Catherine the Great embodied Enlightenment ideals yet ruled with autocratic power, shaping Russia through ambitious reforms, strategic politics, and selective modernisation.
Catherine’s Personality, Political Ambition, and Strategic Rise to Power
Early Life and Adaptability
Catherine was born Sophie Friederike Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst in 1729, a minor German princess. She arrived in Russia at the age of 14 to marry Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Her early years in Russia were marked by intense study of Russian language, Orthodoxy, and politics. Her personality demonstrated:
Resilience and adaptability, learning Russian quickly and converting to Orthodoxy.
Astuteness, recognising Peter’s weaknesses and cultivating political allies.
Charisma, enabling her to build networks among court nobles and the military elite.
These traits allowed her to position herself not merely as a consort, but as a viable political figure.
Political Ambition and Overthrow of Peter III
Catherine’s path to power culminated in the coup of 1762, just six months into Peter III’s reign. Despite his progressive policies (including ending the war with Prussia), Peter was widely disliked by the nobility and military for his perceived German sympathies and eccentric behaviour.
Key points in her strategic rise include:
Forging alliances with the powerful Orlov brothers, who were instrumental in securing military backing.
Gaining the loyalty of the Imperial Guard, especially the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
Acting decisively during the coup, securing Peter’s abdication and later his mysterious death.
Her success highlighted her political calculation, decisive leadership, and willingness to use force to achieve power.
Influence of Enlightenment Thinkers on Catherine’s Philosophy
Intellectual Engagement and Correspondence
Catherine saw herself as an ‘Enlightened Despot’ and cultivated relationships with key Enlightenment figures:
She corresponded with Voltaire, who admired her efforts to civilise Russia and dubbed her the ‘Semiramis of the North’.
Maintained regular contact with Denis Diderot, who visited St Petersburg in 1773. Catherine purchased his library and paid him a pension to secure his intellectual services.
These thinkers shaped her understanding of:
Rational governance, favouring codified law and enlightened administration.
Civic virtue and public education as pillars of a modern state.
Toleration and legal equality, at least in theory, reflecting Enlightenment ideals.
Catherine styled herself a philosopher-queen, often referencing classical texts and Enlightenment literature in her writings and policies.
Philosophical Contradictions
Despite her admiration for liberal philosophy, Catherine never endorsed democracy or popular sovereignty. She remained committed to:
Autocracy, which she believed was necessary for a state as vast and diverse as Russia.
Serfdom, which she justified as a social necessity, despite Enlightenment opposition to slavery and inequality.
This contradiction between idealism and political pragmatism was a defining feature of her reign.
Catherine’s Response to the French Revolution
Initial Optimism and Growing Alarm
At first, Catherine viewed the French Revolution (1789) with intellectual curiosity. As someone who admired Enlightenment reforms, she was intrigued by the early actions of the Estates-General and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. However, as the revolution radicalised, her attitude shifted dramatically.
Key turning points in her reaction:
The execution of Louis XVI in 1793 marked the revolution’s descent into regicide, horrifying European monarchs.
The rise of the Jacobin regime and radical republicanism directly threatened the principles of monarchy and hierarchy Catherine upheld.
She responded with a sharp ideological reversal:
Suppressed radical publications and censored foreign newspapers.
Ended correspondence with French philosophes and distanced herself from Enlightenment rhetoric.
Increased surveillance of Russian intellectuals and students suspected of revolutionary sympathies.
Limits of Enlightenment Implementation
The French Revolution exposed the limits of Catherine’s Enlightenment commitment:
While she championed rationalism and legal reform, she rejected popular sovereignty.
Her suppression of revolutionary ideas underscored her belief in top-down reform, not grassroots change.
She equated Enlightenment reform with stability, not revolution or upheaval.
Catherine thus preserved Enlightenment values where they supported autocracy, but swiftly abandoned them when they appeared to threaten her rule.
Legal Reforms: The Nakaz, the Legislative Commission, and Codification
The Nakaz (Instruction)
In 1767, Catherine issued the Nakaz, or ‘Instruction’, a visionary legal manifesto intended to guide the drafting of a new Russian legal code.
Key features of the Nakaz:
Emphasised the equality of all men before the law, though not applied in practice.
Advocated the abolition of torture and capital punishment, aligning with humanitarian Enlightenment values.
Promoted a vision of the monarch as the benevolent source of law, preserving autocratic control.
The Nakaz drew heavily on:
Beccaria (on criminal justice and punishment),
Montesquieu (on the separation of powers, though she rejected limiting her own authority),
Blackstone (on English common law).
Though widely circulated and praised in Europe, the Nakaz’s influence within Russia remained largely symbolic.
The Legislative Commission
Catherine convened the Legislative Commission in 1767 to draft a new legal code based on the Nakaz. It represented:
Over 560 deputies from different estates of the realm (nobility, townspeople, Cossacks, and peasants).
A major attempt at consultative governance, inspired by Enlightenment ideas of representation.
However, the Commission was ultimately ineffective:
Deep divisions between social classes rendered consensus impossible.
Catherine’s own reluctance to allow debate on serfdom or autocracy stifled meaningful reform.
The outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) led to the Commission’s premature dissolution.
Despite its failure, the Commission marked an important ideological shift—a public (albeit controlled) discussion of law and society.
Legal Codification and Long-Term Impact
Though the Legislative Commission did not produce a new legal code, Catherine continued legal reforms throughout her reign, including:
Reorganisation of local courts and judicial procedures in the Statute for the Administration of the Provinces (1775).
Standardisation of the provincial structure, increasing state control and bureaucratic uniformity.
Efforts to train legal professionals, improve legal literacy, and reduce arbitrary justice.
However, these reforms had limited reach:
The nobility retained vast judicial privileges, especially over serfs.
Inequality before the law remained entrenched, despite the Nakaz’s lofty principles.
Legal modernisation primarily benefited the urban and noble elite, not the peasantry.
Catherine’s legal initiatives reflected a deep engagement with Enlightenment ideas but were constrained by autocratic priorities and social conservatism.
Catherine the Great remains one of Russia’s most complex monarchs—intellectually immersed in Enlightenment philosophy, yet unwavering in her absolutist rule. Her reign reveals the tension between ideology and realpolitik, between rhetoric and reform—a dynamic at the heart of Enlightenment absolutism.
FAQ
Enlightenment salons played a significant indirect role in shaping Catherine the Great’s intellectual development and her self-image as an enlightened monarch. Though salons were primarily a Western European phenomenon—particularly in France—Catherine followed their discussions closely through correspondence with philosophes and access to foreign publications. These gatherings were spaces for the exchange of ideas on politics, science, law, and social reform, often hosted by educated women. Catherine, inspired by this model, sought to cultivate a similar intellectual environment at the Russian court. She maintained correspondence with leading Enlightenment figures, such as Voltaire and Grimm, and sponsored Russian literary circles. While she could not replicate the open and subversive nature of the Parisian salons due to Russia’s autocratic context, she integrated many of their ideas into her rhetoric and policy debates. They reinforced her belief in reasoned rule and the civilising mission of monarchy, even though practical implementation was limited by social conservatism and political necessity.
Catherine the Great used art and architecture as tools of statecraft to signal Russia’s modernisation and alignment with Enlightenment aesthetics and values. She commissioned neoclassical buildings throughout St Petersburg and beyond, embracing architectural styles popular in Enlightenment Europe to symbolise rational order, balance, and cultural sophistication. Notable examples include the extension of the Winter Palace and the construction of the Hermitage Theatre. The Hermitage itself became a centre of Enlightenment culture, housing one of Europe’s most significant collections of Western art, including works by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Raphael. Catherine believed the display of such cultural capital would elevate Russia’s standing among European powers. Additionally, she promoted artistic academies and supported Russian painters, playwrights, and architects, reflecting the Enlightenment ideal of state-sponsored cultural flourishing. Her patronage of the arts was not merely decorative but a statement of her vision for an enlightened, civilised autocracy rooted in European intellectual and aesthetic traditions.
Catherine’s approach to censorship reflected a nuanced balance between Enlightenment liberalism and the realities of autocratic governance. Early in her reign, she demonstrated a relatively tolerant attitude toward the press and publishing. She allowed the printing of Enlightenment texts, translated works by Montesquieu and Voltaire, and encouraged discourse around education and legal reform. However, as political dissent grew—especially in light of the French Revolution—her stance shifted dramatically. By the 1790s, Catherine enforced stricter censorship policies, banning foreign radical literature, clamping down on domestic critics, and monitoring intellectual circles. She was particularly wary of material that questioned monarchy, serfdom, or traditional authority. This duality illustrates her Enlightenment aspirations constrained by political necessity. While she supported reasoned debate and intellectual progress, she drew a firm line at any content that could undermine the state. Her selective censorship highlights the contradiction of enlightened absolutism: promoting reason while suppressing dissent to preserve control.
The Legislative Commission of 1767–1768 failed to reform Russian law due to a combination of structural, political, and social obstacles. While Catherine envisioned it as a forum for codifying a modern legal system based on her Nakaz, its progress was immediately hindered by the diversity of the delegates. With over 560 deputies representing various estates—nobles, townspeople, clergy, Cossacks, and limited peasant representation—there was no consensus on core issues such as serfdom, taxation, or noble privilege. Many deputies prioritised their estate’s interests, which led to frequent deadlock. Furthermore, Catherine restricted debate on sensitive topics like serfdom and autocracy, undermining genuine discussion. The Commission’s sessions were long and increasingly unproductive, and external pressures—most notably the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War in 1768—gave Catherine a convenient reason to dissolve it. In reality, she became disillusioned with its inefficiency and unwilling to risk political stability for abstract reform. Thus, the Commission’s failure lay in both its design and the limits of Catherine’s reformist intent.
Catherine’s gender posed both challenges and opportunities in asserting her authority and shaping her image as an Enlightened ruler. As a woman ruling in a male-dominated political culture, she had to work harder to legitimise her power. She strategically constructed her public persona to emphasise masculine qualities of strength and decisiveness, especially after seizing power through a military-backed coup. Yet she also adopted Enlightenment ideals associated with female intellectualism, such as reason, refinement, and civilising influence. Her prolific correspondence with Enlightenment thinkers helped portray her as a cultivated sovereign who transcended gender limitations. She also used portraiture and court ceremonies to project an image of majesty and wisdom, drawing parallels to powerful female monarchs like Elizabeth I of England. Nonetheless, her legitimacy was occasionally questioned, especially during crises, and her moral conduct was scrutinised more harshly than that of male rulers. Despite these challenges, Catherine successfully leveraged Enlightenment discourse to justify her rule and portray herself as a modern, enlightened autocrat.
Practice Questions
To what extent was Catherine the Great influenced by Enlightenment ideals in her domestic reforms?
Catherine the Great was significantly influenced by Enlightenment ideals, as seen in her Nakaz and the establishment of the Legislative Commission, which reflected concepts of legal equality and rational governance. Her correspondence with figures like Voltaire and Diderot demonstrated genuine philosophical engagement. However, her reforms often remained symbolic, limited by autocratic interests and the preservation of noble privilege. Despite Enlightenment rhetoric, she upheld serfdom and autocracy, curtailing meaningful change. Thus, while her reforms were inspired by Enlightenment thought, they were ultimately constrained by political pragmatism and the need to maintain stability in an autocratic state.
How far was Catherine the Great’s rise to power the result of her political ambition and personal qualities?
Catherine’s rise to power was largely due to her political ambition and astute personal qualities. Her ability to win favour with the Russian court, convert to Orthodoxy, and master the language showcased adaptability. She cultivated key alliances, particularly with the Orlov brothers and the military, ensuring crucial support for the 1762 coup. Her charisma and strategic patience enabled her to outmanoeuvre Peter III. However, structural factors—such as Peter’s unpopularity and noble discontent—also facilitated her seizure of power. Nevertheless, Catherine’s calculated actions and leadership were central, making her personal agency a decisive factor in her accession.
