Sophie Friederike Auguste also known as Catherine the greatest and longest ruling ruler of Russia, reigning from 1762 until 1796 when she died at age 67. Her reign was called Russia’s golden age. Catherine was born on May 2, 1729, in Stettin, Prussia(Szczecin, Poland). She was born into the Anhalt-Zerbst family, one of the poorest and most mysterious of all the German princely families. Her father was the minor prince, Christian Augustus, but he did not become the reigning prince of Zerbst until Catherine was thirteen years old. Though the society was against her, she was recognized by her father for her great ability to learn and remember concepts and ideas. After proving her ideas and abilities, she received formal education. When Catherine was fifteen, she was invited by Empress Elizabeth to meet the sixteen year old…show more content… As the years went on Peter was unfaithful to Catherine and soon after she did the same. They had two children Paul and Ana that are uncertain to be Peter's. In 1761 when Empress Elizabeth died Peter became Emperor, but he made a lot of enemies and they hatched a plan to overthrow him and make his son emperor once he was older. But Catherine had other things in mind, she wanted a more powerful role for herself, so she and her then lover, Gregory Orlov with the support of the troops of St. Petersburg, declared herself Catherine II, the sole ruler of Russia. She had Peter arrested and shortly after he was killed while in a fight.In the early years of her reign, Catherine the Great was mainly focused on keeping her position and not making any new enemies. By 1767 she felt secure enough to start improving social conditions. Foreign affairs began to demand Catherine's attention. She had sent troops to help her former lover, Polish king Stanislaw suppress a revolt that was done for reducing Russia's influence in
