CATHARINE II, Empress of Russia: b. Stettin, 2 May 1729; d. Saint. Petersburg, 17 Nov. 1796. She was a daughter of thence of Anhalt Zerbst and her name was oWnally Sophia Augusta. The Empress Elizabeth chose her for the wife of Peter, her nephew, whom she appointed her successor. The young Prin cess accompanied her mother to Russia, where she joined the Greek Church and adopted the name of Catharine Alexiewna, given to her by the Empress. The marriage was celebrated 1 Sept. 1745. It was not a happy one, but Cath arine found relief in the improvement of her mind. She was endowed with uncommon strength of character; but the ardor of her tem perament and the ill treatment of her husband led her into errors which had the most injuri ous influence on her whole political life. In January 1762 the Empress Elizabeth died and Peter III ascended the throne. He lived in the greatest dissipation, and on such intimate terms with a lady of the court, named Elizabeth Wo ronzoff, that it was generally thought that he would repudiate Catharine and marry his mis tress. The Empress, therefore, was obliged to take measures for her personal security. At the same time Peter grew continually more and more unpopular with his subjects, which led to a conspiracy, at the head of which were the hetman, Count Rasumowski, Count Panin, the enterprising Princess Daschkoff and a young officer of the guards, Gregory Orloff. All those who were dissatisfied, or who ex pected to gain by a change, joined this con spiracy. Panin and the greater part of the conspirators were actuated only by the desire to place the youthful Paul on the throne, under the guardianship of the Empress and a council of the empire. But this plan was changed through the influence of the Orloffs. The guards were the first to swear allegiance to the Empress on her presenting herself to them at Peterhof on the morning of 9 July 1762; and Alexei Orloff prevailed on Teplow, after ward appointed senator, to read at the Kazan Church, instead of the proclamation of the conspirators in favor of the young Prince, one announcing the elevation of Catharine to the throne. Peter died a few days after in prison. The accusation against Catharine of having contributed to hasten this event is without foundation. The young, ambitious Princess, neglected by her husband, ,whom she did not respect, remained passive on the occasion, yielded to circumstances which were, it is true, propitious to her, and consoled herself for an event which she could not remedy. She knew how to gain the affections of the people by flattering their vanity; showed great respect for their religion; caused herself to be crowned at Moscow with great pomp; devoted herself to the promotion of agriculture and commerce and the creation of a naval force; improved the laws; and showed the greatest activity in the administration of the internal as well as the external affairs of Russia. A year after her ascension to the throne she forced the Cour landers to displace their new Duke, Charles of Saxony, and to recall Biron, who was ex tremely odious to the nobles. After the death of Augustus III, King of Poland, she was the means of Stanislaus Poniatowski's being crowned at Warsaw. But while she was forcing this king on the Poles, the number of the mal contents in her own empire increased, and sev eral attempts against her life were made at Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The young Ivan was the person to whom the hopes of the conspira tors were directed; but his sudden death at the fortress of Schliisselburg overthrew the plans of the disaffected. After this the court of the Empress was only disturbed from time to time by intrigues, in which gallantry and politics went hand in hand, and which had no other object than to replace one favorite by another. In the midst of pleasure and dissipation Catha rine did not neglect the improvement of the laws. Deputies from all the provinces met at Moscow. The Empress had herself prepared Instructions for their conduct, which were read at the first session; but it was impossible for so many different nations to understand each other, or to be subject to the same laws. Catha
rine, who presided at the debates, and received from the assembly the title of mother of the country, soon dismissed the discordant legis lators. About this time France formed a party in Poland against Russia; but these at tempts only served to accelerate Catharine's plans. The war to which the Porte was in stigated had the same result. The Turks were beaten. The Russian flag was victorious on the Greek seas; and on the banks of the Neva the plan was formed of re-establishing the republics of Sparta and Athens as a check to the Ottoman power. The advancement of Austrian troops into Poland inspired Catha rine with the desire to aggrandize herself in this quarter. She therefore entered into an agreement for the division of the country with the courts of Berlin and Vienna in 1772, by which the governments of Polotzk and Mohilev fell to her share, and she ensured to herself exclusive influence in Poland by undertaking to guarantee the Polish constitution. At the same time she abandoned all her conquests, with the exception of Azoph, Taganrog and Kinburn, in the peace with the Porte, con cluded at Kainardschi in 1774, but secured to herself the free navigation of the Black Sea, and stipulated for the independence of the Crimea. By this apparent independence the Crimea became, in fact, dependent on Catha rine. This peace was as opportune as it was advantageous to Russia; for in the third year of the war Moscow and several other cities were desolated by the plague; and about the same time an adventurer named Pugatscheff, assuming the name of Peter III, had excited a revolt in several provinces of eastern Russia, which was soon suppressed. At this time Potemkin exercised an unlimited influence over the Empress. In 1784 he succeeded in con quering the Crimea, to which he gave its an cient name of Tauris, and extended the confines of Russia to the Caucasus. Catharine upon this traversed the provinces which had revolted under Pugatscheff, and navigated the Volga and Dnieper, taking greater interest in the expedition, as it was attended with some danger. She was desirous, likewise, of seeing Tauris. Potemkin turned this journey, which took place in 1787, into a triumphal march. Throughout a distance of nearly 1,000 leagues nothing but feasts and spectacles of various kinds were to be seen. Palaces were raised on barren heaths, to be inhabited for a day. Vil lages and towns were built in the wildernesses, where a short time before the Tartars had fed their herds. An immense population appeared at every step — the picture of affluence and prosperity. A hundred different nations paid homage to their sovereign. Catharine saw, at a distance, towns and villages, of which only the outward walls existed. She was sur rounded by a multitude of people, who were conveyed on during the night, to afford her the same spectacle the following day. Two sovereigns visited her on her journey— the King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus, and the Emperor Joseph II. The latter renewed his promise, given at Saint Petersburg, to assist her in her projects against the Turks. The result was a new Turkish war, which by the Peace of Jassy (1792), ended not less' favorably for Russia than the first. The power of Russia was also increased by the war with Sweden which terminated in 1790, and by the last two partitions of Poland and the incorporation of Courland. Catharine took no part in the war against France, though she broke off all con nection with the French republic, actively as sisted the emigrants, and entered into an alli ance with England against France. She like wise made war against Persia, and, as some historians assure us, entertained the project of destroying the power of the English in Bengal, when a fit of apoplexy put an end to her life.