Catherine the Great was born on 21 April, 1729, in the town of Stettin (now Szczezin). Catherine's mother, was twenty-two-years younger than her husband. She was a nervy, flighty trouble-maker who did not get on with her husband.

The future empress was christened Sophie Auguste Friederike or "Fike" for short. Contempories have suggested that her father may have been Frederick the Great or Russian diplomat Ivan Betskoi. The latter theory is supported by the fact that when she became empress, Catherine always kissed Betskoi's hand when she entered the room and allowed him to sit in her presence, when everyone else had to stand. During a phlebotomy, she is alleged to have said: "Let all the German blood flow out of me, so that only the Russian remains."

Equestrian Portrait of Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna
Artist: Georg Christoph Grooth

After successfully deposing her husband on 28 June, 1762, Catherine had herself crowned empress at the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow on 22 September, 1762.

Ironically, the reign of this German princess brought more benefit to Russia than under her native-born predecessors. Although Catherine left the Russian finances in a perilous state and the country in a state of disorder, she took care to create the image of a great ruler. Her reign is often regarded as the "Golden Age of Catherine". While paying tribute to many of her undoubted successes, however, her role in Russian history should not be exaggerated.

Andrei Bolotov wrote that "under the all-powerful Prince Potemkin, for several years, we had only one recruitment . . . and absolutely everything was embezzled by the prince and his minions and favourites." The conscripts were often plundered and turned into private property. Alexander Bezborodko claimed that in 1795 as many as fifty thousand men were missing from an army of four hundred thousand.

By the end of Catherine's reign, the Russian army was in a sorry state. General Langeron observed sadly: "All you have to do to become a cavarly officer in Russia is to be able to ride a horse." Andrei Bolotov wrote: "In the guards regiments, the sub-colonels and majors did what they liked. Even the secretaries were ready to confer ranks on anyone for money. Service in the guards was an out-and-out comedy." The Preobrazhensky Regiment alone numbered several thousand warrant officers and sergeants. With the full knowledge of the commanders, secretaries accepted bribes for including noblemen, merchants, clerks, apprentices and priests in the regiment. The official lists included infants and sometimes even unborn children--before the sex of the baby was even known. None of these people served, but simply lived in their houses or estates, advancing from rank to rank. Upon reaching the position of over-officer, they transferred to the army, where they were promoted another two ranks--without knowing the slightest thing about military service.

Portrait of Catherine II
Artist: Unknown

Many other negative phenomena flourished in Russia under Catherine. She had a talent for finding the right people for the right job. She was extremely able in her choice of statesmen--and lovers. The same man sometimes performed both roles. The institution of favourites flourished under Catherine. The empress spent enormous sums of money on her lovers (historians have calculated that they cost Russian the exact sum of 95.5 million roubles). She generously presented crown peasants to her lovers and other favourites, increasing the total number of serfs in the country. The empress gave away a total of 800,000 heads.

Towards the end of her life, Catherine was often ill. Her legs swelled up and she died of a brain aneurysm on 6 November, 1796. She was buried in the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Portrait of Catherine the Great in the Garden of Tsarskoye Selo, 1794.
Artist: Vladimir Korovikovsky