Catherine the Great's Golden Age: Presidential Library illustrates unknown pages of the history of Empress’s rule

257 years ago, on July 9, 1762, Catherine II ascended the Russian throne, who remained in world history as Empress Catherine the Great.

There is a countless number of scientific works, textbooks and articles about the glorious deeds of Catherine, and the dates of the main events associated with her name are known by heart to everyone who has conscientiously mastered the school curriculum. But if it is true that the monarch and the person are different concepts, then rare books and studies presented on the Presidential Library’s portal will help to study the subtleties of Catherine’s character.

Of interest are the memories of the early childhood of the future empress, born Sofia Augusta Frederica Anhalt-Zerbst, who as a child was nicknamed “Fike”. She was born in the small Prussian town of Stettin and, although she was called a princess, she belonged to a very modest and poor family that is reflected in the book by V. I. Pokrovsky “Catherine II. Her life and Works” (1905).  

According to the rare collection of articles "Empress Catherine II" (1904) which electronic copy is presented on the Presidential Library’s portal, anyone can find out that many character traits that the Russian sovereign later became famous for were still in early childhood. In addition, the authors detail on the life that surrounded her at that time.   

The life which the Prussian princess dreamed of, began in 1744, when, together with her mother at the invitation of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, she went to Russia. There she was to become the wife of the heir to the throne, Peter III. However, not at all her marriage took her thoughts on the way: “Princess Sophia got used to that thought that she was going to a country that should become her second fatherland, and immediately upon arrival in Moscow she began to use all efforts to be worthy of that fate, which she prepared. She understood that first of all she needed to become Orthodox and learn the Russian language, in a word, to become Russian”, - it is written in the aforementioned book “Catherine II. Her Life and Works”.

Metaphorically speaking, Fiquet’s heart was burning with everything associated with Russia. This flame was so powerful that it suddenly turned into a very real fever. Catherine herself wrote about how she got sick and was even dying. But, oddly enough, this attack brought her some success.

Over 18 years of life in Russia, right up to accession on the throne, Fiquet, who, after being baptized into Orthodoxy, took the name Yekaterina Alekseevna, became finally Russian. This is described in detail in the publication The Life and Career of Empress Catherine II (1898), which is available on the Presidential Library’s portal: “Studying Russia and the Russians, she loved the Russian people with all her heart and often spoke to her people: “Russian people are the best people in the world. I wish Russian people were as happy as possible. I do not want to see any other people live better than my people"".    

For the welfare of her people, Catherine was ready for anything. Another edition of 1891, dedicated to the life of the Empress, describes the difficult situation with which she had to face in the early days of the reign: “It turned out the extreme poverty of money in the treasury. When the senators reported on this empress, she replied that she would use her own money for the needs of the state. The senators noticed that her personal money belonged to her, and not to the state. "Belonging to the state", - the empress replied, "I consider everything that belongs to me as state property". 

The Empress was ready to sacrifice not only money, but also her own life. In the same book, the authors talk about how Catherine decided to save Russia from one of the worst woes of that time - the smallpox epidemic, which claimed thousands of lives each year. But the task was very difficult: there was no medicine at that time, there was only an experimental vaccine that the British doctor invented. The empress managed to organize his arrival in Moscow. But then a new problem arose: people were afraid of the vaccine, considered it a poison and refused. Then Yekaterina Alekseevna set a personal example to the people: “She instilled smallpox herself and the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. This extraordinarily bold, according to views of that time, the self-sacrificing act of the Empress caused universal surprise and indescribable joy...”. 

According to Gribovsky, the Russian Empress was distinguished by a good sense of humor and created a warm and friendly atmosphere among her courtiers, which was extremely rare in the courts of European monarchs.

At the same time, Catherine the Great was not one of those rulers who easily fell into dependence on her favorites: “Catherine chose people in peace of mind and each assigned her own place... She sometimes said:“ It’s strange to see the innocence of the general or minister when I kindly treat his opponents, whom I cannot, for this reason, consider to be my ill-wishers, and I use them for service, because they have abilities to do so; they, imagining that I am obliged to remove people from the service who are unpleasant for them, seem to me very strange"". 

The cabinet secretary says that in difficult, tense moments, the Russian autocrat could, with her incredible willpower, easily quell any anxieties that darkened her heart - just to give her people faith.

But who inspired Catherine herself, this strong woman who did not know peace and worked day and night for the good of her fatherland? Gribovsky also answers this question: “On a journey, she always had a snuff box with a portrait of Peter I and said: “This is for me to ask myself every minute: what would he order, what would he ban, what would he do, being on my place?"".

Another rare quality for that era was shown by Yekaterina during the development of the new Russian legislation, called “Nakaz”. “She demanded to lighten punishment for crimes, because in a person, she said, there is a shame that acts more strongly than any corporal punishment. I demanded the abolition of all such punishments, which can disfigure the human body and which were then often used”, - we read in the publication “Empress Catherine II the Great”.

The Empress was always respectful of people, no matter what class they belonged to. “The Life and Career of Empress Catherine II” describes one remarkable case: “The attention of the great Monarchy to the people around her was unlimited. Once, for example, she needed to send her valet somewhere with a note. Having entered for this in his room, she found the employees playing the cards. In order not to upset their game, the Empress was so merciful that she herself sat down to play for the man whom she sent with a note”.  

Adrian Gribovsky recalls another funny episode from the life of the Empress - Catherine II herself told him about it: “In order not to wake people too early, I lit the firewood in the fireplace myself; the chimney-boy, thinking that I would not get up before six o'clock, was then in the pipe and started screaming like an imp. I immediately put out the fireplace and asked him for apologize”.

The “Golden Age” in Russia lasted for 34 years - that is how much Catherine the Great ruled. True, this title, like many others, she considered superfluous and said: “Whether I am great – offspring will decide; I cannot accept the wise name, for only God is wise; It is my responsibility to love my people and be their mother, for which there is nothing to praise me”.