussia, which is now Szczecin, Poland. Her original name was Sophie
Fredericke Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst and she was a German princess. Sophie moved to Russia in 1744 and was
married in 1745 to the Grand Duke Peter of Holstein. Sophie converted her religion from Lutheranism to Russian
Orthodox, and her husband Peter became Peter III of Russia in 1762. However, her husband was not very well
liked and did much to antagonize his people and the courts, so Sophie and the imperial guard overthrew him,
and Sophie was declared empress Catherine II.
Much of what Catherine did when she ruled led to improvements in Russia. She won two important wars
against the Ottoman Empire, expanding Russia to the Black Sea's shores. Agreements were made with Austria
and Prussia that created partitions with Poland, and more area in Europe belonged to Russia. Like Peter the
Great, Catherine supported westernization, improving the Russian government through the influence of the
west. She bolstered the autocratic government in the Age of Enlightenment with Montesquieu's The Spirit of
Laws prayerbook. She also convened the Legislature Commission to try a political reform, but this produced no
results.
Probably the greatest hardship in Catherine's reign, the thing that caused the most changes in both
government and the Russian's attitude towards Catherine, was the Pugachew Rebellion. This was a rebellion
started by a man named Yemelyan Pugachew who claimed he was Catherine's husband, Peter III. In truth,
Catherine's husband had been killed by one of her lovers' brothers, but Pugachew played on the doubt that he
actually died. Pugachew gained many supporters from many of the different classes in Russia, and took the city
of Kazan' and was close to getting Moscow. However, Pugachew and his supporters were no match for the
Russian army, and they were defeated. Pugachew was surrendered by his men, tried in Moscow, and executed
after being pronounced guilty.
After the Pugachew Rebellion, Catherine instituted many changes of government to try to reunite the
Russian classes once more. These changes resolved around decentralization, the distribution of functions and
power, gentry's participation. The land units were subdivided into provinces and then into districts to give the
local governments more power. The courts and the procedures of the judicial branch of government were
further organized. Catherine tried to separate the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,
but failed. She extended the serfdom throughout Russia and transfered the church property to the state. She
also started colonization of the Volga river and southern Russia.
However, Catherine's main interest was also in culture and education. She established boarding schools like
the Smolny Institute for Girls and the Russian Academy of Letters. Public publishing houses were licensed and
because works could now be published, journalism flourished. Hospitals and medical colleges were founded,
surgical and medical equipment was being made in Russia, and they were leading the war in disease control.
Right when Catherine was preparing to fight France during the French Revolution, Catherine had a stroke
and died in 1796. Catherine's son, Paul, took over her throne after her death. Catherine did so much for Russia
during her reign that she was called Catherine the Great more often than Catherine II. Her greatness gives her a
place in my list.
Catherine the Great assumed power in 1762 after a coup d' etat, which she engineered together with officers of
the Royal Guard. Unlike her husband, she was well loved by the country's elite and received a very good press in
Europe thanks to her contacts with many figures of the French Enlightenment.
Catherine's court was extremely luxurious. She was the first to move into the newly built Winter Palace.
Catherine started a royal art collection which later became the world-famous Hermitage. Several additional
buildings (the Small Hermitage and the Old Hermitage) were commissioned for the growing royal collection of
art. The Hermitage Theater was built and the area around the palace was put in order and built up with the
finest houses and palaces.
The most prominent embankments on the left bank of the Neva river were upgraded to their present red granite
look and the marvelous wrought iron fence of the Summer Gardens was built by Yuri Felten in 1773-86.
Under Catherine's patronage science, the arts and trade flourished. New buildings for the Russian Academy of
Sciences, the Academy of Fine Arts and the first Public Library (now the Russian National Library) were
constructed and the large Gostiny Dvor trading complex was opened on Nevsky Prospect. Many educational
institutions were established.
In Tsarskoye Selo ( now Pushkin) several additions to the royal palace were built. One of these new wings (the
Cameron Gallery) served as the living quarters for Catherine the Great herself. The lovely park which surrounds
the palaces still bears the stamp of Catherine's lively and luxurious court.
Among Catherine's many reforms was the reform of St. Petersburg local administration. In 1766 the position of
gorodskoi golova (a mayor) was established. In 1774 a Magistrat (municipal council) was formed, and in 1786 it
was transformed into the city Duma.
A monument to Catherine the Great was built in 1873 in a garden just off Nevsky Prospect (by the Public Library
and the Alexandrinsky Theater. Thousands of people come to visit her tomb in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
A.
Consolidation Under Catherine the Great
After the death of Peter the Great in 1724, there were a series of weak
rulers dominated by the military. In 1761 the retarded Peter III became
tsar, but was rapidly replaced as the effective power by his wife, Catherine
the Great. Catherine continued the policy of autocratic centralization and
suppressed the uprising of peasants under Emelian Pugachev. Catherine
flirted with Enlightenment ideas and attempted legal reforms along
Enlightenment concepts.
However, Caterine also favored centralization and a strong tsarist hand,
and she strengthened the power of the nobility over the Russian
peasantry. The nobility continued to serve as the primary source of
recruits for the bureaucracy and military. Landlords gained almost
absolute jurisdiction over the peasants who resided on their estates.
Catherine turned rapidly against Western ideas during the French
Revolution and censored Russian intellectuals who criticized autocracy.
Catherine pressed the attack on the Ottoman Empire, gaining lands in the
Crimea.
Russia colonized Siberia, and explorers reached Alaska and the California
coast. Catherine directed an aggressive foreign policy against Prussia and
Poland. In 1772, 1793, and 1795, Russia participated in the partition of
Poland, which ceased to exist as an independent state. In some ways,
Russian expansion was reminiscent of the early United States.