How Did Catherine The Great Influence Women

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.

Through her transformation from a lowly Prussian noble girl to the empress of Russia, Catherine the Great showed the power of ambition and proved to the world

that although it might be harder for women, they too can be respected and important. Catherine was born into a poor, unimportant noble family in Prussia. Seeing nothing of interest at home in Prussia and in an attempt to appease her mother’s wishes, Catherine, born as Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst, worked hard to prove herself worthy of marrying Elizabeth’s nephew, Peter III. In fact, so eager to impress Elizabeth by mastering the Russian language, Sophia would stay awake late into the night to study and learn the syntax of Russian grammar. On June 28, 1744, in order to appease the Russians, Sophia made a public decree in Russian, the language she had only recently started studying, declaring that she would adopt Christian Orthodoxy, and would accordingly adopt the Orthodox name Catherine. Elizabeth, who was extremely pleased by Catherine’s ambition and her eagerness to adopt Russian culture, encouraged the marriage of Catherine to Peter. On August 21, 1745 at the age of sixteen, Catherine and Peter III were betrothed. It is essential to note the symbolic importance of Catherine’s social ascension. Catherine was a noble, but she was poor and from a completely different country, and through sheer determination was able to ingratiate herself with the empress of Russia and betroth herself to the future emperor. Catherine’s betrothal to Peter showed the population that contrary to the belief held by men in the period, being ambitious as a woman is not a bad thing. Catherine’s ambition is one of the many reasons she is truly considered one of the most inspiring women in the Enlightenment.
Catherine’s choice to stand up for herself and her country by making her husband abdicate from the throne directly contradicted the stereotypes of women at the time. Peter was Prussian by birth and his allegiance to Prussia seemed stronger than it was toward Russia, making him quite unpopular, especially since Russia was in a war with Prussia when he became emperor. Peter ended the war and then spent Russian resources to aid the rebuilding of Prussia. Justly so, Peter had become extremely unpopular in the eyes of both the military and the general population. Catherine also hated Peter because he acted viciously towards her. Accordingly, many noblemen had proposed to Catherine the organization of a Coup d’Etat. Although Catherine originally rejected these proposals, she reconsidered them when Peter publicly humiliated her at a state dinner by calling her a “fool” in front of over 400 state state officials. Catherine easily collected support for her Coup d’Etat, because as stated in a letter written by Breteuil, Catherine “ is as much loved and respected as the emperor is hated and despised”. When Peter left St. Petersburg for a few days to train troops, Catherine seized on this opportunity by going to a multitude of Russian cities and garnering the support of the citizens and their militias, eventually receiving the support of St. Petersburg and amassing an army of approximately 14,000 men. She used this support to make Peter abdicate from the throne, thereby making her the sole leader of Russia. Catherine becoming the ruler of Russia was a giant leap for feminism. By doing so, Catherine had disproven stereotypes and had shown that women were just as capable as men. First, Catherine broke the shackles of Russia’s patriarchal society by showing that it was possible as a woman to stand up for what is right against a man. Not only did Catherine stand up to any man, she stood up to her husband, the emperor of Russia, one of the most powerful men in the world. Furthermore, Catherine was able to convince the vast majority of Russian citizens to disregard the fact that she was a woman and help her dethrone her husband at the risk of treason. In sum, Catherine is such an important figure in feminism and in the Enlightenment period because she was able to defy the patriarchy and transcend the barriers that living in a sexist environment places on women. Additionally, it is important to note that the citizens of Russia, having deposed Peter, could have appointed a male ruler, yet they allowed Catherine to become the ruler because she showed that she was capable to do so, regardless of their preconceived notions based on her gender.
Catherine the Great was one of the the most influential humans rights activists in Russia as she created a revolutionary treatise detailing the relationship between serfs and their “masters”. This treatise was one of the earliest human rights documents in Russia and it was one of the first and most influential group of laws detailing the rights of serfs. In Russia, serfs were originally free citizens in every respect other than that they were obligated to work the land of the noble family whose land they were born on. Serfs were essential for a fully functioning feudal system. Over time, serfs lost their rights until they were no more free than the black slaves in America. Although Catherine was intellectually opposed to the idea of serfdom and slavery, she understood that the economy would collapse and the nobility would be outraged were it outlawed. Trying to find a middle ground, Catherine implemented a group of laws meant to ensure serfs basic human rights and discourage their “owners” from behaving badly towards them. Catherine’s decrees included the laws that freed serfs could not be re-enslaved, that serfs had to be transferred with the land they were on, and that they could not be sold individually. Furthermore, Catherine set up a system so that serfs could complain about ill treatment from their masters and so that abusive masters would be punished. Catherine’s treatise on the rights of serfs was unprecedented and revolutionary. It was, in essence, an early treatise on basic human rights. This treatise showed that Catherine was forward thinking and embraced and embodied the ideas of the Enlightenment period.
Catherine promoted gender equality by creating a formal education system for women in Russia. Before Catherine did so, there were no formal Russian institutions for educating women. As a woman and a progressive thinker, Catherine’s rule encouraged those enthusiastic about the education of women to come to St. Petersburg to advocate in front of her. As a result, many who did not feel comfortable voicing their opinions about women’s rights under previous rulers were finally able to do so. Catherine’s biggest accomplishment in promoting women’s education was building the Smolny Institute, a school for girls in St. Petersburg. The Smolny Institute taught girls reading, writing, mathematics, and many of the important parts of a wholesome education. The Smolny Institute was revolutionary for the time because it was the first girls school and also because it placed an emphasis on academics as opposed to only teaching the basics of being a housewife. In a letter to Voltaire, Catherine expressed her sentiment about women’s education. She wrote that educating women would “lead to good order”. Catherine’s creation of an education system for women with a focus on academics and her belief in the positive effects of the education of women on society illustrates why she was such a key figure in the feminist and Enlightenment movements.
In addition to showing others that she didn’t conform to the gender stereotype of women, Catherine single-handedly changed society’s sex-oriented stereotypes.

Although people sided with Catherine when she became ruler, many had doubts as to her abilities because of her gender. At the time, most women were neither given the education nor the opportunity to succeed. As a result, stereotypes about the ability for women to do certain things such as run a country were questioned, especially given that there was practically no precedent. When a man would fail at something, the man’s abilities would be questioned. However, when a woman failed at something it could also be her skills that were in question, but often, her gender was blamed for her failure. Catherine faced this gender based discrimination for most of her time as Empress. This being said, as people saw how capable she was, their attitude not only towards her but towards the capabilities of females in general also changed. At first, Catherine was thought of as lacking because of her gender. An ambassador to Russia at the time wrote, “Her majesty has a masculine force of mind, obstinacy in adhering to a plan, and intrepidity in the execution of it; but she wants the more manly virtues of deliberation… which leads to excesses that would debase a female character in any sphere of life”. The ambassador clearly had little faith in Catherine or the abilities of the female sex. Although he does mention some positive qualities that she has, he attributes that to her “masculine force of mind”. The ambassador then excuses all of her negative qualities, saying that they “would debase a female character in any sphere of life”. The ambassador reinforces the gender stereotypes of the time by attributing all of Catherine’s positive qualities to her masculinity and excusing all her faults as he claims that they are problems that plague all women. Over time, the public opinion of Catherine changed. Written later, a Russian

nobleman acknowledged Catherine’s abilities when he wrote, “It cannot be said that she is unqualified to rule so great an empire, if indeed a woman can support this yoke”. The nobleman, although seemingly begrudgingly, acknowledged Catherine’s skill, while also saying that he is unsure whether a woman can support the“yoke” of ruling Russia. Although his comments are sexist, he doesn’t completely deny the possibility that a woman could support such a “yoke”. This shows the progress in the sentiment of the Russian population as their views changed from the idea that in order to succeed one must have a “masculine force of mind” to accepting the possibility that a woman could be able to rule a country. As more time passed and Catherine proved herself worthy, the public sentiment on the ability of women to rule became more progressive. Reflecting on Catherine’s rule, 19th century historian N.M. Karamzin wrote that it was necessary that “Catherine should reign. In order to foresee the glory of the gentle, philanthropic, enlightened Catherine, it was necessary that a woman reign”. The progression of thought from doubting Catherine’s abilities because she was a woman to saying that it was necessary for a woman to rule because of their qualities shows that Catherine was clearly loved by her subjects and shows that she had a clear impact in Russia on the stereotypes of the abilities of women.
Catherine the Great’s actions exemplified the thoughts of the Enlightenment and feminist movements. She fought for basic human rights and promoted gender equality by setting up an education system for women and disproving gender stereotypes. Catherine’s actions had a positive impact on Russia for centuries and the effects of her actions can still be felt to this day. Catherine truly deserves the name “Great” as she was a great feminist, ruler, and woman.