Catherine the great history

Catherine the Great  ©Catherine II was Empress of Russia for more than 30 years and one of the country’s most influential rulers.

Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst was born on 2 May 1729 in Stettin, then part of Prussia (now Szczecin in Poland), the daughter of a minor German prince.

In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

The marriage was unhappy, but the couple did produce one son, Paul.

In 1762 Catherine's husband became Tsar Peter III but he was soon overthrown with Catherine being declared empress.

How did catherine the great come to power

Peter was then killed shortly afterwards and it is not known whether Catherine had a part in his death. She subsequently had a series of lovers whom she promoted to high office, the most famous and successful of whom was Grigori Potemkin.

Catherine's major influences on her adopte