Firstly, Enlightened despots endorsed human rights to create a healthier society. Although many enlightened absolutists supported human rights, one of the monarch’s who notably advocated and increased human rights was Catherine the Great of Russia. Montesquieu and Voltaire greatly influenced her on the subject of the law code. Montesquieu's book, “The Spirit of Laws”, captivated her attention and had a great impact on her view of despotism. Catherine and Voltaire were personally acquainted and his view of an enlightened despotic state inflicted a powerful impact on Catherine’s view of how a nation should be governed. After studying the Russian legal system, Catherine concluded that the system was outdated. She rewrote the law code and named
