Historical Leader Paper
Catherine the Great
Catherine II was originally born Sophie Augusta Fredericka in 1729. She was born to a noble family in and raised in Germany then call Prussia. She was born a princes and was raised as such. Sophie was considered as an immensely beautiful princes. However her family was considered as minor and as poor by royal family standards. What they did have was an important connection to the Russian Empire. Sophie left for Russia in 1744 to meet Empress Elisabeth at the age of 15. As with most princesses of the time she was married off to increase political and family ties. In Sophie’s case this was to Peter III. Grand Duke Peter was the nephew to the Empress and heir to the throne of Russia. Other than meeting Empress Elisabeth and Peter III her childhood was relatively dull.
The first time Sophie met Peter she was not fond of him. She described him as being “small and infantile and talked about nothing but soldiers and toys”. He was far too childish for her. In addition Peter would drink in excess at the mere age of 16. Although she disliked him, Sophie’s marriage to Peter was her first step in becoming Catherine the Great.
She unlike Peter immediately immersed herself in the Russian culture. She also converted from German Lutheran to Eastern Orthodoxy and thus she was reborn and renamed Catherine. Catherine was an intellect who learned the Russian language swiftly. The newlyweds were nothing alike. Even on their wedding night Peter stayed up all night drinking with his friends and didn’t even go to bed with his wife. Peter was also impotent and could not father a child. This lead to the first of Catherine’s lovers Sergei Saltykov supposedly picked by Empress Elizabeth herself so that there would have an heir to the throne. As soon as Catherine had her first child Paul I, the boy was taken away for the Empress to raise.
Catherine buried herself in her studies. She was an avid reader and read many books about philosophy and political power. In addition to reading she made it a rule for herself that she’d become a better ruler. One of which was she must act as though she “needed everyone”. She wanted to win general approval and she did. In 1761 the Empress passed away and Peter became Czar of Russia. Peter immediately ended the Russian-Prussian (Germany) war. This was widely unpopular throughout Russia. It mostly it upset the military class including Grigory Orlov, one of Catherine’s lovers. Whom was a very important military figure head who lead the Guards in St. Petersburg.
Peter’s distaste for his popular wife grew. Since he already had a son he no longer needed his lovely wife that he despised. The word got out that Peter was to get rid of his wife by killing her or locking her away. Catherine was sent off by Peter only to return with Grigory and his forces. Due to her extreme popularity and Peters lack thereof Catherine won the throne without so much as a battle. Catherine became Empress of Russia. Shortly after to cement her legitimacy she had her husband killed while in jail, even though the official death was caused by “hemorrhoids”.
Although the Coup d’etat was over the “revolution” in Russia was just beginning. Catherine immediately started writing Nakaz or Instruction of Catherine the Great to redesign Russia into the modern age and a modern superpower. Russia was widely very progressive during this time. They started up free public schooling for both boys and girls. She also included no corporal punishment in schools which was step ahead of most other countries during that time. In addition Nakaz remapped Russia into different districts which helped manage it all. The document also laid the foundation to increase the industrialization in Russia. She had her documents translated into multiple languages so that all of Europe could read it. She was rather narcissistic in this way wanting all of Europe to see how intelligent and enlightened she was.
Catherine loved life at court and any social gathering. She even built a smaller building for smaller gatherings where close friends could gossip. She went so far as to banish all servants from the building when entertaining guests so people could speak freely without being over heard. A system was set up so that the food, drinks, and dinner table was hoisted into the room from below by pulleys.
Everything Catherine did was done lavishly. Russia to this day has one of the largest and most expensive art collections due to Catherine’s spending. They kept running out of room for the collection and had to keep adding onto the palace. The Hermitage Museum today spans over 10 kilometers long. She even spent a fortune to remodel the palace to look like the Roman Vatican. Her undisciplined spending for such was close to 12% of the national budget.
Although she could not officially remarry due to her Eastern Orthodox faith Catherine had many lovers. Catherine’s lovers played important roles in her life. From assisting in overthrowing her husband to how the country should be run. For payment of their love and emotional support Catherine’s lovers where often showered with generous gifts.
Grigory Orlov as mentioned above was her first lover during her reign and lasted for around 10 years. After helping overthrow Peter III Grigory was promoted from Count to General and became a close advisors. Grigory helped her write Nakaz the blueprints for Russian law at the time. He was largely an advocate of the lower class. He held Catherine’s ear until he presumably committed adultery with his young cousin.
Grigory Patemkin was by far Catherine’s greatest lover. He too was a soldier who helped her secure her throne. French diplomat Louis Philippe called him a “colossal like Russia”. Patemkin was like Catherine born to a poorer noble family. However he was much more barbaric than she. It is often thought that they were married in secrecy. Like all of Catherine’s lovers Patemkin was rewarded for his service and loyalty. Catherine in turn made Patemkin General of the Army and even gave him the titles of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Prince of the Russian Empire. Together they expanded Russia’s empire mostly into Ottoman Empire and Poland. Eventually their lust faded but they always remind close friends. Patenkin was known to actually pick out Catherine’s new lovers. He was also know to join in a menage a trois with Catherine and her current lover of the time.
Previously stated Catherine took large tracks of land in the name of Russia. During her reign Catherine’s Russia was at war with several countries. The two largest wars were against the Ottoman Empire and Persia. The Russo-Turkish wars were the most important. The influence Russia gained from this war lead to access to the black sea. This opened up Russian trade which helped Russia’s economy grow. The second major war was during the end of Catherine’s reign. Catherine’s progressive views lead her to ally with many smaller countries to help them maintain their independence. One of which was Georgia. Though failing to do the job of protecting Georgia initially Russia launched a massive counter offensive that was successful until it was disbanded after Catherine’s death.
Oddly enough Russia’s largest gains in land came from relatively peaceful political moves. The addition of naval presence on the Black Sea in turn lead to the peaceful annex of Crimea. The Orthodox Christians wanted protection from the Ottoman Empire and sided with Russians. As we know from current and recent events the Crimea area is largely important to Russia and many there still hold ties to Russia.
The second major land grab was from Poland. In 1764 Stanislaw Poniatowski who was a former lover of Catherine’s was elected as Poland’s King. It was clear that he was puppet of Catherine’s. Russia used satellite states long before the USSR’s time. However Russia didn’t have complete control over Poland. So in 1772 there was the First Partition of Poland. This was one of three that gave Russian complete control and eventually absorbed the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In addition to increasing its land and trade Catherine revolutionized Russia’s financial system. Russia in 1768 started printing its first paper currency called assignation rubles. The bank notes were tied to the copper currency that was used before. This was major for Russia in several ways. It followed with Catherine’s plan to modernize Russia and Russia also needed its own paper currency to compete with other European countries culturally. Finally the government needed the money to fund the increased military and Catherine’s robust spending.
Catherine reigned until 1796. She was age 67 when she died from a stroke. She had one of the longest reigns of Russia. Unfortunately for her she was mocked even after her death for her many lovers. There is a story that is widely known regarding how she die. Most likely originating as a soldier’s story. The story states that the Empress met her end while having sex with a rather large stallion and that they found her crushed underneath naked in the barn.
It is hard to answer the question of what cultural background Catherine grew up in. This is because she experienced many different backgrounds during her youth. From the cultural background of Germany to Russia also from her families expectations to the Empresses. I consider Catherine’s childhood to last until she was married at 15. Above I have how I’d rate each category on a scale of 0-10.
Individualism is very high due to family structures. For her family Catherine was expected to devote he life to moving her immediate family up in nobility. For the Empress she was to take care of her husband. It was expected that she be alone with only the comfort of her family. As we know Catherine did not follow that norm.
Russian Culture during that time was very masculine. It focused on military achievements for men. Russian society as a whole is very achievement based. They are accustom to being ruled over by someone of higher standing. There was little to no care for the lower classes and the serfs. Again Catherine broke the mold in this. In private life she was known as being very nice and kind. She also had many western ideals and wanted to be known as enlightened.
Over all in the world this was a time frame of great uncertainty. There were constant wars and constant change in power balance throughout the world. You quite literally were watching the rise, fall, and war between empires during this time. Catherine’s parents even took a large risk trying to gain status with Catherine’s marriage.
The long term and short term goals of this era were about split. In Western Europe there was massive amounts of spending on luxury items. However at the same time the same families and countries were making long term decisions to maintain power in territories to secure valuable trade routes for the future.
This however was very much an indulgent time period. Russia’s elite in general have always been very indulgent people. You can see this in the Place of Saint Petersburg. Catherine adopted Russian indulgence and took it to the absolute extreme.
There always was a very high power distance index. There were very distinct classes of people in Russia during this time. I didn’t rate it higher though because Catherine herself broke from a middle class noble family into the upper echelon of society. As such she wasn’t raised to know the clear cut class system as others did.

Catherine scored highest of extraversion. She was constantly needing attention and someone to talk to. She was constantly trying to show off to Western Europe how enlightened she was. Even in the bedroom she liked being the center of attention from multiple men. It had been documented by a guard that she hated being alone and that she was much happier if she had a dog with her.
Second highest is openness. She was very open to Russian culture. She could have blocked it off as her husband did but she embraced the change and even converted religion. Her ideas about the world were always changing with the world. One example was how she changed a lot of her views of the world after the French Revolution. But to be far most anyone would change my views too is they led dethrone and execution of their fellow monarch. So overall she received a 9 out of 10.
For agreeableness Catherine received a 4 out of 10. When I began researching her I would have put her higher at around a 7. However the more you look into her the more you realize that it is more for show. An example would be in her Nakaz she laid the ground work for free public schools in Russia. However with more research you realize she never really funded any of these programs. She talked a lot about helping the lower classes but actually did very little. Even the annex of Crimea was said to be done to help save the Catholics in the region. However to Russia it wasn’t much more than a land grab. They did very little to help. On top of all that we must not forget she is a regicide who had her husband killed.
Overall Catherine was emotionally stable throughout her life. She was even able to guard her emotions and never let herself love her husband Peter. Until close to the end that is. She was riddled with emotion after the death Potemkin and another close lover in quick succession.
Overall the Empress had very little discipline. She was obsessive with her art collection having to add building after building to house it all. She failed to follow the rules of her religion. In addition to that her pre-marital sex got in the way of her duties. Finally she would fail to follow through on a lot of her programs such as education mentioned before.
Catherine the great used several different power mechanisms. She first used Referent power. She used this to gain favor with the Empress. She showed Empress Elizabeth that she was likeable and could be trusted. She again used this tactic to befriend everyone. As stated in her rise to power it is said she acted as though she “needed everyone” in attempt to gain approval. From there she used reward power to achieve legitimate power. She offered Grigory Orlov great reward for his help in securing her the crown.
Once she had the crown she had her husband killed so there was no question who had legitimate power in Russia. From there she mostly used her legitimate God given right as Empress to rule and her new found wealth to reward. She gave massive amounts away to her many lovers and great reward for their service and trust. There were several times during her reign the rebel forces attack her legitimacy but they were beaten down every time. Overall Catherine the Great achieved a lot during her reign as Empress. She is almost the perfect example of leading by Intellectual Stimulation. She demanded Russia to catch up to Eastern Europe. She laid the ground work for Russia to become a superpower. She brought them trade and riches, she brought Russia schools, she brought Russia into the industrial revolution, and she brought them a strong financial system. Before Catherine the Great the world viewed the Russians as barely better than barbarians. Catherine’s Court was able to bring in some of the brightest minds to help Russia in virtually every aspect. All in all I would rate Catherine as a good leader but certainly not great. Yes she set up programs that benefited Russia as a whole. In contrast she spent more time buying extravagant works of art and vetting her next lover than she did solving Russia’s problems. I believe as soon as Russia obtained access to the Black Sea it was destined for an economic and social boom and that Catherine the Great rode the wave into the history books as well great.

Work Cited
Catherine the Great. National Geographic, History Channel, December 22, 2005 DVD.
De Madariaga, Isabel. Catherine the Great: A Short History (Paperback). Yale University Press, New Haven and London,
Montefiore, Simon Sebag (4 October 2001). Prince of Princes: the life of Potemkin. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Rounding, Virginia (2006). Catherine the Great: Love, Sex and Power. London: Hutchinson
Streeter, Michael. Catherine the Great (Haus Publishing, 2007)