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Catherine II of Russia
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Everything about Catherine Ii Of Russia totally explained
Criticisms
- In spite of her image as an "enlightened despot", Catherine abandoned attempts to lighten the burden of peasant serfs after the Pugachev Rebellion of 1773–1775. The degree of her growing intolerance became evident in her treatment of Radishchev.
- Catherine's devotion to her favorites, particularly Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin, often blinded her to the corruption that surrounded her rule, hence the force of the metaphor of the Potemkin villages.
- Catherine played a part in the death of another pretender to the throne, Princess Tarakanova, who represented herself as Elizabeth's daughter by Alexis Razumovsky. The Empress dispatched Alexey Orlov to Italy, where he managed to seduce and capture Tarakanova. When brought to Russia, Tarakanova went to prison in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where she died of tuberculosis.
- While Catherine probably had no direct role in the murder of her own husband, Peter III, she did nothing to punish those responsible for the crime and even promoted them.
Trivia and cultural references
Catherine commissioned the famous "Bronze Horseman" statue, which stands in Saint Petersburg on the banks of the Neva River, and had the large boulder upon which it stands transported from several leagues away. She had it inscribed with the Latin phrase "Petro Primo Catharina Secunda MDCCLXXXII", meaning "Catherine the Second to Peter the First, 1782", in order to lend herself legitimacy by connecting herself with the "Founder of Modern Russia". This statue later inspired Pushkin's famous poem The Bronze Horseman (1833).
Catherine figures as a leader of the Russian civilization in the video game Civilization IV. In diplomatic talks, perhaps alluding to her penchant for taking lovers, a "Pleased" or "Friendly" Catherine will wink at the player and make innuendoes such as "Is that a treaty in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?".
Numerous dramatizations based on the biography of Catherine II have appeared. The 1934 film Catherine the Great (based on the play The Czarina by Lajos Biro and Melchior Lengyel) stars Elisabeth Bergner as Catherine. Also in 1934 appeared the film The Scarlet Empress directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich. A 1991 TV miniseries Young Catherine features Julia Ormond in the role. Catherine Zeta-Jones portrayed Catherine in the 1995 television movie Catherine the Great.
One of Serbia's most famed New Wave bands, Ekatarina Velika (which translates as "Catherine the Great") (1982–1994) took its name from Catherine II of Russia.
Folk-rock songwriter Freddy Blohm's "Catherine, You're Great!" relates Catherine's most infamous urban myth from an equine point-of-view.
German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly has a picture of Catherine II in her office, and characterises her as a "strong woman".
The Russian slang word for money "babki" (literally: "old women") refers to the picture of Catherine II printed on pre-Revolution 100-ruble banknotes.
Gallery
Image:Catherine II on horse.jpg|Equestrian portrait of Catherine II in the attire of a male officer.
Image:Empress Catherine The Great circa 1770 (D.G. Levitsky).JPG|Portrait by Dmitry Levitsky of Catherine II, circa 1770
Image:Cath2russia.jpg|Portrait by Albert Albertrandi of Catherine II, circa 1770
Image:Empress Catherine The Great 1787 (Mikhail Shibanov).JPG|Portrait by Mikhail Shibanov of Catherine II in traveling-costume, 1787.
Further Information
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