Essay on Catherine the Great

Submitted By bgunther
Words: 630
Pages: 3

Brooke Gunther
AP World History

Catherin the Great was a woman of her time. Born in Szczecin, Poland in 1729. She became ruler of Russia, and had am amazing impact. From education to ideas on war, she was an overall package and had her mind set on a goal and would get to it. In her time period woman didn’t always have the biggest voices and couldn’t come out of the shadows of their husbands. Catherine the Great was a turning point in history and truly showed she could handle anything thrown at her.

Educating the youth of her country seemed to be a big part of her rein. She believed a 'new kind of person' could be created by inoculating Russian children with European education. Catherine believed education could change the hearts and minds of the Russian people and turn them away from backwardness. This meant developing individuals both intellectually and morally, providing them knowledge and skills, and fostering a sense of civic responsibility. Establishing boarding schools like the Smolny Institute for Girls and the Russian Academy of Letters. As researching into her life, education and building schools remanded on the top her accomplishments.

Now, many people would think that a woman couldn’t handle the pressure or be strong when in difficult situations, for example, war. However, this isn’t the case. Catherine the Great made Russia the dominant power in southeastern Europe after her first Russo-Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire (1768–74). The Russian victories allowed Catherine's government to obtain access to the Black Sea. Russia and Prussia fought each other during the Seven Years War (1756–1763). By the many things she did for war and the success she had you would think she would have had a male by her side the whole time telling her what to do. She was a smart woman and only affiliated with the best of the best in order to have Russia on top.

Moving on to the people she ruled; Catherine did initiate some changes to serfdom. If the nobles did not live up to their side of the deal, then the serfs could file complaints against them by following the proper channels of law. Catherine gave them this new right, but in exchange they could no longer appeal directly to her. She did this because she did not want to be bothered by the peasantry but did not want to