How Empress Catherine became great. Catherine II the Great - biography, information, personal life

The list of men of Catherine II includes men who figured in the intimate life of Empress Catherine the Great (1729-1796), including her spouses, official favorites and lovers. Catherine II has up to 21 lovers, but how can we argue with the empress, then of course there were their own methods.

1.Catherine's husband was Peter Fedorovich (Emperor Peter III) (1728-1762). They had a wedding in 1745, August 21 (September 1) The end of the relationship June 28 (July 9) 1762 - the death of Peter III. His children, according to the Romanov tree Pavel Petrovich (1754) (according to one version, his father is Sergei Saltykov) and officially the Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (1757-1759, most likely the daughter of Stanislav Ponyatovsky). He suffered, he was a kind of impotence, and in the early years did not carry out marital relations with her. Then this problem was solved using surgery, moreover, in order to fulfill it, Peter gave Saltykov a drink.

2. While she was engaged, she also had a novel, Saltykov, Sergei Vasilievich (1726-1765). In 1752 he was at the small court of the great princes Catherine and Peter. The beginning of the novel in 1752. The end of the relationship was the born child Paul in October 1754. After which Saltykov was expelled from St. Petersburg and sent as an envoy to Sweden.

3. Catherine's lover was in 1756 Stanislav August Poniatowski (1732-1798) fell in love. And in 1758, after the fall of Chancellor Bestuzhev, Williams and Poniatovsky were forced to leave Petersburg. After the novel, her daughter Anna Petrovna (1757-1759) also believed so, and the Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich himself, who, judging by the "Notes of Catherine", said: "God knows where my wife gets pregnant; I don’t know for sure whether this child is mine and whether I should recognize him as mine. ”In the future, Catherine will make him king of Poland, and then annex Poland and annex it to Russia.

4. Also, Catherine 2 was not upset and continued to fall in love further. Her next secret lover was Orlov, Grigory Grigorievich (1734-1783). The beginning of the novel in the spring of 1759, Count Schwerin, the aide-de-camp of Frederick II, who was captured in the Battle of Zorndorf, arrived in St. Petersburg, to which the guard Orlov was assigned. Orlov gained fame, having beaten off his mistress from Pyotr Shuvalov. The end of the relationship in 1772 after the death of her husband, even she wanted to marry him and then she was dissuaded. Orlov had many mistresses. They also had a son Bobrinsky, Alexei Grigorievich was born on April 22, 1762, a few months after the death of Elizaveta Petrovna. It is reported that on the day she began giving birth, her faithful servant Shkurin set fire to his house, and Peter rushed off to look at the fire ... Orlov and his passionate brothers contributed to the overthrow of Peter and the accession of Catherine to the throne. Having lost his favor, he married his cousin Ekaterina Zinovieva, and after her death he went crazy.

5.Vasilchikov, Alexander Semyonovich (1746-1803 / 1813) Official favorite. Acquaintance in 1772, September. He often stood guard in Tsarskoe Selo and received a gold snuffbox. He took Orlov's room. 1774, March 20 in connection with the rise of Potemkin was sent to Moscow. Catherine found him boring (14 years difference). After his resignation, he settled in Moscow with his brother and did not marry.

6. Potemkin, Grigory Alexandrovich (1739-1791) Official favorite, husband since 1775. In April 1776 he went on vacation. Catherine gave birth to Potemkin's daughter, Elizaveta Grigorievna Temkina. Despite the break in his personal life, thanks to his abilities, he retained Catherine's friendship and respect and for many years remained the second person in the state. He was not married, his personal life consisted of the "enlightenment" of his young nieces, including Catherine Engelgart.

7. Zavadovsky, Pyotr Vasilievich (1739-1812) the official favorite.
The beginning of relations in 1776 November, presented to the Empress as an author, interested Catherine. In 1777, June did not suit Potemkin and was removed. Also in May 1777 Catherine's acquaintance with Zorich. He was jealous of Catherine 2, which hurt. 1777 recalled by the empress back to the capital, 1780 engaged in administrative affairs, married Vera Nikolaevna Apraksina.

8.Zorich, Semyon Gavrilovich (1743 / 1745-1799). In 1777 June, became Catherine's personal bodyguard. 1778 June caused inconvenience, expelled from St. Petersburg (14 years younger than the empress) Was fired and sent into retirement with a small reward. He founded the Shklov School. Tangled up in debt and was suspected of counterfeiting.

9.Rimsky-Korsakov, Ivan Nikolaevich (1754-1831) Official favorite. 1778, June. Spotted by Potemkin, who was looking for a replacement for Zorich, and distinguished by his beauty, as well as ignorance and lack of serious abilities that could make him a political rival. Potemkin introduced him to the Empress among three officers. On June 1, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Empress. 1779, October 10. Removed from the court, after the empress found him in the arms of Countess Praskovya Bruce, sister of Field Marshal Rumyantsev. This intrigue of Potemkin was aimed at removing not Korsakov, but Bruce herself, 25 years younger than the Empress; Catherine was attracted by his announced "innocence". He was very handsome and had an excellent voice (for his sake, Catherine invited world-famous musicians to Russia). After losing the favor, he first stayed in St. Petersburg and talked about his relationship with the Empress in the drawing rooms, which hurt her pride. In addition, he left Bruce and began an affair with Countess Ekaterina Stroganova (he was 10 years younger than her). It turned out to be too much, and Catherine sent him to Moscow. As a result, Stroganova's husband gave a divorce. Korsakov lived with her until the end of her life, they had a son and two daughters.

10 Stakhiev (Strakhov) The beginning of relations in 1778; 1779, June. The end of relations 1779, October. According to the description of contemporaries, "the jester of the lowest analysis." Strakhov was a protégé of Count N.I. Panin Strakhov may be Ivan Varfolomeevich Strakhov (1750-1793), in this case, he was not the empress's lover, but a man whom Panin considered insane, and who, when Catherine once told him that he can ask her for some kind of mercy, threw himself on his knees and asked her hand, after which she began to avoid him.

11 Stoyanov (Stanov) Beginning of relations 1778. End of relations 1778 Potemkin's henchman.

12 Rantsov (Rontsov), Ivan Romanovich (1755-1791) Beginning of relations 1779. Mentioned among those who participated in the "competition", it is not entirely clear whether he managed to visit the empress's alcove. End of relations 1780. One of the illegitimate sons of Count R. I. Vorontsov, half-brother of Dashkova. A year later he led a London crowd in riots organized by Lord George Gordon.

13 Levashov, Vasily Ivanovich (1740 (?) - 1804). The beginning of relations in 1779, October. End of relations 1779, October. Major of the Semyonovsky regiment, a young man, patronized by Countess Bruce. Distinguished by wit and gaiety. The uncle of one of the subsequent favorites is Ermolova. He was not married, but had 6 "pupils" from the pupil of the theater school Akulina Semyonova, who were granted the nobility and his surname.

14 Vysotsky, Nikolai Petrovich (1751-1827). The beginning of the relationship is 1780, March. Potemkin's nephew. End of relationship 1780, March.

15 Lanskoy, Alexander Dmitrievich (1758-1784) Official favorite. The beginning of relations 1780 April Was introduced to Catherine by Chief of Police P. I. Tolstoy, she drew attention to him, but he did not become a favorite. Levashev turned to Potemkin for help, he made him his adjutant and for about six months supervised his court education, after which in the spring of 1780 he recommended him to the empress as a heartfelt friend. End of relations 1784, July 25. He died after a five-day illness with a toad and fever. 29 years younger than the 54-year-old at the time of the beginning of the empress's relationship. The only one of the favorites who did not interfere in politics and refused to influence, ranks, and orders. He shared Catherine's interest in science and, under her guidance, studied French, got acquainted with philosophy. Enjoyed general sympathy. He sincerely adored the Empress and did his best to keep peace with Potemkin. If Catherine began to flirt with someone else, Lanskoy "was not jealous, did not cheat on her, did not dare, but so touchingly [...] lamented her disfavor and suffered so sincerely that he won her love again."

16.Mordvinov. The beginning of relations in 1781. May A relative of Lermontov. Probably Mordvinov, Nikolai Semyonovich (1754-1845). The admiral's son, the same age as Grand Duke Paul, was brought up with him. The episode was not reflected in his biography, it is usually not mentioned. He became a famous naval commander. Relative of Lermontov

17 Ermolov, Alexander Petrovich (1754-1834) 1785 February a holiday was specially arranged to introduce the empress to him. 1786, 28 June. He decided to act against Potemkin (the Crimean Khan Sahib-Girey was supposed to receive large sums from Potemkin, but they were detained, and the khan turned to Yermolov for help), in addition, the empress also lost interest in him. He was expelled from St. Petersburg - he was "allowed to go abroad for three years." In 1767, traveling along the Volga, Catherine stayed at his father's estate and took the 13-year-old boy to Petersburg. Potemkin took him to his retinue, and almost 20 years later proposed a candidacy as a favorite. He was tall and slender, blond, sullen, taciturn, honest and overly simple. WITH letters of recommendation Chancellor Count Bezborodko left for Germany and Italy. He behaved very modestly everywhere. After retirement, he settled in Moscow and married Elizaveta Mikhailovna Golitsyna, with whom he had children. The nephew of the previous favorite is Vasily Levashov. Then he left for Austria, where he bought the rich and profitable Frosdorf estate near Vienna, where he died at 82.

18. Dmitriev-Mamonov, Alexander Matveyevich (1758-1803) In 1786 June was introduced to the Empress after the departure of Ermolov. 1789 fell in love with Princess Daria Fyodorovna Shcherbatova, Catherine had hay. asked for forgiveness, forgiven. After the wedding, he was forced to leave Petersburg. Future married in Moscow. He repeatedly asked to return to St. Petersburg, but was refused. His wife gave birth to 4 children and eventually parted.

19.Miloradovich. Relationship begins in 1789. He was among the candidates who were proposed after Dmitriev's resignation. They also included the retired second-major of the Preobrazhensky regiment Kazarinov, Baron Mengden - all young handsome men, each of whom was supported by influential courtiers (Potemkin, Bezborodko, Naryshkin, Vorontsov and Zavadovsky). End of relations in 1789.

20. Miklashevsky. Relationship begins in 1787, ends in 1787. Miklashevsky was a candidate, but did not become a favorite. According to evidence, during the trip of Catherine II in 1787 to the Crimea, some Miklashevsky was among the candidates for favorites. Perhaps it was Miklashevsky, Mikhail Pavlovich (1756-1847), who was part of Potemkin's retinue as an adjutant (the first step to favor), but it is unclear from what year. In 1798, Mikhail Miklashevsky was appointed Little Russian governor, but was soon dismissed. In the biography, the episode with Catherine is usually not mentioned.

21. Zubov, Platon Alexandrovich (1767-1822) Official favorite. The beginning of the relationship is 1789, July. The protege of Field Marshal Prince N.I. Saltykov, the chief educator of Catherine's grandchildren. End of relations 1796, November 6. The last favorite of Catherine. The relationship ended with her death. The 22-year-old began his relationship with the 60-year-old empress. The first official favorite since the time of Potemkin, who was not his adjutant. N.I.Saltykov and A.N. Naryshkina stood behind him, and Perekusikhina was also working on his behalf. He enjoyed great influence, practically managed to oust Potemkin, who threatened to "come and pull out a tooth." Later he participated in the assassination of Emperor Paul. Shortly before his death, he married a young, ordinary, and poor polka beauty and was terribly jealous of her.

Memory of Catherine 2. Monuments dedicated to her.

Catherine II F. Rokotov

Facts about the life and reign of one of the most powerful, glorious and controversial monarchs of the Russian Empire, Empress Catherine II

1. During the reign of Catherine the Great from 1762 to 1796, the empire's possessions expanded significantly. Of the 50 provinces, 11 were acquired during the years of her reign. Sum government revenues increased from 16 to 68 million rubles. 144 new cities were built (more than 4 cities per year throughout the reign). The army almost doubled, the number of ships in the Russian fleet increased from 20 to 67 ships of the line, not counting other ships. The army and navy won 78 brilliant victories that strengthened Russia's international authority.

Palace Embankment

Access to the Black and Azov Seas was conquered, Crimea, Ukraine (except for the Lvov region), Belarus, Eastern Poland, Kabarda were annexed. Georgia began joining Russia.

Moreover, during her reign, only one execution was carried out - the leader peasant uprising Emelyana Pugacheva.



F.Rokotov

2. The Empress's daily routine was far from the common people’s idea of ​​royal life. Her day was scheduled by the hour, and its routine remained unchanged throughout her reign. Only the time of sleep changed: if in adulthood Catherine got up at 5, then closer to old age - at 6, and by the end of her life at all at 7 in the morning. After breakfast, the empress received high-ranking officials and secretaries of state. The days and hours of reception for each official were constant. The working day ended at four o'clock, and it was time for rest. Hours of work and rest, breakfast, lunch and dinner were also constant. At 10 or 11 o'clock in the evening, Catherine finished the day and went to bed.



3. Every day 90 rubles were spent on food for the Empress (for comparison: the salary of a soldier during the reign of Catherine was only 7 rubles a year). His favorite dish was boiled beef with pickles, and currant juice was used as a drink. For dessert, preference was given to apples and cherries.



4. After dinner, the Empress got down to handicrafts, while Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy read aloud to her. Ekaterina "skillfully sewed on canvas", knitted on needles. After finishing reading, she went to the Hermitage, where she sharpened from bone, wood, amber, engraved, played billiards.



View of the Winter Palace

5. Ekaterina was indifferent to fashion. She did not notice her, and sometimes quite deliberately ignored her. On weekdays, the Empress wore a simple dress and did not wear jewelry.



D. Levitsky

6. By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she wrote plays, and even sent some of them for "review" to Voltaire.



7. Catherine came up with a special suit for the six-month-old Tsarevich Alexander, the pattern of which the Prussian prince and the Swedish king asked her to design for their own children. And for her beloved subjects, the Empress came up with a cut of the Russian dress, which they had to wear at her court.

8. People who knew Catherine closely note her attractive appearance not only in her youth, but also in her mature years, her exceptionally friendly appearance, ease of handling. Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, who was first introduced to her with her husband in Tsarskoe Selo at the end of August 1781, described Catherine as: "a very attractive woman with lovely expressive eyes and a smart look "



View of the Fontanka

9. Catherine knew that men liked her and she herself was not indifferent to their beauty and masculinity. "I received from nature a great sensitivity and appearance, if not beautiful, then at least attractive. I liked the first time and did not use any art or embellishment for this."

I. Faizullin. Catherine's visit to Kazan

10. The Empress was quick-tempered, but knew how to control herself, and never made decisions in a fit of anger. She was very polite even with the servants, no one heard a harsh word from her, she did not order, but asked to do her will. Its rule, according to the testimony of Count Segur, was "to praise aloud, and scold slowly."

Oath of the Izmailovsky regiment to Catherine II

11. There were rules on the walls of the ballrooms under Catherine II: it was forbidden to stand in front of the empress, even if she approached the guest and spoke to him while standing. It was forbidden to be in a gloomy mood, to offend each other. "And on the shield at the entrance to the Hermitage there was an inscription:" The mistress of these places does not tolerate coercion. "



scepter

12. Thomas Dimsdale, english doctor was called from London to introduce smallpox vaccinations in Russia. Knowing about the resistance of society to innovation, Empress Catherine II decided to submit personal example and became one of Dimsdale's first patients. In 1768, an Englishman instilled smallpox in her and the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. The convalescence of the empress and her son became a significant event in the life of the Russian court.



Johann the Elder Lampi

13. The Empress was a heavy smoker. Cunning Catherine, not wanting her snow-white gloves to be saturated with a yellow nicotine coating, ordered to wrap the end of each cigar with a ribbon of expensive silk.



Coronation of Catherine II

14. The Empress read and wrote in German, French and Russian, but made many mistakes. Ekaterina was aware of this and once confessed to one of her secretaries that “she could learn Russian only from books without a teacher,” because “aunt Elizaveta Petrovna told my hofmeysteyrsha: to teach her completely, she is already smart”. As a result, she made four mistakes in the three-letter word: instead of “more”, she wrote “ischo”.



15. Long before her death, Catherine compiled an epitaph for her future tombstone: "Here rests Catherine II. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At the age of fourteen, she made a three-fold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth and the people She did not miss anything to achieve success in this regard. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness prompted her to read many books. Ascending to the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She easily forgave and did not hate anyone. She was condescending, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a good heart. She had friends. Work was easy for her. She liked secular entertainment and arts. "

Gallery of portraits of Empress Catherine II the Great



Artist Antoine Peng. Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine II

Father, Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, came from the Zerbst-Dorneburg line of the House of Anhalt and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, where the future empress was born, ran for the Dukes of Courland, but unsuccessfully , finished his service as a Prussian field marshal.



Artist Antoine Peng. Johanna Elizabeth Anhalt Zerbst, mother of Catherine II

Mother - Johanna Elizabeth, from the Gottorp sovereign house, was the cousin of the future Peter III. Johanna Elizabeth's lineage goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and the founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.



Groot Georg-Christoph (Groot, Groot). 1748






Shettin castle

Georg Groth



Grotto. PORTRAIT OF GRAND DUK PETER FEDOROVICH AND GRAND DUCHESS EKATERINA ALEKSEEVNA. 1760s.



Pietro Antonio Rotari. 1760,1761




V. Eriksen. Equestrian portrait of Catherine the Great



Eriksen, Vigilius. 1762

I.P. Argunov Portrait grand duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna. 1762



Eriksen. Catherine II at the mirror. 1762



Ivan Argunov. 1762



V. Eriksen. 1782

Eriksen. 1779



Eriksen. Catherine II at the mirror. 1779



Eriksen. 1780


Lampi Johann-Batis. 1794



R. Brompton. 1782



D. Levitsky. 1782

P.D. Levitsky. Portrait of Catherine II. 1783

Alexey Antropov

Portrait of Empress Catherine II in a traveling suit. SHIBANOV Mikhail. 1780

V. Borovikovsky. Catherine IIfor a walk in Tsarskoye Selo park.1794

Borovikovsky Vladimir Lukich.Portrait of Catherine II

Favorites of Catherine II

Grigory Potemkin

Perhaps the most important among the favorites, who did not lose his influence even after Catherine began to pay attention to others. He earned the empress's attention even during the palace coup. She singled him out among other employees of the Horse Guards regiment, he immediately became a chamber junker at court with a corresponding salary and a gift in the form of 400 peasant souls.Grigory Potemkin is one of the few lovers of Catherine II, who pleased not only her personally, but also did a lot for the country. He built not only the Potemkin villages. It was thanks to Potemkin that the active development of Novorossiya and Crimea began. Although his actions were partly the reason for the start of the Russian-Turkish war, it ended with another victory for Russian arms. In 1776, Potemkin ceases to be a favorite, but remains a person whose advice Catherine II listened to until his death. Including in choosing new favorites.

Grigory Potemkin and Elizaveta Temkina, daughter of the Most Serene Prince and Russian Empress

J. de Vally. Portrait of Counts G.G. and A.G. Orlov

Grigory Orlov

Grigory Orlov grew up in Moscow, but his exemplary service and distinction in the Seven Years' War contributed to his transfer to the capital - Petersburg. There he received the fame of a revelry and "Don Juan". Tall, stately, handsome - the young wife of the future emperor Ekaterina Alekseevna simply could not help but pay attention to him.His appointment as treasurer of the Office of the main artillery and fortification allowed Catherine to use state money to organize a palace coup.Although he was not a major statesman, he sometimes fulfilled the delicate requests of the empress herself. According to one of the versions, together with his brother Orlov, he took the life of the lawful husband of Catherine II, the ousted emperor Peter III.

Stanislav August Ponyatovsky

Famous for his graceful manners, the Polish aristocrat of the ancient family Stanislaw August Poniatowski first met Catherine in 1756. He lived in London for many years and ended up in St. Petersburg as part of the British diplomatic mission. Poniatowski was not an official favorite, but he was still considered the Empress's lover, which gave him weight in society. At hot support Catherine II Poniatowski became king of Poland. It is possible that the Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna, recognized by Peter III, is in fact the daughter of Catherine and the Polish handsome. Peter III lamented: “God knows where my wife gets pregnant from; I don’t know for sure if this child is mine and if I should recognize him as mine ”

Peter Zavadovsky

This time, Catherine was attracted by Zavadovsky, a representative of a well-known Cossack family. Count Pyotr Rumyantsev, the favorite of another empress, Elizaveta Petrovna, brought him to the court. A charming man with a pleasant character - Catherine II c again struck to the heart. In addition, she found him "quieter and more at ease" Potemkin.In 1775 he was appointed cabinet secretary. Zavadovsky was promoted to major general, 4 thousand peasant souls. He even took up residence in the palace. Such an approach to the empress alarmed Potemkin and as a result of palace intrigues Zavadovsky was removed - he went to his estate. Despite this, he remained faithful to her and passionately loved her for a long time, marrying only 10 years later. In 1780 he was recalled by the empress back to Petersburg, where he held high administrative positions, including becoming the first minister of public education.

Platon Zubov

Platon Zubov began his journey to Catherine with service in the Semenovsky regiment. Enjoyed the patronage of Count Nikolai Saltykov, educator of the empress's grandchildren. Zubov began to command the horse guards, who went to Tsarskoe Selo to carry the guard. On June 21, 1789, with the help of the lady of state Anna Naryshkina, he received an audience with Catherine II and since then he spent with her almost every evening. In just a few days he was promoted to colonel and settled in the palace. At court, he was received coldly, but Catherine II was crazy about him. After Potemkin's death, Zubov plays an increasing role, and Catherine did not have time to be disappointed in him - she died in 1796. Thus, he became the last favorite of the empress. Later, he took an active part in the conspiracy against Emperor Paul I, as a result of which he was killed, and Alexander I, a friend of Zubov, became the head of state. Guglielmi, Gregorio. Apotheosis of the reign of Catherine II. 1767

Empress of All Russia (June 28, 1762 - November 6, 1796). Her reign is one of the most remarkable in Russian history; and the dark and light sides of it had a tremendous impact on subsequent events, especially on the mental and cultural development of the country. The wife of Peter III, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbtskaya (born April 24, 1729), was naturally gifted with a great mind, strong character; on the contrary, her husband was a weak, ill-mannered man. Not sharing his pleasures, Catherine devoted herself to reading and soon moved from novels to historical and philosophical books. Around her, an elected circle was formed, in which Catherine's greatest confidence was enjoyed first by Saltykov, and then by Stanislav Ponyatovsky, later the King of Poland. Her relationship to Empress Elizabeth was not particularly cordial: when Catherine's son, Paul, was born, the empress took the child with her and rarely allowed her mother to see him. Elizabeth died on December 25, 1761; with the accession to the throne of Peter III, Catherine's position became even worse. A coup on June 28, 1762 elevated Catherine to the throne (see Peter III). The harsh school of life and a huge natural mind helped Catherine both to get out of a very difficult situation, and to lead Russia out of it. The treasury was empty; monopoly crushed trade and industry; factory peasants and serfs were agitated by rumors of freedom, which were continually renewed; peasants from the western border fled to Poland. Under such circumstances, Catherine ascended the throne, the rights to which belonged to her son. But she understood that this son would become a plaything of parties on the throne, like Peter II. Regency was a fragile affair. The fate of Menshikov, Biron, Anna Leopoldovna was remembered by everyone.

Catherine's penetrating gaze dwelt equally attentively on the phenomena of life both at home and abroad. Having learned, two months after accession to the throne, that the famous French Encyclopedia had been condemned by the Parisian parliament for atheism and its continuation was prohibited, Catherine invited Voltaire and Diderot to publish the encyclopedia in Riga. This proposal alone won over the best minds to the side of Catherine, who then gave direction to public opinion throughout Europe. In the fall of 1762, Catherine was crowned and spent the winter in Moscow. In the summer of 1764, second lieutenant Mirovich planned to elevate to the throne John Antonovich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig, who was kept in the Schlisselburg fortress. The plan failed - John Antonovich, during an attempt to free him, was shot dead by one of the guard soldiers; Mirovich was executed by court order. In 1764, Prince Vyazemsky, sent to pacify the peasants assigned to factories, was ordered to investigate the question of the benefits of free labor over hired ones. The same question was proposed to the newly established Economic Society (see Free Economic Society and Serfdom). First of all, the question of the monastic peasants had to be resolved, which had taken on a particularly acute character even during the reign of Elizabeth. Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign returned the estates to monasteries and churches, but in 1757 she, with the dignitaries around her, came to the conviction of the need to transfer the management of church property into secular hands. Peter III ordered the fulfillment of Elizabeth's destiny and the transfer of the management of church property to the college of economy. In the reign of Peter III, inventories of the monastic property were made extremely roughly. At the accession of Catherine II to the throne, the bishops filed complaints with her and asked for the return of the administration of church property to them. Catherine, on the advice of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, satisfied their desire, canceled the collegium of economy, but did not abandon her intention, but only postponed its implementation; she then ordered the 1757 commission to resume its studies. It was ordered to make new inventories of the monastery and church property; but the clergy were also dissatisfied with the new inventories; the Rostov Metropolitan Arseny Matseevich especially rebelled against them. In his report to the synod, he expressed himself sharply, arbitrarily interpreting church historical facts, even distorting them and making comparisons that were offensive to Catherine. The Synod presented the case to the Empress, in the hope (as Soloviev thinks) that Catherine II will show her usual gentleness this time too. The hope did not come true: Arseny's report caused such irritation in Catherine, which was not noticed in her either before or after. She could not forgive Arseny for comparing her with Julian and Judas and the desire to make her a violator of her word. Arseny was sentenced to exile in the Arkhangelsk diocese, to the Nikolaevsky Korelsky monastery, and then, as a result of new charges, to deprivation of monastic dignity and life imprisonment in Revel (see Arseny Matseevich). The following case from the beginning of her reign is characteristic of Catherine II. A case was reported on allowing Jews to enter Russia. Catherine said that starting the reign with a decree granting free entry to Jews would be a bad way to calm the minds; it is impossible to recognize the entry as harmful. Then Senator Prince Odoevsky suggested looking at what Empress Elizabeth wrote in the margins of the same report. Catherine demanded a report and read: "I do not wish selfish profit from the enemies of Christ." Turning to the Attorney General, she said: "I wish this case was postponed."

The increase in the number of serfs through huge distributions to the favorites and dignitaries of the inhabited estates, the establishment of serfdom in Little Russia, completely fall on the memory of Catherine II. However, one should not lose sight of the fact that the underdevelopment of Russian society was evident at that time at every step. So, when Catherine II conceived the idea of ​​abolishing torture and proposed this measure to the Senate, the senators expressed concern that if torture was abolished, no one, going to bed, would be sure whether he would get up alive in the morning. Therefore, Catherine, not destroying torture publicly, sent out a secret instruction so that in cases where torture was used, the judges base their actions on Chapter X of the Instruction, in which torture is condemned as a cruel and extremely stupid matter. At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, an attempt was renewed to create an institution resembling the supreme privy council or the Cabinet that replaced him, in new form, under the name of the permanent council of the empress. The author of the project was Count Panin. General Feldzheichmeister Villebois wrote to the Empress: "I do not know who the author of this draft is, but it seems to me that he, under the guise of protecting the monarchy, is more subtly inclined towards aristocratic rule." Villebois was right; but Catherine II herself understood the oligarchic nature of the project. She signed it, but kept it under the shelter, and it was never made public. Thus, Panin's idea of ​​a council of six permanent members remained one dream; the private council of Catherine II always consisted of successive members. Knowing how the transition of Peter III to the side of Prussia irritated public opinion, Catherine ordered the Russian generals to maintain neutrality and thereby helped to end the war (see Seven Years' War). The internal affairs of the state demanded special attention: what was most striking was the lack of justice. Catherine II expressed herself energetically on this matter: “the covetousness has increased to such an extent that there is hardly the smallest place of government in which the court would go without infection of this ulcer; whether anyone is looking for a place - pays; whether anyone defends himself from slander - defends himself with money; Whether someone slanders whom - he backs up all his cunning intrigues with gifts. " Catherine was especially amazed when she learned that within the current Novgorod province they were taking money from peasants for swearing allegiance to her. This state of justice forced Catherine II to convene in 1766 a commission to publish the Code. To this commission, Catherine II presented the Order, which she was to be guided by when drawing up the Code. The order was drawn up on the basis of the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria (see Order [ Big] and the Commission of 1766). Polish affairs, the first Turkish war and internal unrest that arose from them suspended the legislative activity of Catherine II until 1775. Polish affairs caused the partition and fall of Poland: according to the first section of 1773, Russia received the present provinces of Mogilev, Vitebsk, part of Minsk, i.e. most of Belarus (see Poland). The first Turkish war began in 1768 and ended in peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi, which was ratified in 1775. According to this peace, the Porta recognized the independence of the Crimean and Budjak Tatars; ceded to Russia Azov, Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn; opened free passage for Russian ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean; granted forgiveness to Christians who took part in the war; admitted Russia's petition on Moldovan affairs. During the first Turkish war, a plague raged in Moscow, causing a plague riot; in the east of Russia, an even more dangerous riot broke out, known as the Pugachevshchina. In 1770, the plague from the army penetrated into Little Russia, in the spring of 1771 it appeared in Moscow; Commander-in-Chief (currently - Governor-General) Count Saltykov left the city to its own devices. The retired General Yeropkin voluntarily assumed the heavy duty of maintaining order and using preventive measures to weaken the plague. The townsfolk did not fulfill his instructions and not only did not burn the clothes and linen from those who died from the plague, but they concealed their very death and buried them in the backyards. The plague intensified: at the beginning of the summer of 1771, 400 people died every day. The people crowded in horror at the Barbarian Gate, in front of the miraculous icon. The infection from crowding the people, of course, intensified. The then Moscow archbishop Ambrose (see), an enlightened man, ordered to remove the icon. A rumor immediately spread that the bishop, along with the doctors, had conspired to destroy the people. The ignorant and fanatical crowd, distraught with fear, killed the worthy archpastor. There were rumors that the rebels were preparing to set fire to Moscow, to exterminate doctors and nobles. Yeropkin, with several companies, managed, however, to restore calm. In the last days of September, Count Grigory Orlov, then the closest person to Catherine, arrived in Moscow: but at this time the plague was already weakening and in October it stopped. This plague killed 130,000 people in Moscow alone.

The Pugachev rebellion was raised by the Yaik Cossacks, dissatisfied with the changes in their Cossack life. In 1773, the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev (see) took the name of Peter III and raised the banner of rebellion. Catherine II entrusted the suppression of the rebellion to Bibikov, who immediately understood the essence of the matter; it is not Pugachev that is important, he said; what is important is the general displeasure. The Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kirghiz joined the Yaik Cossacks and the mutinous peasants. Bibikov, giving orders from Kazan, moved detachments from all sides to more dangerous places; Prince Golitsyn liberated Orenburg, Mikhelson - Ufa, Mansurov - Yaitsky town. At the beginning of 1774 the revolt began to subside, but Bibikov died of exhaustion, and the revolt flared up again: Pugachev captured Kazan and threw himself on the right bank of the Volga. Count P. Panin took Bibikov's place, but did not replace him. Mikhelson defeated Pugachev near Arzamas and blocked his way to Moscow. Pugachev rushed south, took Penza, Petrovsk, Saratov and hung nobles everywhere. From Saratov, he moved to Tsaritsyn, but was repulsed and at Cherny Yar was again defeated by Mikhelson. When Suvorov arrived at the army, the impostor held on a little and was soon betrayed by his accomplices. In January 1775, Pugachev was executed in Moscow (see Pugachevshchina). Since 1775, the legislative activity of Catherine II was resumed, however, it did not stop before. So, in 1768, the commercial and noble banks were abolished and the so-called banknote or change bank was established (see. Assignations). In 1775, it ceased to exist Zaporizhzhya Sich, already tending to fall. In the same 1775, the transformation of the provincial government began. An institution was published for the administration of provinces, which was introduced for twenty years: in 1775 it began with the Tver province and ended in 1796 with the establishment of the Vilna province (see Gubernia). Thus, the reform of provincial government, begun by Peter the Great, was brought out of the chaotic state by Catherine II and completed by her. In 1776, Catherine commanded in her petitions the word slave replace with the word loyal. By the end of the first Turkish war, Potemkin gained particular importance, striving for great deeds. Together with his collaborator, Bezborodko, he drew up a project known as the Greek one. The grandeur of this project - destroying the Ottoman Port, restoring the Greek Empire, to the throne of which to elevate Konstantin Pavlovich - liked E. Opponent of Potemkin's influence and plans, Count N. Panin, educator of Tsarevich Paul and President of the College of Foreign Affairs in order to distract Catherine II from the Greek project , brought her a draft of armed neutrality, in 1780 Armed neutrality (see) was intended to patronize the trade of neutral states during the war and was directed against England, which was disadvantageous for Potemkin's plans. Pursuing his broad and useless plan for Russia, Potemkin prepared an extremely useful and necessary task for Russia - the annexation of Crimea. In Crimea, since the recognition of its independence, two parties worried - the Russian and the Turkish. Their struggle gave rise to the occupation of the Crimea and the Kuban region. The manifesto of 1783 announced the annexation of the Crimea and the Kuban region to Russia. The last khan Shagin-Girey was sent to Voronezh; Crimea was renamed into Tauride province; raids of the Crimeans stopped. It is believed that due to the raids of the Crimeans, Great and Little Russia and part of Poland, from the 15th century. until 1788, lost from 3 to 4 million of the population: the captives were turned into slaves, the captives filled harems or became, like slaves, into the ranks of female servants. In Constantinople, the Mamelukes had Russian nurses and nurses. In the XVI, XVII and even in the XVIII centuries. Venice and France used shackled Russian slaves bought in the markets of the Levant as galley workers. The pious Louis XIV tried only to ensure that these slaves did not remain schismatics. The annexation of Crimea put an end to the shameful trade in Russian slaves (see V. Lamansky in the "Historical Bulletin" for 1880: "The power of the Turks in Europe"). Following this, Irakli II, the king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. 1785 is marked by two important legislative acts: Certificate of honor to the nobility(see Nobility) and City regulation(see City). The charter of public schools on August 15, 1786 was implemented only on a small scale. Projects on the founding of universities in Pskov, Chernigov, Penza and Yekaterinoslav were postponed. In 1783 the Russian Academy was founded to study the native language. The founding of the institutes was the beginning of the education of women. Orphanages were established, smallpox vaccination was introduced, and Pallas's expedition was equipped to explore the remote outskirts.

Potemkin's enemies interpreted, not understanding the importance of the acquisition of Crimea, that Crimea and Novorossiya were not worth the money spent on their arrangement. Then Catherine II decided to explore the newly acquired land herself. Accompanied by the ambassadors of Austria, England and France, with a huge retinue, in 1787 she set off on a journey. The Archbishop of Mogilev, Georgy Konissky, met her in Mstislavl with a speech that was famous by his contemporaries as an example of eloquence. The whole character of speech is determined by its beginning: "Let's leave the astronomers to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun: our sun walks around us." In Kanev met Catherine II Stanislav Poniatovsky, the king of Poland; near Keidan - Emperor Joseph II. He and Catherine laid the first stone of the city of Yekaterinoslav, visited Kherson and examined the Black Sea fleet just created by Potemkin. During the trip, Joseph noticed theatricality in the setting, saw how people were hastily herded into the supposedly under construction villages; but in Kherson he saw the real thing - and gave justice to Potemkin.

The second Turkish war under Catherine II was waged, in an alliance with Joseph II, from 1787 to 1791. In 1791, on December 29, peace was concluded in Iasi. For all the victories, Russia received only Ochakov and the steppe between the Bug and the Dnieper (see Turkish Wars and the Yassy Peace). At the same time, there was, with varying happiness, the war with Sweden, declared by Gustav III in 1789 (see Sweden). It ended on August 3, 1790 with the Peace of Verela (see), on the basis of the status quo. During the 2nd Turkish War, a coup took place in Poland: on May 3, 1791, a new constitution was promulgated, which led to the second partition of Poland, in 1793, and then to the third, in 1795 (see Poland). In the second section, Russia received the rest of the Minsk province, Volyn and Podolia, in the third - Grodno voivodeship and Courland. In 1796, in the last year of the reign of Catherine II, Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku; his successes were stopped by the death of Catherine.

The last years of the reign of Catherine II were darkened, since 1790, by a reactionary trend. Then played out French revolution and with our domestic reaction a pan-European, Jesuit-oligarchic reaction entered into an alliance. Her agent and tool was Catherine's last favorite, Prince Platon Zubov, together with his brother, Count Valerian. European reaction wanted to drag Russia into a struggle against revolutionary France — a struggle alien to Russia's direct interests. Catherine II spoke kind words to the representatives of the reaction and did not give a single soldier. Then the undermining of the throne of Catherine II intensified, accusations were renewed that she illegally occupied the throne belonging to Pavel Petrovich. There is reason to believe that in 1790 an attempt was being prepared to elevate Pavel Petrovich to the throne. The expulsion from St. Petersburg of Prince Friedrich of Württemberg was probably connected with this attempt. Domestic reaction at the same time accused Catherine of alleged excessive free-thinking. The basis for the accusation was, among other things, the permission to translate Voltaire and participation in the translation of Belisarius, Marmontel's story, which was found anti-religious, for it does not indicate the difference between Christian and pagan virtue. Catherine II grew old, there was almost no trace of her former courage and energy - and so, under such circumstances, in 1790 Radishchev's book "A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" appeared, with a project for the emancipation of the peasants, as if written out of the published articles of her Order. The unfortunate Radishchev was punished by exile to Siberia. Perhaps this cruelty was the result of the fear that the exclusion of the articles on the emancipation of the peasants from the Order would be considered hypocrisy on the part of Catherine. In 1792 Novikov was planted in Shlisselburg, who served so much to Russian education. The secret motive of this measure was Novikov's relations with Pavel Petrovich. In 1793 Knyazhnin suffered cruelly for his tragedy "Vadim". In 1795, even Derzhavin came under suspicion in a revolutionary direction, for transcribing 81 psalms, entitled "Sovereigns and Judges." This is how the enlightening reign of Catherine II, which raised the national spirit, ended. great husband(Cathérine le grand). Despite the reaction of recent years, the name of the educational one will remain with him in history. From this reign in Russia, they began to realize the importance of humane ideas, they began to talk about the human right to think for the benefit of their own kind [We almost did not touch on the weaknesses of Catherine II, recalling the words of Renan: had a great influence on the general course of affairs. " Under Catherine the influence of Zubov was harmful, but only because he was an instrument of a harmful party.].

Literature. Works of Kolotov, Sumarokov, Lefort - panegyrics. Of the new ones, Brickner's work is more satisfactory. Bilbasov's very important work is not finished; only one volume was published in Russian, two in German. S. M. Soloviev in XXIX volumes of his history of Russia dwelled on peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi. The foreign works of Rulier and Caster cannot be ignored only for undeserved attention to them. Of the countless memoirs, the memoirs of Khrapovitsky are especially important (the best edition is N.P. Barsukov). See Waliszewski's most recent essay: "Le Roman d" une impératrice. Essays on specific issues are indicated in the respective articles. The editions of the Imperial Historical Society are extremely important.

E. Belov.

Gifted with literary talent, receptive and sensitive to the phenomena of life around her, Catherine II took an active part in the literature of her time. The literary movement she sparked was devoted to the development of the educational ideas of the 18th century. Thoughts about education, briefly outlined in one of the chapters of the "Order", were later developed in detail by Catherine in allegorical tales: "About Tsarevich Chlor" (1781) and "About Tsarevich Fevey" (1782), and mainly in "Instructions to Prince N. Saltykov ", given when he was appointed as a tutor to the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich (1784). The pedagogical ideas expressed in these works, Catherine mainly borrowed from Montaigne and Locke: from the first she took a general view of the goals of education, the second she used in the development of particulars. Guided by Montaigne, Catherine II put forward in the first place in education the moral element - the rooting in the soul of humanity, justice, respect for laws, indulgence towards people. At the same time, she demanded that the mental and physical aspects of education should be properly developed. Personally leading the upbringing of her grandchildren until the age of seven, she made a whole for them learning library... Catherine also wrote "Notes on Russian history" for the great dukes. In purely fictional works, to which journal articles and dramatic works belong, Catherine II is much more original than in works of a pedagogical and legislative nature. Pointing to the factual contradictions to the ideals that existed in society, her comedies and satirical articles were supposed to greatly contribute to the development of public consciousness, making it clearer the importance and expediency of the reforms undertaken by her.

The beginning of the public literary activity of Catherine II dates back to 1769, when she was an active collaborator and inspirer of the satirical magazine "Vsyakaya Vsyachina" (see). The patronizing tone adopted by "Anything and everything" in relation to other magazines, and the instability of its direction soon armed against it almost all the magazines of the time; her main opponent was the brave and direct "Drone" by NI Novikov. The latter’s sharp attacks on judges, governors and prosecutors strongly disliked “Anything”; Whoever conducted the polemic against the "Drone" in this journal cannot be said positively, but it is reliably known that one of the articles directed against Novikov belongs to the empress herself. In the period from 1769 to 1783, when Catherine again acted as a journalist, she wrote five comedies, and between them her best plays: "About the Time" and "The Name Day of Mrs. Vorchalkina." The purely literary merits of Catherine's comedies are not high: there is little action in them, the intrigue is too simple, the denouement is monotonous. They are written in the spirit and pattern of modern French comedies, in which the servants are more developed and intelligent than their masters. But at the same time, purely Russian social vices are mocked in Catherine's comedies and Russian types appear. Bigotry, superstition, bad upbringing, pursuit of fashion, blind imitation of the French - these are the themes that were developed by Catherine in her comedies. These themes had already been outlined earlier by our satirical journals of 1769 and, by the way, "Anything and everything"; but what was presented in magazines in the form of separate pictures, characteristics, sketches, in the comedies of Catherine II received a more integral and vivid image. The types of the avaricious and heartless bigot Khanzhakhina, the superstitious gossip Vestnikova in the comedy "About Time", the petimeter Firlyufyushkov and the projecter Nekopeikov in the comedy "The Name Day of Mrs. Vorchalkina" are among the most successful in Russian comic literature of the last century. Variations of these types are repeated in the rest of Catherine's comedies.

By 1783, Catherine took an active part in the "Interlocutor of the Lovers of the Russian Word", published at the Academy of Sciences, edited by Princess E. R. Dashkova. Here Catherine II placed a number of satirical articles, entitled by the common name "Bylei and Fables". The initial goal of these articles was, apparently, a satirical depiction of the weaknesses and funny sides of the modern empress of society, and the originals for such portraits were often taken by the empress from among those close to her. Soon, however, "There Were Fables" began to serve as a reflection of the magazine life of "Interlocutor". Catherine II was the unofficial editor of this magazine; as can be seen from her correspondence with Dashkova, she read many of the articles that were sent for publication in the magazine in the manuscript; some of these articles offended her: she entered into polemics with their authors, often made fun of them. It was not a secret for the reading public that Catherine's participation in the magazine was; articles of the letter in which rather transparent hints were made were often sent to the address of the writer of Bylei and Fables. The Empress tried, whenever possible, to maintain her composure and not to betray her incognito; just once, angered by Fonvizin's "audacious and reprehensible" questions, she so clearly expressed her irritation in "Byli and Fables" that Fonvizin considered it necessary to hasten with a letter of repentance. In addition to Bylei and Fables, the Empress placed in The Interlocutor several small polemical and satirical articles, for the most part ridiculing the pompous compositions of the occasional collaborators of the Interlocutor - Lyuboslov and Count SP Rumyantsev. One of these articles ("Society of the Unknown Daily Note"), in which Princess Dashkova saw a parody of the meetings, which was just then founded, in her opinion, Russian academy, was the reason for the termination of Catherine's participation in the magazine. In the following years (1785-1790), Catherine wrote 13 plays, not counting the dramatic proverbs in French intended for the Hermitage theater.

Freemasons have long attracted the attention of Catherine II. If you believe her words, she took the trouble to familiarize herself in detail with the enormous Masonic literature, but found nothing in Freemasonry but "extravagance." Stay in St. Petersburg. (in 1780) Cagliostro, whom she described as a scoundrel worthy of the gallows, armed her even more against the Freemasons. Receiving alarming news about the ever-increasing influence of the Moscow Masonic circles, seeing among her confidants many followers and defenders of the Masonic doctrine, the empress decided to fight this "extravagance" with a literary weapon, and within two years (1785-86) wrote, one after the other, three comedies ("The Deceiver", "The Seduced" and "The Siberian Shaman"), in which she ridiculed Freemasonry. However, only in the comedy "Seduced" life traits reminiscent of the Moscow masons. The "Deceiver" is directed against Cagliostro. In "Shaman Siberian" Catherine II, obviously unfamiliar with the essence of Masonic teaching, did not hesitate to reduce it to the same level with shamanic tricks. Undoubtedly, the satire of Catherine did not have much effect: Freemasonry continued to develop, and in order to inflict a decisive blow on it, the empress no longer resorted to meek methods of correction, as she called her satire, but to abrupt and decisive administrative measures.

In all likelihood, Catherine's acquaintance with Shakespeare, in French or German translations, also belongs to the indicated time. She remade "Windsor Gossips" for the Russian stage, but this remake turned out to be extremely weak and very little resembles the real Shakespeare. In imitation of his historical chronicles, she composed two plays from the life of the ancient Russian princes - Rurik and Oleg. The main significance of these "Historical representations", literally extremely weak, lies in those political and moral ideas that Catherine puts into the mouth actors... Of course, these are not the ideas of Rurik or Oleg, but the thoughts of Catherine II herself. In comic operas, Catherine II did not pursue any serious goal: these were situational plays in which the musical and choreographic side played the main role. The empress took the plot for these operas, for the most part, from folk tales and epics, known to her from handwritten collections. Only "Woe-Bogatyr Kosometovich", despite its fabulous character, contains an element of modernity: this opera exhibited in a comic light the Swedish king Gustav III, who at that time opened hostile actions against Russia, and was removed from the repertoire immediately after the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Catherine's French plays, the so-called "proverbs", are small one-act plays, the plots of which were, for the most part, episodes from modern life. They are of no particular importance, repeating themes and types already deduced in other comedies of Catherine II. Catherine herself did not attach importance to her literary activity. "I look at my compositions," she wrote to Grimm, "as if they were trinkets. I like to do experiments in all kinds, but it seems to me that everything I wrote is rather mediocre, why, apart from entertainment, I did not attach any importance to it."

Writings of Catherine II published by A. Smirdin (St. Petersburg, 1849-50). Exclusively literary works Catherine II was published twice in 1893, under the editorship of V.F.Solntsev and A.I. Vvedensky. Selected articles and monographs: P. Pekarsky, "Materials for the history of journalistic and literary activities of Catherine II" (St. Petersburg, 1863); Dobrolyubov, Art. about "Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word" (X, 825); "Works of Derzhavin", ed. J. Grota (St. Petersburg, 1873, v. VIII, pp. 310-339); M. Longinov, "The Dramatic Works of Catherine II" (Moscow, 1857); G. Gennadi, "More about the dramatic works of Catherine II" (in "Bible. Zap.", 1858, no. 16); P. K. Schebalsky, "Catherine II as a writer" ("Dawn", 1869-70); his own, "The Dramatic and Moral Descriptive Works of Empress Catherine II" (in the "Russian Bulletin", 1871, v. XVIII, No. 5 and 6); N. S. Tikhonravov, "Literary trivia of 1786" (in a scientific and literary collection, published by "Russian Vedomosti" - "Help to the hungry", M., 1892); ES Shumigorsky, "Essays from Russian history. I. Empress-publicist" (St. Petersburg, 1887); P. Bessonova, "On the influence of folk art on the dramas of Empress Catherine and on the whole Russian songs inserted here" (in the magazine "Zarya", 1870); V. S. Lebedev, "Shakespeare in the alterations of Catherine II" (in the Russian Bulletin "(1878, No. 3); N. Lavrovsky," On the pedagogical significance of the works of Catherine the Great "(Kharkov, 1856); A. Brikner," Comic opera Catherine II "Woe-hero" ("Zh. M.N. Pr.", 1870, No. 12); A. Galakhov, "There were fables, the work of Catherine II" ("Notes of the Fatherland" 1856, No. 10).

V. Solntsev.

Catherine II had 23 lovers and at least three illegitimate children. At the lecture "Secrets of the Imperial House" at the Tretyakov Gallery, I learned many curious, funny and sad facts from the life of the Empress.

Namely:

Paul is not the son of Catherine the Great

Historians suggest that the firstborn Paul (future Emperor Paul I) is not the son of Catherine the Great, but one of the illegitimate children of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. As if in fact, a girl was born to Catherine II, but during childbirth she was changed to a boy who was completely different from his mother. The version is confirmed by the fact that from the first minutes of birth Elizabeth raised Paul herself, and Catherine treated him coolly all her life.

Scheduled dates

Paul's "son" was taken away from Catherine immediately after giving birth and was shown only 40 days later. For 9 months, the woman saw the child only 3 times. Another confirmation of the motherhood of Elizaveta Petrovna: it was probably she who nursed Pavel.

"Second Madame" for her own husband

The husband of Catherine II - Peter III did not like his wife, called him “the second madam” and openly started novels. It is known that on the first wedding night, Peter preferred the game of soldiers. “I saw very well that the Grand Duke didn’t love me at all,” Catherine later recalled, “two weeks after the wedding, he told me that he was in love with the maid Karr, the Empress’s maid of honor. He shared with Count Divier, his chamberlains, that there is not even any comparison between this girl and me. "

How to hide a pregnancy from your husband?

Catherine made lovers and gave birth to children from them. At the same time, she easily managed to hide the pregnancy from her husband (remember how comfortable the dresses were for this!). When the illegitimate Alyosha (son of Grigory Orlov) was born in 1762, she ordered a servant to distract her husband with an impromptu fire. Pyotr Fedorovich was very fond of watching other people's houses burning. When he returned from "fun", the child was no longer in the palace. The wife stood smart and slender, as if nothing had happened. However, as soon as Peter left, the exhausted Catherine fainted. She was a woman of amazing fortitude!

"Left" son

Alyosha had to give up his beloved son. The first time Catherine saw him only a year after birth. But even being apart from him, Catherine actively arranged Alexei's life: she bought estates with serf souls, sent cadets to school, and provided money. In addition, she was in constant correspondence with the guardians, asking everything about him.

What is Alyosha?

Alyosha grew up shy and meek. In children's portraits, he looks more like a girl, like a little clone of Catherine herself.

The guardians did not hide that the boy was of poor health, withdrawn and indifferent to games. "Isn't he weak in reason?" - the mother was worried. The boy has a bad heredity: his father's grandmother went crazy, later the same thing happened to Alyosha's father, Count Orlov.

Beavers are kind

Catherine's favorite word was "beavers". :). It was no coincidence that she bought Alyosha the Bobriki estate, and then gave him his last name - Bobrinsky. It has nothing to do with love for animals. The newborn Alyosha was carried away from the house in a beaver skin.

Snub-noses

Catherine was the first in Russia to be vaccinated against smallpox. And her "son" Pavel was the first person whose nose tip rotted due to complications after sinusitis. He survived, but remained snub-nosed.

Smolyanka and cadets

At one of the cadet balls, Alyosha, who did not yet know about his origin, was squeezed in a dark corner by a noble girl from the Smolensk Institute and began to cram into her friends. "We are both shy, both orphans, we need to be together!" - the girl hinted. The frightened Alyosha complained to Catherine. The enterprising mother took urgent measures: she gave the girl in marriage, and even gave her dresses as a dowry. Needless to say, after this incident, the girls of the Smolensk Institute rushed at Alyosha in droves. :).

The first love

When Alyosha fell in love with Potemkin's niece, Katenka, he lost his former modesty. The Empress describes it this way: “Little Bobrinsky says that Katenka has more intelligence than all other women and girls in the city. We wanted to know what he was basing this opinion on. He said that, in his opinion, this was proved only by the fact that she was less blush and adorned with jewelry than others. In the opera, he planned to break the bars of his box, because it prevented him from seeing Katenka and being visible by her; finally, I don’t know in what way he managed to enlarge one of the cells of the lattice - and then, goodbye to the opera, he did not pay more attention to the action ”. To cool the feelings of her son, the empress finally reveals to him the secret of birth. But that's a completely different story :).

And wherever the scriptwriters of melodramas look ...

Lecturer- Marina Petrova, Ph.D. in art history, presenter Researcher State Tretyakov Gallery.

On closer inspection, the biography of Catherine II the Great abounds big amount events that significantly influenced the Empress of the Russian Empire.

Origin

Family tree of the Romanovs

Family ties Peter III and Catherine II

The hometown of Catherine the Great is Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland), then the capital city of Pomerania. On May 2, 1729, in the castle of the above city, a girl was born, named at birth Sophia Frederic Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst.

The mother was the aunt of Peter III (who was at that time quite a boy) Johann Elizabeth, Princess of Holstein-Gottorp. The father was the prince of Anhalt-Zerbst - Christian August, the former governor of Stettin. Thus, the future empress was of very noble blood, although not from a monarchically rich family.

Childhood and youth

Francis Boucher - Young Catherine the Great

While being educated at home, Frederica, in addition to her native German, studied Italian, English and French languages... The basics of geography and theology, music and dance - the corresponding noble education coexisted with very mobile children's games. The girl was interested in everything that was happening around, and despite some discontent of her parents, she took part in games with the boys on the streets of her hometown.

Having seen her future husband for the first time in 1739, at the Eitin castle, Frederica did not yet know about the upcoming invitation to Russia. In 1744 she, fifteen years old, traveled with her mother through Riga to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth. Immediately after arrival, she began to actively study the language, traditions, history and religion of her new homeland. The most prominent teachers of the princess were Vasily Adadurov, who taught the language, Simon Todorsky, who taught Orthodoxy lessons with Frederica, and the choreographer Lange.

On July 9, Sofia Federica Augusta was officially baptized and converted to Orthodoxy, named Ekaterina Alekseevna - this is the name she will later glorify.

Marriage

Despite the intrigues of her mother, through which the Prussian king Frederick II tried to oust Chancellor Bestuzhev and increase her influence on the foreign policy of the Russian Empire, Catherine did not fall into disgrace and on September 1, 1745, she was married to Peter Fedorovich, who was her second cousin.

Wedding ceremony for the reign of Catherine II. September 22, 1762. Confirmation. Engraving by A.Ya. Kolpashnikov. Last quarter of the 18th century

In view of the categorical inattention on the part of the young spouse, who was interested exclusively in the art of war and drill, the future empress devoted her time to the study of literature, art and sciences. At the same time, along with the study of the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu and other enlighteners, the biography of her young years is filled with hunting, various balls and masquerades.

The lack of intimacy with the legal spouse could not but affect the appearance of lovers, while Empress Elizabeth was not happy with the absence of heirs and grandchildren.

Having undergone two unsuccessful pregnancies, Catherine gave birth to Paul, who, according to the personal decree of Elizabeth, was excommunicated from his mother and raised separately. According to an unconfirmed theory, Pavel's father was S.V. Saltykov, who was sent away from the capital immediately after the birth of the child. In favor of this statement can be attributed the fact that after the birth of his son, Peter III finally ceased to be interested in his wife and did not hesitate to make favorites.

S. Saltykov

Stanislav August Ponyatovsky

However, Catherine herself was not inferior to her husband, and thanks to the efforts of the English ambassador Williams, she entered into a relationship with Stanislav Poniatovsky, the future king of Poland (thanks to the patronage of Catherine II herself). According to some historians, it was from Poniatovsky that Anna was born, whose own paternity was questioned by Peter.

Williams, for some time was a friend and confidant of Catherine, gave her loans, manipulated and received confidential information regarding Russia's foreign policy plans and the actions of its military units during the seven-year war with Prussia.

The first plans to overthrow her husband, the future Catherine Great beginning nurtured and voiced back in 1756, in letters to Williams. Seeing the painful condition of Empress Elizabeth, and no doubt about Peter's own incompetence, Chancellor Bestuzhev promised to support Catherine. In addition, Catherine attracted British loans to bribe supporters.

In 1758, Elizabeth began to suspect of a conspiracy between the commander-in-chief of the Russian empire Apraksin and Chancellor Bestuzhev. The latter managed to avoid disgrace in time by destroying all correspondence with Catherine. Former favorites, including Williams, recalled to England, were removed from Catherine and she was forced to look for new supporters - they were Dashkova and the Orlov brothers.

British Ambassador Ch, Williams

Brothers Alexey and Grigory Orlov

On January 5, 1761, Empress Elizabeth died and Peter III ascended the throne by right of succession. The next round in the biography of Catherine began. The new emperor sent his wife to the other end of the Winter Palace, replacing her with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova. In 1762, Catherine's carefully concealed pregnancy from Count Grigory Orlov, with whom she began a relationship back in 1760, could in no way be explained by a relationship with her legal spouse.

For this reason, to distract attention, on April 22, 1762, one of Catherine's devoted servants set fire to his own house - Peter III, who loves such spectacles, left the palace and Catherine calmly gave birth to Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky.

Organization of the coup

From the very beginning of his reign, Peter III caused discontent among his subordinates - an alliance with Prussia, which was defeated in the Seven Years' War, aggravation of relations with Denmark. secularization of church lands and plans to change religious practices.

Taking advantage of her husband's unpopularity among the military, Catherine's supporters began to actively agitate the guards units to go over to the side of the future empress in the event of a coup.

The early morning of July 9, 1762 was the beginning of the overthrow of Peter III. Ekaterina Alekseevna arrived in St. Petersburg from Peterhof, accompanied by the Orlov brothers and taking advantage of her husband's absence, she took the oath of allegiance first to the guards units, and then to other regiments.

The oath of the Izmailovsky regiment to Catherine II. Unknown artist. Late 18th - first third of the 19th century

Moving along with the troops that joined the empress, the empress received from Peter first an offer to negotiate, and why abdicate the throne.

After the conclusion, the biography of the ex-emperor was as sad as it is vague. The arrested husband died while under arrest in Ropsha, and the circumstances of his death remained unclear. According to a number of sources, he was either poisoned or died suddenly from an unknown illness.

Having ascended the throne, Catherine the Great issued a manifesto accusing Peter III of trying to change religion and concluding peace with hostile Prussia.

The beginning of the reign

In foreign policy, the foundation was laid for the creation of the so-called Northern system, which consisted in the fact that the northern non-Catholic states: Russia, Prussia, England, Sweden, Denmark and Saxony, plus Catholic Poland, united against Austria and France. The first step towards the implementation of the project was considered the conclusion of an agreement with Prussia. Attached to the treaty were secret articles, according to which both allies pledged to act at the same time in Sweden and Poland in order to prevent their strengthening.

King of Prussia - Frederick II the Great

The state of affairs in Poland was of particular concern to Catherine and Friedrich. They agreed to prevent changes in the Polish constitution, to prevent and destroy all intentions that might lead to this, even resorting to weapons. In a separate article, the Allies agreed to patronize Polish dissidents (that is, the non-Catholic minority - Orthodox and Protestants) and persuade the Polish king to equalize their rights with Catholics.

The former king August III died back in 1763. Frederick and Catherine set themselves the difficult task of placing their protege on the Polish throne. The Empress wanted it to be her former lover, Count Poniatowski. Achieving this, she did not stop either at bribing the deputies of the Diet, or at the introduction of Russian troops into Poland.

The entire first half of the year was spent in active propaganda of the Russian protégé. On August 26, Poniatowski was elected king of Poland. Catherine greatly rejoiced at this success and, without delaying the matter, ordered Poniatowski to raise the question of the rights of dissidents, despite the fact that everyone who knew the state of affairs in Poland pointed to the great difficulty and almost impossibility of achieving this goal. Poniatovsky wrote to his ambassador in St. Petersburg, Rzhevsky:

“The orders given to Repnin (the Russian ambassador in Warsaw) to introduce dissidents into the legislative activity of the republic are thunderous blows both for the country and for me personally. If there is any human possibility, convince the Empress that the crown that she brought me will become for me Ness's garment: I will burn in it and my end will be terrible. I clearly foresee a terrible choice ahead of me if the empress insists on her orders: either I will have to abandon her friendship, so dear to my heart and so necessary for my reign and for my state, or I will have to become a traitor to my fatherland. "

Russian diplomat N.V. Repnin

Even Repnin was horrified by Catherine's intentions:
"The orders given" on the dissident case are terrible, - he wrote to Panin, - truly my hair stands on end when I think about him, having almost no hope, except for the only strength, to fulfill the will of the most gracious empress regarding civil dissident advantages " ...

But Catherine was not horrified and ordered to answer Ponyatovsky that she decidedly does not understand how the dissidents, admitted to legislative activity, would therefore be more hostile to the state and the Polish government than they are now; he cannot understand how the king considers himself a traitor to his fatherland for what justice demands, which will constitute his glory and the solid welfare of the state.
“If the king looks at this matter in this way,” concluded Catherine, “then I am left with an eternal and sensitive regret that I could be deceived in the king’s friendship, in the way of his thoughts and feelings.”

Since the Empress so clearly expressed her desire, Repnin in Warsaw was forced to act with all possible firmness. By intrigues, bribery and threats, the introduction of Russian troops into the suburbs of Warsaw and the arrest of the most stubborn opponents, Repnin achieved his goal on February 9, 1768. The Diet agreed with freedom of religion for dissidents and their political equalization with the Catholic gentry.

It seemed that the goal was achieved, but in reality it was only the beginning of a big war. The dissident “equation set fire to all of Poland. The Diet, which approved the agreement on February 13, had barely dispersed, when the lawyer Pulawski raised a confederation against him in Bar. From his light hand anti-dissident confederations began to flare up throughout Poland.

The response of the Orthodox to the Bar confederation was the Haidamak revolt of 1768, in which the Cossacks, led by Zheleznyak, and the serfs with the centurion Gonta, rose up together with the Haidamaks (Russian fugitives Who Fled to the steppe). At the height of the uprising, one of the Haidamak detachments crossed the border river Kolyma and plundered the Tatar town of Galtu. As soon as it became known in Istanbul, a 20,000-strong Turkish corps was moved to the borders. On September 25, the Russian ambassador Obrezkov was arrested, diplomatic relations were severed - the Russian-Turkish war began. Such an unexpected turn was given by the dissident affair.

The first wars

Having suddenly received two wars in her arms, Catherine was not at all embarrassed. On the contrary, threats from the west and south only gave her fervor. She wrote to Count Chernyshev:
“The Turks and the French have delighted to wake up the cat that was asleep; I am this cat, which promises to make itself known to them, so that the memory does not disappear soon. I find that we have freed ourselves from a great burden that oppresses the imagination when we untied the peace treaty ... Now I am untied, I can do everything that the means allow me, and Russia, you know, does not have small means ... did not expect, and now the Turks will be beaten. "

The empress's enthusiasm was passed on to her entourage. Already at the first meeting of the Council on November 4, it was decided to wage an offensive, not defensive war, and above all to try to raise the Christians oppressed by Turkey. To this end, on November 12, Grigory Orlov proposed sending an expedition to the Mediterranean in order to contribute to the uprising of the Greeks.

Catherine liked this plan, and she energetically set about implementing it. On November 16, she wrote to Chernyshev:
"I so tickled our seafarers by their craft that they became fiery."

And a few more days later:
"I have the fleet in excellent care today, and I will truly use it this way, if God commands, as it has not yet been ..."

Prince A. M. Golitsyn

The hostilities began in 1769. General Golitsyn's army crossed the Dnieper and took Khotin. But Catherine was unhappy with his slowness and handed over the high command to Rumyantsev, who soon seized Moldavia and Wallachia, as well as the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov with Azov and Taganrog. Catherine ordered to strengthen these cities and begin the organization of the flotilla.

She developed amazing energy this year, worked like a real chief of the general staff, entered the details of military preparations, made plans and instructions. In April, Catherine wrote to Chernyshev:
"I AM turkish empire I singe from four corners; I don’t know if it will catch fire or burn, but I know that since the beginning they have not yet been used against their great troubles and worries ... We have made a lot of porridge, it will be tasty for someone. I have an army in the Kuban, armies against the mindless Poles, ready to fight with the Swedes, and even three inpetto turmoil, which I dare not show ... "

Indeed, there were many troubles and worries. In July 1769, a squadron under the command of Spiridov finally sailed from Kronstadt. Of the 15 large and small ships of the squadron, only eight reached the Mediterranean Sea.

With these forces, Alexey Orlov, who was being treated in Italy and asked to be the leader of the uprising of Turkish Christians, raised Morea, but he could not give the rebels a solid combat device, and, having failed from the approaching Turkish army, left the Greeks to fend for themselves, irritated by the fact that he did not find in them Themistocles. Catherine approved all of his actions.

Joining up with the other squadron of Elfingston that had approached in the meantime, Orlov chased the Turkish fleet and in the Chios Strait near the fortress Chesme overtook the armada in the number of ships more than two stronger than the Russian fleet. After a four-hour battle, the Turks took refuge in the Chesme Bay (June 24, 1770). A day later, on a moonlit night, the Russians launched fire-ships, and by morning the Turkish fleet crowded in the bay was burned (26 June).

Amazing naval victories in the Archipelago were followed by similar ones in Bessarabia. Ekaterina wrote to Rumyantsev:
“I hope for Divine help and your art in military affairs, that you will not leave this in the best way to satisfy and carry out such deeds that will gain you glory and prove how great your zeal for your fatherland and me. The Romans did not ask when, where were their two or three legions, in number against them the enemy, but where is he; they attacked and struck him, and not by the multitude of their troops defeated the diverse against their crowd ... "

Inspired by this letter, Rumyantsev in July 1770 twice defeated the many times superior Turkish armies at Larga and Cahul. At the same time, an important fortress on the Dniester of Bender was taken. In 1771, General Dolgorukov broke through Perekop to the Crimea and captured the fortresses of Kafu, Kerch and Yenikale. Khan Selim-Girey fled to Turkey. The new khan Sahib-Girey hastened to conclude peace with the Russians. On this, active actions ended and long negotiations on peace began, which again returned Catherine to Polish affairs.

Storming Bender

Russia's military successes aroused envy and fears in neighboring countries, primarily in Austria and Prussia. Misunderstandings with Austria reached the point that they spoke loudly about the possibility of war with her. Frederick strongly inspired the Russian empress that Russia's desire to annex Crimea and Moldova could lead to a new European war, since Austria would never agree to this. It is much more reasonable to take part of the Polish possessions as compensation. He directly wrote to his ambassador, Solms, that for Russia it does not matter where it will receive the reward to which it has the right for war losses, and since the war began solely because of Poland, Russia has the right to take a reward from the border regions of this republic. At the same time, Austria should have received its share - this will moderate its hostility. The king, too, cannot do without acquiring a part of Poland for himself. This will serve as a reward for the subsidies and other costs he incurred during the war.

Petersburg liked the idea of ​​dividing Poland. On July 25, 1772, an agreement of the three powers-sharers followed, according to which Austria received all of Galicia, Prussia - West Prussia, and Russia - Belarus. Having settled the contradictions with her European neighbors at the expense of Poland, Catherine could begin Turkish negotiations.

Break with Orlov

At the beginning of 1772, with the mediation of the Austrians, it was agreed to start in June a peace congress with the Turks in Focsani. Count Grigory Orlov and the former Russian ambassador to Istanbul Obrezkov were appointed plenipotentiaries from the Russian side.

It seemed that nothing foreshadowed the end of the 11-year relationship of the empress with the favorite, but meanwhile Orlov's star had already sunk. True, before parting with him, Catherine endured from her lover as much as a rare woman can bear from her legal husband.

Already in 1765, seven years before the final break between them, Beranger reported from Petersburg:
"This Russian openly violates the laws of love in relation to the empress. He has mistresses in the city who not only do not incur the empress's wrath for their pliability to Orlov, but, on the contrary, enjoy her patronage. Senator Muravyov, who found his wife with him, almost made a scandal, demanding a divorce; but the queen pacified him by donating lands in Livonia. "

But, apparently, Catherine in fact was not at all as indifferent to these betrayals as it might seem. Less than two weeks after Orlov's departure, the Prussian envoy, Solms, had already reported to Berlin:
“I can no longer restrain myself and not inform Your Majesty about an interesting event that just happened at this court. The absence of Count Orlov revealed a very natural, but nevertheless unexpected circumstance: Her Majesty found it possible to do without him, change her feelings for him and transfer her disposition to another subject.

A. S. Vasilchakov

The horse guard cornet Vasilchikov, accidentally sent with a small detachment to Tsarskoe Selo to carry the guard, attracted the attention of his empress, completely unexpected for everyone, because there was nothing special in his appearance, and he himself never tried to advance and is very little known in society ... When the royal court moved from Tsarskoe Selo to Peterhof, Her Majesty for the first time showed him a sign of her favor, giving him a gold snuffbox for the maintenance of the guards.

They did not attach any importance to this case, however, the frequent visits of Vasilchikov to Peterhof, the solicitude with which she was in a hurry to distinguish him from others, the calmer and more cheerful disposition of her spirit since Orlov's departure, the displeasure of the latter’s family and friends, and finally many other small circumstances opened the eyes of the courtiers ...

Although everything is still kept secret, none of those close to him doubts that Vasilchikov is already in full favor with the Empress; This was especially convinced from the day when he was granted by the chamber-junker .. "

In the meantime, Orlov encountered insurmountable obstacles to the conclusion of peace in Focsani. The Turks did not want to recognize the independence of the Tatars. On August 18, Orlov broke off negotiations and departed for Yassy, ​​to the headquarters of the Russian army. Here I found him the news of a sharp change that followed in his life. Orlov threw everything and on post horses rushed to Petersburg, hoping to regain his former rights. A hundred versts from the capital, he was stopped by the order of the empress: Orlov was ordered to go to his estates and not leave from there until the quarantine expired (he was driving from the territory where the plague was raging). Although not immediately the favorite had to come to terms, at the beginning of 1773 he nevertheless arrived in St. Petersburg and was favorably received by the empress, but there could be no question of the previous relationship.

“I owe a lot to the Orlov family,” said Ekaterina, “I showered them with riches and honors; and I will always patronize them, and they can be useful to me; but my decision is invariable: I endured for eleven years; now I want to live as I please, and quite independently. As for the prince, he can do quite what he wants: he is free to travel or stay in the empire, drink, hunt, have mistresses for himself ... He will behave well, honor and glory to him, they will lead badly - he is ashamed ... "
***

The years 1773 and 1774 turned out to be restless for Catherine: the Poles continued to resist, the Turks did not want to make peace. The war, exhausting the state budget, continued, and meanwhile new threat originated in the Urals. In September, Emelyan Pugachev raised the uprising. In October, the rebels accumulated forces for the siege of Orenburg, and the nobles around the empress openly panicked.

Catherine's heart affairs were also not going well. Later, she confessed to Potemkin, referring to her relationship with Vasilchikov:
“I was sadder than I can say, and never more than when other people are happy, and all kinds of caresses in me forced tears, so I think that from my birth I have not cried so much as this one and a half years; at first I thought that I’d get used to it, but the next, the worse, because on the other side (that is, from Vasilchikov’s side) they began to sulk for three months, and I must admit that I’ve never been happier than when I get angry and leave alone, but his caress made me cry. "

It is known that in her favorites, Catherine was looking not only for lovers, but also for assistants in the matter of government. Of the Orlovs, she eventually managed to make good statesmen... Vasilchikov was less fortunate. However, another contender remained in the reserve, which Catherine had long liked - Grigory Potemkin. Catherine knew and celebrated him for 12 years. In 1762 Potemkin served as a sergeant in the Horse Guards regiment and took an active part in the coup. In the list of awards after the events of June 28, he was assigned the rank of cornet. Catherine crossed out this line and wrote in her own hand "captain-lieutenant".

In 1773 he was promoted to lieutenant general. In June of this year, Potemkin was in a battle under the walls of Silistria. But a few months later, he suddenly asked for leave and quickly, hastily left the army. The reason for this was the event that decided his life: he received the following letter from Catherine:
“Mr. Lieutenant General! You, I imagine, are so preoccupied with the sight of Silistria that you have no time to read the letters. I do not know whether the bombing has been successful so far, but in spite of this, I am sure that - no matter what you personally undertake - no other goal can be prescribed than your ardent zeal for the benefit of me personally and my dear homeland, which you serve with love. But, on the other hand, since I want to save people who are diligent, brave, smart and efficient, I ask you not to be unnecessarily endangered. After reading this letter, you may ask why it was written; to this I can answer you: so that you have confidence in how I think of you, just as I wish you well. "

In January 1774, Potemkin was in St. Petersburg, waited another six weeks, probing the waters, strengthening his chances, and on February 27 he wrote to the Empress a letter in which he graciously asked him to be appointed adjutant general, "if she considered his services worthy." Three days later he received a favorable response, and on March 20 Vasilchikov was sent the highest order to go to Moscow. He withdrew, giving way to Potemkin, who was destined to become Catherine's most famous and powerful favorite. In a matter of months, he made a dizzying career.

In May he was made a member of the Council, in June he was appointed to the counts, in October he was promoted to general-in-chief, and in November he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. All of Catherine's friends were perplexed and found the empress's choice strange, extravagant, even tasteless, for Potemkin was ugly, crooked in one eye, bow-legged, harsh and even rude. Grimm could not hide his amazement.
"Why? - Catherine answered him. "I bet, because I have moved away from some excellent, but too boring gentleman, whom I immediately replaced, I really don't know how, one of the greatest amusement, the most interesting eccentric one can find in our Iron Age."

She was very pleased with her new purchase.
“Oh, what a head this man has,” she said, “and this good head funny as the devil. "

Several months passed, and Potemkin became a real ruler, an almighty man, before whom all rivals were effaced and all heads bowed, starting with the head of Catherine. His joining the Council was tantamount to becoming the first minister. He guides the inner and foreign policy and forces Chernyshev to give him the place of chairman of the military collegium.

On July 10, 1774, negotiations with Turkey ended with the signing of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace treaty, according to which:

• the independence of the Tatars was recognized and Crimean Khanate from the Ottoman Empire;
• Kerch and Yenikale in Crimea leave Russia;
• Russia departs the Kinburn castle and the steppe between the Dnieper and the Bug, Azov, Bolshaya and Malaya Kabarda;
• free navigation of merchant ships of the Russian Empire through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles;
• Moldova and Wallachia received the right to autonomy and came under Russian patronage;
• The Russian Empire received the right to build in Constantinople christian church, and the Turkish authorities have pledged to provide her with protection
• A ban on the oppression of the Orthodox in the Transcaucasus, on the collection of tribute by people from Georgia and Mingrelia.
• 4.5 million rubles of indemnity.

The empress's joy was great - no one counted on such a profitable peace. But at the same time more and more disturbing news came from the east. Pugachev has already been defeated twice. He fled, but his flight seemed like an invasion. The success of the uprising was never more significant than in the summer of 1774, never was the revolt raging with such power and cruelty.

Indignation was transmitted like wildfire from one village to another, from province to province. This sad news made a deep impression in St. Petersburg and darkened the victorious mood after the end of the Turkish War. Only in August was Pugachev finally defeated and captured. On January 10, 1775, he was executed in Moscow.

As for Polish affairs, on February 16, 1775, the Seimas finally passed a law on the equalization of dissidents in political rights with Catholics. Thus, despite all the obstacles, Catherine brought this difficult task to the end and successfully ended three bloody wars - two external and one internal.

Execution of Emelyan Pugachev

***
The Pugachev uprising revealed serious shortcomings of the existing regional administration: firstly, the former provinces were too extensive administrative districts, secondly, these districts were equipped with an insufficient number of institutions with a meager staff; thirdly, different departments were mixed in this department: the same department was in charge of administrative affairs, and finance, and criminal and civil courts. In order to eliminate these shortcomings, in 1775, Catherine began a provincial reform.

First of all, she introduced a new regional division: instead of 20 vast provinces into which Russia was then divided, now the whole empire was divided into 50 provinces. The basis of the provincial division was taken exclusively by the number of the population. Provinces of Catherine are districts of 300-400 thousand inhabitants. They were subdivided into counties with a population of 20-30 thousand inhabitants. Each province received a monotonous structure, administrative and judicial.

In the summer of 1775, Catherine stayed in Moscow, where the house of the princes Golitsyn at the Prechistensky Gate was given to her. In early July, the winner of the Turks, Field Marshal Count Rumyantsev, arrived in Moscow. The news has survived that Catherine, dressed in a Russian sarafan, met Rumyantsev. on the porch of the Golitsyn house and, embracing, kissed him. Then she drew attention to Zavadovsky, a powerful, stately and exceptionally handsome man who accompanied the field marshal. Noticing the affectionate and interested look of the empress, thrown by her at Zavadovsky, the field marshal immediately introduced the handsome man to Catherine, flattering about him as a well-educated, hardworking, honest and brave man.

Catherine presented Zavadovsky with a diamond ring with her name and appointed her cabinet secretary. Soon he was granted the rank of major general and adjutant general, became in charge of the empress's personal office and became one of the closest people to her. At the same time Potemkin noticed that his charm for the Empress had weakened. In April 1776 he went on leave to revise the Novgorod province. A few days after his departure, Zavadovsky settled in his place.

P.V. Zavadovsky

But, having ceased to be a lover, Potemkin, granted in 1776 to the princes, retained all his influence and sincere friendship of the empress. Almost until his death, he remained the second person in the state, determined domestic and foreign policy, and none of the subsequent numerous favorites, up to Platon Zubov, even tried to play the role of a statesman. All of them were close to Catherine by Potemkin himself, who thus tried to influence the position of the empress.

First of all, he tried to remove Zavadovsky. Potemkin had to spend almost a year on this, and luck did not come before he discovered Semyon Zorich. He was a hero-cavalryman and handsome, Serb by birth. Potemkin took Zorich to his adjutant and almost immediately presented him for appointment as commander of the Life-Hussar squadron. Since the life-hussars were the empress's personal guard, Zorich's appointment to the post was preceded by his introduction to Catherine.

S. G. Zorich

In May 1777, Potemkin arranged an audience for the empress with a potential favorite - and he was not mistaken in the calculation. Zavadovsky was suddenly given a six-month leave, and Zorich was granted a colonel, wing-de-camp and chief of the Life Hussar squadron. Zorich was already under forty, and he was full of courageous beauty, however, unlike Zavadovsky, he was poorly educated (later he himself admitted that at the age of 15 he went to war and that until close to the empress he remained a complete ignoramus). Catherine tried to instill in him literary and scientific tastes, but it seems that she had little success in this.

Zorich was stubborn and reluctant to give in to education. In September 1777 he became a major general, and in the fall of 1778 - a count. But having received this title, he was suddenly offended, as he was expecting a princely title. Soon after that, he had a quarrel with Potemkin, which almost ended in a duel. Find out about this, Catherine told Zorich to go to her estate Shklov.

Even before Potemkin began looking for a new favorite for his girlfriend. Several candidates were considered, among which, they say, there was even some Persian, distinguished by extraordinary physical data. Finally, Potemkin settled on three officers - Bergman, Rontsov and Ivan Korsakov. Gelbich says that Catherine went to the reception room when all three applicants appointed for the audience were there. Each of them stood with a bouquet of flowers, and she graciously talked first with Bergman, then with Rontsov, and finally with Korsakov. The extraordinary beauty and grace of the latter conquered her. Catherine smiled graciously at everyone, but with a bouquet of flowers sent Korsakov to Potemkin, who became the next favorite. It is known from other sources that Korsakov did not immediately reach the desired position.

In general, in 1778, Catherine experienced a kind of moral breakdown and was carried away by several young people at once. In June, the Englishman Harris celebrates the rise of Korsakov, and in August he talks about his rivals, who are trying to ward off the Empress's favors; they are supported on the one hand by Potemkin, and on the other by Panin, together with Orlov; in September Strakhov, the "jester of the lowest sort," prevailed over everyone; four months later, he was replaced by Major Levashev of the Semyonovsky regiment, a young man patronized by Countess Bruce. Then Korsakov again returns to his previous position, but now he is struggling with some Stoyanov's favorite of Potemkin. In 1779, he finally wins a complete victory over his competitors, becomes chamberlain and adjutant general.

To Grimm, who considered his friend's infatuation to be an ordinary whim, Catherine wrote:
"Whim? Do you know what it is: the expression is completely inappropriate in in this case when they talk about Pyrrhus, Tsar of Epirus (as Catherine called Korsakov), and about this subject of the temptation of all artists and the despair of all sculptors. Admiration, enthusiasm, and not whim, excite such exemplary creations of nature ... Pyrrhus never made a single ignoble or ignorant gesture or movement ... But all this in general is not effeminacy, but, on the contrary, courage, and he is such as you would like he was…"

In addition to his amazing appearance, Korsakov charmed the empress with his wonderful voice. The reign of the new favorite constitutes an era in the history of Russian music. Catherine invited the first Italian artists to Petersburg so that Korsakov could sing with them. She wrote to Grimm:

"I have never met anyone so capable of enjoying harmonic sounds as Pyrrha, the king of Epirus."

Rimsky-Korsakov I.N.

Unfortunately for himself, Korsakov was unable to maintain the achieved height. One day in early 1780, Catherine found the favorite in the arms of her friend and confidante, Countess Bruce. This greatly cooled her ardor, and soon the place of Korsakov was taken by the 22-year-old horse guard Alexander Lanskoy.

Lanskoy was introduced to Catherine by Chief of Police Tolstoy, he liked the Empress at first sight: she granted him to the adjutant wing and gave 10,000 rubles for the establishment. But he did not become a favorite. In any case, Lanskoy showed a lot of common sense from the very beginning and turned for support to Potemkin, who appointed him one of his adjutants and supervised his court education for about six months.

He discovered a lot of wonderful qualities in his pupil, and in the spring of 1780, with a light heart, he recommended him to the Empress as a sincere friend. Catherine made Lansky a colonel, then a general-adjutant and chamberlain, and soon he settled in the palace in the empty apartments of the former favorite.

Of all Catherine's lovers, this was undoubtedly the sweetest and sweetest. According to his contemporaries, Lanskoy did not enter into any intrigues, tried not to harm anyone and completely renounced state affairs, rightly believing that politics would make him make enemies for himself. Lanskoy's only all-consuming passion was Catherine, He wanted to reign in her heart alone and did everything to achieve this. There was something maternal in the 54-year-old empress's passion for him. She caressed and educated him like her beloved child. Catherine wrote to Grimm:
“So that you can form an idea of ​​this young man, you need to convey what Prince Orlov said about him to one of his friends:“ See what kind of person she will make of him! .. ”He devours everything with greed! He began by swallowing all the poets and their poems in one winter; and in the other - several historians ... Without studying anything, we will have countless knowledge and find pleasure in communicating with everything that is the best and most dedicated. In addition, we build and plant; besides, we are charitable, cheerful, honest and full of simplicity. "

Under the guidance of his mentor, Lanskoy studied French, got acquainted with philosophy and, finally, became interested in the works of art with which the Empress loved to surround herself. The four years spent in Lanskoy's society were, perhaps, the most calm and happy in the life of Catherine, as evidenced by many contemporaries. However, she always led a very moderate and measured life.
***

The empress's daily routine

Catherine usually woke up at six o'clock in the morning. At the beginning of her reign, she dressed herself and kindled the fireplace. Later she was dressed in the mornings by the camera-jungfer Perekusikhina. Ekaterina rinsed her mouth warm water, rubbed her cheeks with ice and went to her office. Here a very strong morning coffee was waiting for her, usually accompanied by heavy cream and biscuits. The Empress herself ate little, but the half-dozen Italian greyhounds, who always shared breakfast with Catherine, emptied the sugar bowl and the basket of cookies. When she finished eating, the Empress let the dogs go for a walk, and she herself sat down to work and wrote until nine o'clock.

At nine she returned to her bedroom and received the speakers. The chief of police was the first to enter. To read the papers submitted for signature, the empress wore glasses. Then the secretary appeared and work began with the documents.

As you know, the Empress read and wrote in three languages, but at the same time made many syntactic and grammatical errors, not only in Russian and French, but also in her native German. Errors in Russian, of course, were the most annoying of all. Catherine was aware of this and once confessed to one of her secretaries:
“Don't laugh at my Russian spelling; I'll tell you why I didn't have time to study it well. Upon my arrival here, I began to study Russian with great diligence. Aunt Elizaveta Petrovna, learning about this, said to my gofmeysteyrsha: to teach her well, she is already smart. Thus, I could learn Russian only from books without a teacher, and this is the very reason that I do not know the spelling well ”.

The secretaries had to rewrite all the drafts of the Empress. But classes with the secretary were interrupted now and then by visits from generals, ministers and dignitaries. This went on until lunch, which was usually one or two.

Having dismissed the secretary, Catherine went to the small dressing room, where the old hairdresser Kolov was combing her hair. Catherine took off her hood and cap, put on an extremely simple, open and loose dress with double sleeves and wide shoes with low heels. On weekdays, the Empress did not wear any jewelry. On ceremonial occasions, Catherine wore an expensive velvet dress, the so-called "Russian style", and decorated her hair with a crown. She did not follow Parisian fashions and did not encourage this expensive pleasure in her court ladies.

After finishing the toilet, Catherine went to the official dressing room, where they finished dressing her. It was the time of the small exit. The grandchildren, the favorite and several close friends like Lev Naryshkin gathered here. Chunks of ice were served to the empress, and she rubbed them on her cheeks quite openly. Then the hair was covered with a small tulle cap, and the toilet ended there. The whole ceremony lasted about 10 minutes. After that, everyone went to the table.

On weekdays, about twelve people were invited to dinner. By right hand the favorite sat down. The lunch lasted about an hour and was very simple. Catherine never cared about the sophistication of her table. Her favorite dish was boiled beef with pickles. She used currant juice as a drink. In the last years of her life, on the advice of doctors, Catherine drank a glass of Madeira or Rhine wine. For dessert, fruit was served, mostly apples and cherries.

Among the cooks of Catherine, one cooked very badly. But she did not notice this, and when, after many years, her attention was finally drawn to this, she did not allow him to be calculated, saying that he had served in her house for too long. She coped only when he was on duty, and, sitting down at the table, said to the guests:
"We are now on a Diet, we need to be patient, but after that we will eat well."

After dinner, Catherine talked with the guests for several minutes, then everyone left. Catherine sat down at the hoop - she embroidered very skillfully - and Betsky read to her aloud. When Betsky, having grown old, began to lose sight, she did not want to replace him with anyone and began to read herself, putting on glasses.

Analyzing the numerous references to the books she had read, scattered in her correspondence, we can safely say that Catherine was aware of everyone book novelties of her time, and I read everything indiscriminately: from philosophical treatises and historical writings to novels. She, of course, could not assimilate deeply all this enormous material, and her erudition remained largely superficial, and her knowledge was shallow, but in general she could judge many different problems.

The rest lasted for about an hour. Then the empress was informed about the arrival of the secretary: twice a week she sorted out foreign mail with him and made notes on the margins of the dispatches. On other established days, officials came to her with reports or for orders.
During a break in business, Catherine carefree fun with the children.

In 1776, she wrote to her friend Madame Belke:
“You have to be funny. Only this helps us to overcome and endure everything. I tell you this from experience, because I have overcome and endured a lot in my life. But I still laughed when I could, and I swear to you that even at the present time, when I bear the brunt of my situation, I heartily play, when an opportunity presents itself, at blind man's buff with my son, and very often without him. We come up with an excuse for this, we say: "This is good for health," but, between us it will be said, we do it just to fool around. "

At four o'clock the empress's working day ended, and it was time for rest and entertainment. Through the long gallery, Catherine passed from the Winter Palace to the Hermitage. This was her favorite place to stay. She was accompanied by a favorite. She reviewed and hosted new collections, played billiards, and sometimes engaged in ivory carvings. At six o'clock the Empress returned to the reception rooms of the Hermitage, already filled with persons admitted to the court.

Count Hord described the Hermitage as follows in his memoirs:
“It occupies an entire wing of the imperial palace and consists of an art gallery, two large rooms for a card game and one more, where they dine on two tables“ like a family ”, and next to these rooms there is winter Garden, indoor and well lit. There they walk among the trees and numerous pots of flowers. A variety of birds, mainly canaries, fly and sing there. The garden is heated by underground ovens; despite the harsh climate, a pleasant temperature always reigns in it.

This lovely apartment is made even better by the freedom that reigns here. Everyone feels at ease: the empress banished all etiquette from here. Here they walk, play, sing; everyone does what he likes. The art gallery is replete with first-class masterpieces ".

Games of all kinds enjoyed tremendous success at these meetings. Catherine was the first to participate in them, aroused gaiety in everyone and allowed all sorts of liberties.

At ten o'clock the game ended, and Catherine retired into inner chambers... Dinner was served only on ceremonial occasions, but even then Catherine sat at the table just for show. Returning to her room, she went into the bedroom, drank a large glass of boiled water and went to bed.
Such was the private life of Catherine according to the memoirs of contemporaries. Her intimate life is less known, although it is also not a secret. The Empress was an amorous woman who, until her death, retained the ability to be carried away by young people.

There were more than a dozen of her official lovers. With all this, as already mentioned, she was not at all a beauty.
“To tell the truth, - wrote Catherine herself, - I never considered myself extremely beautiful, but I liked me, and I think that this was my strength.”

All portraits that have come down to us confirm this opinion. But there is no doubt that there was something extremely attractive in this woman, which escaped the brush of all painters and made many sincerely admire her appearance. With age, the empress did not lose her attractiveness, although she grew more and more stout.

Catherine was not at all windy or depraved. Many of her connections lasted for years, and although the empress was far from indifferent to sensual pleasures, spiritual communication with a close man remained very important for her too. But it is also true that after the Orlovs, Catherine never raped her heart. If the favorite ceased to interest her, she resigned without any ceremony.

At the next evening reception, the courtiers noticed that the Empress was gazing intently at some unknown lieutenant, who had been introduced to her only the day before or who had previously been lost in the brilliant crowd. Everyone understood what that meant. In the afternoon young man with a short order, they were summoned to the palace and subjected to multiple tests for compliance in the performance of direct intimate duties of the favorite of the empress.

A.M. Turgenev tells about this rite through which all Catherine's lovers went through:
“They usually sent her Majesty's favorite to Anna Stepanovna Protasova for a test. Upon examination of the concubine appointed to the highest dignity to Mother Empress by the physician-in-law Rogerson, and according to the certificate presented as fit for service in relation to health, the recruited person was escorted to Anna Stepanovna Protasova for a three-night trial. When the betrothed completely satisfied the requirements of Protasova, she informed the all-merciful Empress about the trustworthiness of the tested, and then the first meeting was appointed according to the established etiquette of the court or according to the rules of the highest for ordination to the dignity of a confirmed concubine.

Perekusikhina Marya Savvishna and valet Zakhar Konstantinovich were obliged to dine with the chosen one on the same day. At 10 o'clock in the evening, when the empress was already in bed, Perekusikhina introduced the new recruit into the pious's bedchamber, dressed in a Chinese dressing gown, with a book in her hands, and left him to read in the chairs near the bed of the anointed one. The next day, Perekusikhina took the initiate out of the bedchamber and handed him over to Zakhar Konstantinovich, who led the newly appointed concubine to the palaces prepared for him; here Zakhar already subserviently to the favorite that the all-merciful Empress deigned to appoint him in the presence of her highest person as aide-de-camp, presented him with an aide-de-camp's uniform with a diamond agraph and 100,000 rubles of pocket money.

Before the empress came out, in the winter to the Hermitage, and in the summer, in Tsarskoe Selo, to the garden, to walk with the new aide-de-camp, to whom she gave her hand to lead her, the front hall of the new favorite was filled with the first state dignitaries, nobles, courtiers to bring him the most zealous congratulations on receiving the highest favor. The most enlightened metropolitan pastor usually came to the favorite the next day for his consecration and blessed him with holy water. ".

Subsequently, the procedure became more complicated, and after Potemkin, the favorites were checked not only by the assay-maid of honor Protasov, but also by Countess Bruce, and Perekusikhina, and Utochkina.

In June 1784, Lanskoy fell seriously and dangerously ill - it was said that he had ruined his health by abusing aphrodisiac drugs. Catherine did not leave the sufferer for an hour, she almost stopped eating, left all her affairs and looked after him, like a mother for her only endlessly beloved son. Then she wrote:
"Malignant fever combined with a toad brought him to the grave in five days."

On the evening of June 25, Lanskoy died. Catherine's grief was endless.
“When I started this letter, I was in happiness and joy, and my thoughts rushed so fast that I did not have time to follow them,” she wrote to Grimm. - Now everything has changed: I suffer terribly, and my happiness is no more; I thought I couldn't bear the irreparable loss I suffered a week ago when my best friend passed away. I hoped that he would be the mainstay of my old age: he also strove for this, tried to instill in himself, all my tastes. This was a young man whom I raised, who was grateful, meek, honest, who shared my sorrows when I had them, and rejoiced in my joys.

In a word, I, sobbing, have the misfortune to tell you that General Lansky is gone ... and my room, which I loved so much before, has now turned into an empty cave; I can barely move along it like a shadow: on the eve of his death my throat hurt and a severe fever began; However, since yesterday I have been on my feet, but I am weak and so depressed that I cannot see a human face, so as not to burst into tears at the first word. I am unable to sleep or eat. Reading annoys me, writing exhausts my strength. I do not know what will become of me now; I know only one thing, that never in all my life have I been so unhappy as since my best and dearest friend left me. I opened the drawer, found this sheet I had begun, wrote these lines on it, but I can’t take it anymore ... "

“I confess to you that all this time I was not able to write to you, because I knew that it would make us both suffer. A week after I wrote you my last letter in July, Fyodor Orlov and Prince Potemkin came to see me. Until that moment I could not see a human face, but these people knew what to do: they roared with me, and then I felt at ease with them; but I still needed a long time to recover, and because of my sensitivity to my grief, I became insensitive to everything else; my grief grew more and more and was recalled at every step and at every word.

However, do not think that, due to this terrible state, I neglect even the smallest thing that requires my attention. In the most painful moments they came to me for orders, and I gave them sensibly and rationally; this especially struck General Saltykov. Two months passed without any relief; at last the first calm hours came, and then the days. It was already autumn in the yard, it was getting damp, the palace in Tsarskoe Selo had to be drowned. All of mine went into a frenzy and so strong that on September 5, not knowing where to lay my head, I ordered to lay the carriage and arrived unexpectedly and so that no one suspected it, to the city where I was staying in the Hermitage ... "

In the Winter Palace, all doors were locked. Catherine ordered to knock down the door to the Hermitage and went to bed. But waking up at one o'clock in the morning, she ordered to fire the cannons, which usually announced her arrival, and alarmed the whole city. The entire garrison rose to its feet, all the courtiers were frightened, and even she herself was surprised that she caused such a commotion. But a few days later, after giving an audience to the diplomatic corps, they appeared with their usual face, calm, healthy and fresh, welcoming, as before the disaster, and smiling as always.

Soon, life again returned to its rut, and the forever in love returned to life. But ten months passed before she wrote to Grimm again:
"I will tell you in one word, instead of a hundred, that I have a friend who is very capable and worthy of this name."

This friend was the brilliant young officer Alexander Ermolov, represented by the same irreplaceable Potemkin. He moved to the long-empty chambers of the favorites. The summer of 1785 was one of the most cheerful in Catherine's life: one noisy pleasure was replaced by another. The aging empress felt a new surge of legislative energy. This year, two famous letters of commendation appeared - to the nobility and to the cities. These acts completed the local government reform begun in 1775.

At the beginning of 1786, Catherine began to lose interest in Ermolov. The latter's resignation was accelerated by the fact that he decided to intrigue against Potemkin himself. In June, the empress asked to tell her lover that she would allow him to go abroad for three years.

Yermolov's successor was the 28-year-old captain of the guard, Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov, a distant relative of Potemkin and his adjutant. Having made a mistake with the previous favorite, Potemkin looked closely at Mamonov for a long time before recommending him to Catherine. In August 1786, Mamonov was introduced to the empress and was soon appointed aide-de-camp. Contemporaries noted that he could not be called handsome.

Mamonov was distinguished by his tall stature and physical strength, had a high-cheeked face, slightly slanted eyes, shining with intelligence, and conversations with him gave the empress considerable pleasure. A month later, he became a warrant officer of the cavalry guards and a major general in the army, and in 1788 he was granted to the counts. The first honors did not turn the head of the new favorite - he showed restraint, tact and gained a reputation as an intelligent, careful person. Mamonov spoke German and English well, and knew French perfectly. In addition, he proved himself to be a good poet and playwright, which especially appealed to Catherine.

Thanks to all these qualities, as well as the fact that Mamonov constantly studied, read a lot and tried to seriously delve into state affairs, he became an adviser to the empress.

Catherine wrote to Grimm:
“A red caftan (as she called Mamonova) dresses a creature that has lovely heart and a very sincere soul. Mind for four, inexhaustible gaiety, a lot of originality in understanding things and transmitting them, excellent upbringing, a lot of knowledge that can give brilliance to the mind. We hide as a crime a penchant for poetry; We love music passionately, we understand everything unusually easily. What do we not know by heart! We recite, chatter in the tone of a better society; exquisitely polite; we write in Russian and French, as rarely does anyone else, as much in style as in beauty of writing. Our appearance is quite consistent with our inner qualities: we have wonderful black eyes with eyebrows that are extremely contoured; shorter than average height, noble appearance, free gait; in a word, we are as reliable in our souls as dexterous, strong and brilliant on the outside. "
***

Travel to Crimea

In 1787, Catherine made one of her longest and most famous travels - she went to the Crimea, which from 17.83 was annexed to Russia. No sooner had Catherine returned to St. Petersburg than news broke out about the severance of relations with Turkey and the arrest of the Russian ambassador in Istanbul: the second Turkish war began. To top the trouble, the situation of the 60s was repeated) when one war pulled another.

Barely mustered forces to repel in the south, as it became known that the Swedish king Gustav III intends to attack defenseless Petersburg. The king came to Finland and sent to Vice-Chancellor Osterman a demand to return to Sweden all the lands ceded by the Nystadt and Abov worlds, and to return the Crimea to the Port.

In July 1788, the Swedish War began. Potemkin was busy in the south, and all the hardships of the war fell entirely on the shoulders of Catherine. She was part of everything personally. affairs for the management of the naval department, ordered, for example, to build several new barracks and hospitals, to fix and put in order the Revel port.

A few years later, she recalled this era in a letter to Grimm: “There is a reason why it seemed that I did everything so well at that time: I was then alone, almost without helpers, and, fearing to miss something out of ignorance or forgetfulness, I displayed an activity that no one thought I was capable of; I intervened in incredible details to such an extent that I even became an army quartermaster, but, as everyone admits, soldiers have never been better fed in a country where it was impossible to get any food ... "

The Treaty of Versailles was concluded on August 3, 1790; the borders of both states remained the same as they were before the war.

For these troubles in 1789 there was another change of favorites. In June, Catherine learned that Mamonov had an affair with the maid of honor Daria Shcherbatovs. The Empress reacted to the betrayal calmly enough. She recently turned 60 years old, besides, her long experience of love relationships taught her condescension. She bought several villages for Mamontov, with more than 2,000 peasants, presented jewelry to the bride and betrothed them herself. Over the years of his favor, Mamonov had gifts and money from Catherine for about 900 thousand rubles. The last hundred thousand, in addition to the three thousand peasants, he received while leaving with his wife for Moscow. At this time, he could already see his successor.

On June 20, Ekaterina chose the 22-year-old second-captain of the Horse Guards Platon Zubov as the favorite. In July, Thoth was granted a colonel and aide-de-camp. At first, the empress's entourage did not take him seriously.

Bezborodko wrote to Vorontsov:
“This child with good manners but not a distant mind; I don’t think he will last long in his place. ”

However, Bezborodko was wrong. Zubov was destined to become the last favorite of the great empress - he retained his position until her death.

Catherine confessed to Potemkin in August of the same year:
“I came back to life like a fly after hibernation… I am happy and healthy again ”.

She was touched by Zubov's youth and the fact that he cried when he was not allowed into the empress's rooms. Despite his soft appearance, Zubov turned out to be a calculating and dexterous lover. Over the years, his influence on the empress became so great that he managed to achieve the almost impossible: he nullified Potemkin's charm and completely ousted him from the heart of Catherine. Having taken all the threads of government to his own hands, in the last years of Catherine's life, he acquired a tremendous influence on affairs.
***
The war with Turkey continued. In 1790, Suvorov took Izmail, and Potemkin - Vendors. After that, Porte had no choice but to concede. In December 1791, peace was concluded in Iasi. Russia received the interfluve of the Dniester and the Bug, where Odessa was soon built; Crimea was recognized as her possession.

Potemkin did not live long enough to see this joyful day. He died on October 5, 1791 on the way from Yassy to Nikolaev. Catherine's grief was very great. According to the French plenipotentiary Genet, "at this news she fainted, blood rushed to her head, and she was forced to open the vein." “Who should replace such a person? She repeated to her secretary Khrapovitsky. "I and all of us are now like snails who are afraid to stick their heads out of the shell."

She wrote to Grimm:

“Yesterday I was hit like a butt on the head ... My student, my friend, one might say, an idol, Prince Potemkin of Tauride died ... Oh, my God! Now I am truly my own helper. Again I need to train people for myself! .. "
The last remarkable act of Catherine was the partition of Poland and the annexation of the western Russian lands to Russia. The second and third sections, which followed in 1793 and 1795, were a logical continuation of the first. Long-term anarchy and the events of 1772 enlightened many gentry. The Transformational Party at the four-year Diet of 1788-1791 worked out a new constitution, adopted on May 3, 1791. She established hereditary royalty with the Diet without the right of veto, the admission of deputies from the townspeople, full equality of rights for dissidents, the abolition of confederations. All this took place in the wake of frenzied anti-Russian uprisings and in defiance of all previous agreements, according to which Russia guaranteed the Polish constitution. Catherine was forced to endure insolence for the time being, but wrote to the members of the foreign board:

"... I will not agree to anything of this new order of things, when it was approved, not only did they not pay any attention to Russia, but showered her with insults, bullying her every minute ..."

Indeed, as soon as peace with Turkey was concluded, Poland was occupied by Russian troops, and a Russian garrison was sent to Warsaw. This served as a prologue to the section. In November, the Prussian ambassador to St. Petersburg, Count Goltz, presented a map of Poland, which outlined the area desired by Prussia. In December, Catherine, after a detailed study of the map, approved the Russian share of the section. Most of Belarus went to Russia. After the final collapse of the May constitution, its adherents, both abroad and those who remained in Warsaw, had only one means of acting in favor of the lost enterprise: conspiracy, arouse displeasure, and wait for an opportunity to raise an uprising. All this was done.
Warsaw was to become the center of the performance. The well-prepared uprising began early in the morning of April 6 (17), 1794 and came as a surprise to the Russian garrison. Most of the soldiers were killed, and only a few heavily damaged units were able to break out of the city. Not trusting the king, the patriots proclaimed General Kosciuszko the supreme ruler. In response, a third partition agreement was reached between Austria, Prussia and Russia in September. Krakow and Sendomierz Voivodeships were to be taken over by Austria. The Bug and Neman became the borders of Russia. In addition, Courland and Lithuania retreated to it. The rest of Poland with Warsaw was given to Prussia. On November 4, Suvorov took Warsaw. The revolutionary government was destroyed and power returned to the king. Stanislav-August wrote to Catherine:
“The fate of Poland is in your hands; your power and wisdom will solve it; whatever the fate that you will appoint to me personally, I cannot forget my duty to my people, begging your Majesty's magnanimity for them. "

Catherine replied:
"It was not in my power to prevent the disastrous consequences and to fill up under the feet of the Polish people the abyss dug by their corrupters and into which they are finally carried away ..."

On October 13, 1795, the third section was produced; Poland disappeared from the map of Europe. This division was soon followed by the death of the Russian empress. The decline of moral and physical strength Catherine began in 1792. She was broken by the death of Potemkin, and by the extraordinary tension that she had to endure in last war... The French envoy Genet wrote:

"Catherine is clearly aging, she herself sees it, and her soul is seized by melancholy."

Catherine complained: "Years make everyone see in black." The dropsy overpowered the empress. It became more and more difficult for her to walk. She stubbornly fought against old age and ailments, but in September 1796, after her granddaughter's engagement to King Gustav IV of Sweden did not take place, Catherine went to bed. Colic did not leave her, wounds opened on her legs. Only at the end of October did the Empress feel better. On the evening of November 4, Catherine gathered an intimate circle in the Hermitage, was very cheerful all evening and laughed at Naryshkin's jokes. However, she left earlier than usual, saying that she had colic from laughter. The next day, Catherine got up at her usual hour, talked with the favorite, worked with the secretary and, having released the latter, ordered him to wait in the hallway. He waited an unusually long time and began to worry. Half an hour later, the faithful Zubov decided to look into the bedroom. The Empress was not there; was not in the toilet room either. Zubov called people in alarm; ran to the dressing room and there they saw the empress motionless with a flushed face, with foam at the mouth and wheezing with a death rattle. Catherine was carried into the bedroom and laid on the floor. She resisted death for about a day and a half, but never regained consciousness and died on the morning of November 6.
She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Thus ended the reign of Catherine II the Great, one of the most famous Russian women politicians.

Catherine composed the following epitaph for her future tombstone:

Catherine II is buried here. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth and the people. She did not miss anything in order to achieve success in this regard. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness prompted her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She easily forgave and did not hate anyone. She was indulgent, loved life, was distinguished by a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a kind heart. She had friends. The work was easy for her. She liked secular entertainment and arts.