Catherine The Great Analysis
Section One
The Golden Age of Russian History was lead by one of the country’s most notable rulers- Empress Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great of Russia. The most powerful empress the nation has ever seen, the events leading up to her long reign (1762- 1796) were dramatic and unlikely. Born a German princess, Catherine was brought to Russia as an adolescent to marry Peter III, the heir to the throne after Empress Elizabeth. Catherine quickly won over the favor of the nation by adopting their religion, embracing their language and culture, and taking on a Russian Orthodox name. When Empress Elizabeth died, Peter ascended to the throne and took control of Russia. However, neither the nation nor Catherine liked him, and Catherine …show more content…
The document is very sympathetic towards Catherine, and does not provide multiple sides of an event, instead going in-depth on Catherine's actions and motives. The source will be warily quoted, as between the interpretation of primary sources and translations that occurred before actually writing the book, it is unlikely a quote or excerpt is word for word.
The second source used was the book “Memoirs of Catherine the Great”, written by Catherine II herself. This translation from Russian to English was published in 1955, and it is a collection of her personal diaries and memoirs. This is a very strong source to gather an insight into Catherine’s mind, as she wrote about her intentions and opinions regarding historical events, alongside chronicles of her daily life. A strong primary source, the memoirs were intended for a general release, and could therefore have been censored to avoid …show more content…
While the Russian empress can be observed as an absolute ruler, Catherine’s rise to power was one that faced many threats and disturbances- many threats presented simply because of her gender, which was called into question in a devout and male-centric nation. Catherine the Great’s gender initially held back her ability to acquire power; she therefore had to find ways to subvert established gender norms in order to obtain absolute control, until she was able to utilize her gender
The Golden Age of Russian History was lead by one of the country’s most notable rulers- Empress Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great of Russia. The most powerful empress the nation has ever seen, the events leading up to her long reign (1762- 1796) were dramatic and unlikely. Born a German princess, Catherine was brought to Russia as an adolescent to marry Peter III, the heir to the throne after Empress Elizabeth. Catherine quickly won over the favor of the nation by adopting their religion, embracing their language and culture, and taking on a Russian Orthodox name. When Empress Elizabeth died, Peter ascended to the throne and took control of Russia. However, neither the nation nor Catherine liked him, and Catherine …show more content…
The document is very sympathetic towards Catherine, and does not provide multiple sides of an event, instead going in-depth on Catherine's actions and motives. The source will be warily quoted, as between the interpretation of primary sources and translations that occurred before actually writing the book, it is unlikely a quote or excerpt is word for word.
The second source used was the book “Memoirs of Catherine the Great”, written by Catherine II herself. This translation from Russian to English was published in 1955, and it is a collection of her personal diaries and memoirs. This is a very strong source to gather an insight into Catherine’s mind, as she wrote about her intentions and opinions regarding historical events, alongside chronicles of her daily life. A strong primary source, the memoirs were intended for a general release, and could therefore have been censored to avoid …show more content…
While the Russian empress can be observed as an absolute ruler, Catherine’s rise to power was one that faced many threats and disturbances- many threats presented simply because of her gender, which was called into question in a devout and male-centric nation. Catherine the Great’s gender initially held back her ability to acquire power; she therefore had to find ways to subvert established gender norms in order to obtain absolute control, until she was able to utilize her gender