Catherine the Great

Q: What is Catherine the Great best known for?

Catherine the Great was best known for modernising Russia and for her love of the arts.

Q: How did Catherine overthrow Peter?

She enlisted the help of her lover Grigory Orlov and his brothers, who were all soldiers in the Russian army. The Russian army supported her claim to the throne and helped her.

Q: Did Catherine the Great's husband love her?

Peter III was immature, and he and Catherine clashed. Although they were initially friends, romantic love never grew between them, and they both had affairs with other people.

Q: How old was Catherine the Great when she overthrew her husband?

Catherine the Great was 33 years old when she overthrew Peter and became empress regent of Russia.

Liana Miate

Definition

Catherine II of Russia (Catherine the Great) was empress regent of Russia from 1762-1796. She was born in Prussia to Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst (1690-1747) and Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (1712-1760), and although her family was noble, they were not wealthy. She married the future Russian Tsar, Peter of Holstein-Gottorp (1728-1762), in 1745 in St. Petersburg.

More about: Catherine the Great

Timeline

2 May 1729
Catherine the Great is born in Stettin, Prussia (modern-day Szczecin, Poland).
3 Feb 1744
Catherine the Great arrives at the Winter Palace in Russia.
28 Jun 1744
Catherine the Great becomes a member of the Russian Orthodox Church.
29 Jun 1744
Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia are formally betrothed.
21 Aug 1745
The marriage of Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.
1762 - 1796
Catherine the Great's reign as empress regent of Russia.
5 Jan 1762
Peter III of Russia is crowned and Catherine the Great becomes empress consort.
28 Jun 1762
Catherine the Great overthrows Peter III of Russia and is proclaimed Russian empress by the Russian Imperial Army.
9 Jul 1762
Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following a coup d'état against her husband, Peter III, leading the country for over 34 years and developing it into a major political and military power before her death in 1796.
22 Sep 1762
Catherine is formally crowned Empress Catherine II of Russia.
1768 - 1774
First Russo-Turkish War.
1772
First Partition of Poland; Polish territories are carved up between Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Maria Theresa of Austria.
1773 - 1774
Denis Diderot spends five months advising Catherine the Great.
1773
Catherine the Great establishes the Toleration of Faiths Edict, which allows Muslims to practice their faith.
1773 - 1775
Pugachev's Rebellion, the largest peasant rebellion in Russia's history.
1780
Catherine the Great establishes the League of Armed Neutrality seeking to protect shipments during the American Revolution.
1782
Catherine the Great introduces the Charter of the Towns Act, which recognises the Jewish people as being equal to those belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church.
1787 - 1792
Second Russo-Turkish War.
1788 - 1790
Russia and Sweden go to war.
1791
Russia and Prussia sign a truce.
1791
The May Constitution is established, a more democratic monarchy is established in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1792
Catherine the Great attempts to start trade relations with Japan and fails.
1796
Russia and Persia go to war. Catherine the Great dies before the conflict ends.
17 Nov 1796
Catherine the Great dies at the age of 67 from a suspected stroke.
5 Feb 1852
The State Hermitage Museum opens to the public in St. Petersburg, Russia. Initially founded by Empress Catherine the Great in 1764 to house her private art collection, it was opened as a public museum under Tsar Nicholas I.