Born on May 2, 1729, in Stettin Prussia, Catherine was the daughter …show more content…
Her mother treated Catherine as a way to climb the ladder of power. Then after getting married Catherine’s husband treated her with no respect or love. Catherine lived most of her first 23 years unloved and with no one to look up to. Well in Russia Catherine learned everything she could from Empress Elizabeth before her death, looking forward to one day being empress herself. When Peter the III was deemed by his own people as a traitor, Catherine took her chance and crowned herself empress. Catherine was a very intelligent woman and during her marriage she educated herself in the ways of the enlightenment. She even wrote to enlightened thinkers like Voltaire and Montesquieu. She realized all the ways she could make Russia a better country and used her enlightened ideas to do …show more content…
Catherine was able to bring the arts to Russia with places like the Hermitage Museum and the Stone theatre in St Petersburg, she even wrote several plays and books. She brought science and medicine, by building research labs, and even the first hospital with insurance. Schools for girls that taught them what the boys would have learned. She made headway in the government by changing the archaic laws in Russian government like, no longer torturing the prisoners and less harsh punishments, like executions for stealing. She made Russia, a country of religious tolerance, where every religion was acceptable. She was able to gain Russia a huge land mass, stretching from Europe to Asia even as far as North America, from the wars with Turkey and the Poland partitions. With her failures, Catherine was also able to help Russia. After the rebellions and the lowered serf status she helped them later by having her grandson abolish the Serf status. She used her romantic acquaintances to the benefit of Russia. For example, Gregory Orlov helped her take the throne from her husband , a Prussian loving Russian Emperor, Gregory Potemkin conquered new lands naming hundreds of new cities after her, she even helped one become the king of Poland, to later take the land away from him. Catherine was able to use her enlightened ideas to be a good leader to help