In Russian history there were three great Tsars: Vladimir the Great, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great. Only one of these greats is a female, making Catherine’s rise to greatness even greater. Catherine was born Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst in the Baltic port of Stettin, Pomerania on May 2, 1729 (Rounding, 7). She was the daughter of a minor Prussian (Germanic) prince, Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst (Lichman, Corey). As a child, Sophie received little affection from her parents (Massie, 5). This is speculated to be the cause of her series of affairs and constant search for love in her later life (Massie, 6).
Catherine the Great rose to power and became the ruler of Russia in 1762. Catherine’s rise to power began …show more content…
This letter would change the fifteen year old princesses life as being summoned meant that she was to be considered for marriage to the heir to the Russian throne and Sophie’s second cousin, the Grand Duke Peter (Rounding, 13). Sophie’s perspective groom Peter was described as immature, childishly obsessed with soldiers, an alcoholic, and not mentally stable (Lichtman, Corey). Sophie was successful in garnering the Empress’s approval for her marriage. After also gaining consent from her father, she converted into the Russian Orthodox religion on August, 21, 1745 (Rounding, 33). During this ceremony, she was given the name Catherine (Ekaterina Alexeyevna). The day after her conversion was the betrothal ceremony during which she was engaged to Peter, gaining the tittle of Grand Duchess (Rounding, 36). Catherine and Peter were married on August 21, 1745, beginning a seventeen year long marriage, which was not a very happy (Lichtman, …show more content…
She also is responsible for the influx of European culture during her reign. All these achievements in these areas are what aided her in receiving the tittle the “Great”. In fact one of Catherine's greatest achievement in the medical domain is her introduction of the small pox vaccine to Russia. On August 28, 1768, Dr. Dimsdale, the author of The Present Method of Inoculating for the Small Pox, and his son arrived in St. Petersburg. When he was received by Catherine, he was impressed with her knowledge on small pox (Rounding, 210). Before inoculating the Empress, the doctor insisted on testing the vaccination on 40-50 people because he was unsure if the vaccination would work in Russia’s climate. These tests were carried out on young members of the lower class (Massie, 387). After the successful trials, Catherine was inoculated on October 12, 1768, and she recovered not long afterwards (Rounding, 214). Catherine said in a letter to her close friend, Madame
Catherine the Great rose to power and became the ruler of Russia in 1762. Catherine’s rise to power began …show more content…
This letter would change the fifteen year old princesses life as being summoned meant that she was to be considered for marriage to the heir to the Russian throne and Sophie’s second cousin, the Grand Duke Peter (Rounding, 13). Sophie’s perspective groom Peter was described as immature, childishly obsessed with soldiers, an alcoholic, and not mentally stable (Lichtman, Corey). Sophie was successful in garnering the Empress’s approval for her marriage. After also gaining consent from her father, she converted into the Russian Orthodox religion on August, 21, 1745 (Rounding, 33). During this ceremony, she was given the name Catherine (Ekaterina Alexeyevna). The day after her conversion was the betrothal ceremony during which she was engaged to Peter, gaining the tittle of Grand Duchess (Rounding, 36). Catherine and Peter were married on August 21, 1745, beginning a seventeen year long marriage, which was not a very happy (Lichtman, …show more content…
She also is responsible for the influx of European culture during her reign. All these achievements in these areas are what aided her in receiving the tittle the “Great”. In fact one of Catherine's greatest achievement in the medical domain is her introduction of the small pox vaccine to Russia. On August 28, 1768, Dr. Dimsdale, the author of The Present Method of Inoculating for the Small Pox, and his son arrived in St. Petersburg. When he was received by Catherine, he was impressed with her knowledge on small pox (Rounding, 210). Before inoculating the Empress, the doctor insisted on testing the vaccination on 40-50 people because he was unsure if the vaccination would work in Russia’s climate. These tests were carried out on young members of the lower class (Massie, 387). After the successful trials, Catherine was inoculated on October 12, 1768, and she recovered not long afterwards (Rounding, 214). Catherine said in a letter to her close friend, Madame