One of Russia’s finest leaders was Catherine II. Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great was a leader who used her power to benefit Russia for advancement in the future and to lead Russia to be one of the most successful countries in Europe at that time. Catherine ruled the Russian Empire from 1762 until her death in 1796, she was very focused on the political and foreign advancements of the Russian Empire. Much of what she did during her rule in the late 1700’s has assisted Russia in the advancements that they have made as a country today. Catherine II was good to her people and also cared very much about their rights, she developed laws to assist the people and to further benefit Russia as a nation. Born Sophie von Anhalt-Zerbst …show more content…
on May 2nd, 1729 in Stettin, Germany, today Szczecin, Poland, Catherine II was the daughter of a minor German prince. Catherine had to prove herself numerous times to her father in order for him to finally educate her. She learned a lot in short periods of time and over time, her mother began to bring her on diplomatic trips with her in order to find her a spouse. One of these diplomatic trips is where Catherine met her husband, Peter III. While in Russia on a trip to see Empress Elizabeth who was well acquainted with Catherine’s mother, Catherine became sick and Elizabeth ordered numerous bloodlettings. When Catherine became well, she and Grand Duke Peter became close and soon she converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and was married into Russian royalty. Catherine II was encouraged and pressured to have a child so that there could be an heir to the throne.
Eventually, she had a son named Paul. However, historians are unsure of who Paul’s father actually was. It is believed that his father is either Catherine’s husband, Peter, or it could be Sergei Saltykov, Catherine II’s lover at the time. When Empress Elizabeth died in 1961, Peter III and Catherine II came into power in Russia. Peter III began to alienate himself from powerful people in Russia and he also took away land from the church. Catherine II saw this as an opportunity to take control of Russia and began to become close with nobles, officials, and the military in order to have a close relationship with those whom Peter had alienated. Catherine II with help from one of her lovers, Grigory Orlov, overthrew Peter III and took the title as ruler of Russia. Catherine II had managed to get Peter III to step down, but he was strangled at one of his estates in Ropsha, Russia. In fear of being overthrown like her late husband, Peter III, Catherine II took steps in order to help her keep her seat as ruler of Russia. She gave back the land that Peter III had taken from the church and recalled the troops sent by Peter III to fight
Denmark. Catherine II styled her rule very much like Peter the Great had and claimed that she was following in his footsteps. Catherine II believed in an absolute rule, but she did make efforts towards political and social reform.
I believe that there was so much attention given to Peter the Great because of his extensive reforms. Peter brought both social and economic changes to his country. He wanted to make Russia big. Peter transformed the culture; he wanted his people to wear the western European fashion. Many of the people were not thrilled with the change because they did not like the ways of the western European societies. He made his navy stronger, he reformed his army to meet the western standards, and he gained control over the church.
Vladimir Lenin can be viewed as a very good leader. In Document 1, it states that “Factory workers in many countries stopped work for five minutes in homage”. This shows that many people were impacted by his death and that he affected the economy in various ways. Lenin used Karl Marx’s capitalistic views with communism to create collective farming, which was supposed to help increase the overall economy of the country after war and famine
Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894-1917 and was to be its final tsar. He ascended the throne under the impression that he would rule his whole life as it's undisputed leader. Accompanied by his wife, Alexandra, they lived a comfortable life of luxury while the country suffered around them. Nicholas was determined to rule as harshly as his father; however, he was a very weak and incompetent character who did not posses the qualities capable of guiding Russia through its time of turmoil.
They still were going to have an absolute power but it was going to be in a different way. I think that Catherine was really trying to make the monarch look like a better person so that she would be well respected with certain laws or decisions that she would make. The reason behind her enlightened views may not be known, but I feel that she wanted to have more territory to rule over and knew she needed to gain support in order to take over a larger area. Overall, I think Catherine the Great was a wonderful ruler. She knew she was in charge and seemed to try to please everyone. Even though she may not have succeeded in doing that, she did come up with laws such as human torture should be abolished, no man should be looked at as guilty before he has a sentence, and the society should be a fixed order. Knowing what her role was and coming up with laws that benefited the society definitely showed that Catherine II did earn to be called “Catherine the
In conclusion, though the goals and outcomes were different in many ways, Louis XIV and Peter the Great both sought to do great things. Louis XIV died unpopular in his country, having had the spotlight on him for years in Europe. He hadn’t made the huge leaps that he had hoped as far as land goes, but he had made small gains of land, and had gained the crown for his grandson, Phillip V of Spain. He also built fortresses around the country and reshaped the French economy. Peter the Great succeeded in modernizing and westernizing Russia. By his death, Russia was considered much more of a leading state in Europe than ever before. He modernized the army, created a navy, and succeeded in centralizing the government.
Catherine the Great, one of Russia's most notorious leaders, never once struggled to give Russia the edge it so hoped for. She considered herself to be an enlightened leader and attempted to rule in that fashion. Her reforms transformed Russia into a strong nation for their time. She’s remembered as the greatest reformer of Russia, she continued to westernize Russia, widened the borders, and strengthened the education system. Catherine the Great proceeded to finish what Peter the Great started; she made sure that by the end of her reign Russia was westernized.
The Effect of the Bolshevik Rule on Russian Culture Bolshevik cultural policy was based on spreading their values to the population. They attempted to promote equality to create a classless society. In addition to removing class differences they attempted to give equal status to women and to young people. In order to encourage women to work state funded crèches were established and laws passed to give women parity in terms of pay with men. The state tried to destroy the old concept of families by legalising abortion and enabling people to obtain divorces much more simply.
After years of turmoil during the reign of Ivan the Terrible the Boyar Duma, ,a council of Russian nobles, appointed the young Peter Alekseyevich Romanovas the next Tsar of Russia. He was better known as Peter the Great. Peter took control of his country and established a dynasty that lasted until World War I.
She criticized Peter for moving the capital to St Petersburg as opposed to moving it elsewhere and Peter’s failure to change the Sobornoye Ulozheniye of 1649 (Rasmussen, 1974, p. 56). However, Catherine was also unsuccessful in changing the Russian legal code as the Legislative Commission was a failure because it had not accomplished its task and she realized that this showed she herself had shortcomings much like Peter did (Rasmussen, 1974, p. 59). Nevertheless, Catherine had a vast amount of respect toward Peter and she used his image to her advantage as a political device. She used his image to overthrow Peter III and gain power over the throne. She realized that this was a necessity because “her claim to power was shaky and she worked to buttress it by projecting the image of a reforming tsar [. ]”
Peter the Great became tsar of Russia in 1682 and instituted many comprehensive changes designed to modernize and develop Russia during his reign. In The Revolution of Peter the Great, James Cracraft portrays the tsar as an ambitious and pivotal leader who sought to create a modern and powerful state by emulating Western European nations. The author insists that Peter inspired a revolution in Russia by establishing new bureaucratic, civil, and educational institutions. Cracraft argues that although all of Peter’s modifications had social and economic consequences, it was the cultural revolution that had the greatest impact on Russia. Cracraft describes Peter the Great as the most essential and historic figure in all of Russian history, and thus claims Peter as one of the most significant figures in all of modern history.
Peter the Great would come to be one of Russia’s most influential and powerful rulers by implementing easily the greatest amount of reforms a Russian ruler has ever attempted and altering the course of Roman history for good. The Tsar’s many reforms brought Russia out of archaic times and into a more Europeanized modern age where not only was the entire structure of government changed but so too were extensive reforms brought onto late 17th century and early 18th century Russia’s industry, commerce, technology, military, and culture among other things. Peter the Great’s legacy brought Russia to the height of her power and is one that has inspired many Russians and historians alike through the centuries since his death.
Peter the Great, was, as his name implies, “great”. He made many accomplishments during his lifetime including expanding Russia’s land, heightening their military, and improving the Russian’s ways of life overall. He assisted with most of the reform in Russia, helped them defeat other countries, and formulated one of the strongest armies in Europe.
Peter the Great was tsar of Russia until 1725. He died in Saint Petersburg, Russia on February 8, 1725. He had left an empire that had stretched from Arkhangelsk on the White Sea to the Caspian, to the Baltic Sea, and to the Pacific Ocean. He had not nominated anyone despite the fact that he had back in 1722 issued a decree reserving to him the right to nominate his successor. His widow Catherine I, succeeded him to the temporary omission of his grandson Peter II. Back in 1724 Peter the Great had crowned Catherine as empress. (Alekseyevich, 2012)
Peter I, was born to Alexis Romanov and his second wife Natalia Naryshkina. Peter grew up in a turbulent period of Russian history. His father’s early death at the age of thirty-one left a bitter struggle for power between the family of Alexis’s first wife’s family, the Miloslavskaias, and Peter’s family. A brief period of reign by Peter’s half brother Fedor (1676-1682) was followed by his half sister Sofia assuming control of Russia as regent from 1682-1689. During this time Peter and his half brother, Ivan V, waited as co-Czars until they came of age.
Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia, ruling from 1762 up until her death in 1796. Catherine was born a Prussian noble, but married Peter III the heir to Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Catherine was an important woman in Russian history whose ideals and contributions truly embodied those of the Enlightenment period. Catherine the Great was an important figure in the Enlightenment and feminist movement because of her contributions to human rights activism and because she single-handedly broke gender stereotypes, both of which positively affected the lives of Russians for centuries.