How Did Catherine The Great Influence Russia

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Catherine the Great took Russia from a time of darkness to light. She succeeded in a plethora of ways and the true factor to success was her brilliance. She lead Russia in what many consider "the golden" age, in a time of transition and revolution. Catherine did not lead Russia like other monarchs of the time, rather she ruled with the values of the modernization and progression of Russia, which ultimately is the root of her success.
I. Background
As a child Catherine dealt with many harsh issues that shaped her life into the glory which it is noted as. Catherine was born on April 29, 1729 she was born a German princess, originally named Sophia Augusta Fredericka. She was born to Prince Christian August and Johana of Anhalizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp.
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On December 17, 1709 Catherine met Peter the Great. When she first came to Russia he was the leader of Russia, and she could not help but be star struck. Peter noticed Catherine and little while later Catherine began a relationship with him. Catherine married Peter and into the royal family on April 21, 1745, but soon after her relationship with Peter began to be anything but happy. She considered Peter to be immature, he enjoyed playing with toys and mistresses rather than spending time with his wife. Catherine soon found better pastimes and spent her time this way until Peter died. She too began cheating on Peter with Sergi Saltykov and more men because of her resentment towards Peter and because she no longer was attracted towards him. On September, 1754 Catherine’s first child, Paul was born; However, many believe that it was not Peters child rather it was actually Sergi Saltykovs (a member of the Russian court). After Paul was born, Catherine was far to busy and left Peters daughter to take care of him, similarly to how Johana treated Catherine. As time went on Catherine continued to abhor Peter but his health began to deteriorate. Peter continued work until his death and when he died he was succeeded by Catherine leaving her an empire stretching from the White to the Caspian Sea and from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Catherine gained her …show more content…
She demonstrated cultural competence through her non tyrannical approach including: supporting the serfs, celebrating the religious freedom of Russia, and her display of gender equality. As part of Catherine's initiative to change Russia for the better she believed Russia would benefit from the abolition of serfdom.Catherine began campaigning for a law freeing serfs and on August 8, 1762 Catherine declared that: "In future, owners of factories and mines were forbidden to purchase serfs for industrial labor apart from purchasing the land which the serfs were bound." Author Robert Maise notes that "The decree also declared that new serf workers thus acquired were to be enlisted at agreed-upon wages. " The laws Catherine fought for were to equalize labor rights of the serfs, and grant them freedom. Through equalizing labor Catherine proves her ability to empathize with lower, poorer people which is a testament to her cultural competence. Additionally, committing to such a disadvantaged group validates that Catherine's cultural competency because of her awareness that not everyone in Russia was upper class. In addition to her modification of serfdom, Catherine was the first political monarch in Russia to fully embrace religious diversity in Russia. Catherine encouraged individuals to accept and celebrate citizen’s religious freedom, which displays