The Enlightenment S Effect on Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great If in an absolute monarchy, the nation's course "depends on the disposition and character of the Sovereign," as Sir James Harris observed during Catherine's rule, it is telling of the accuracy of Harris's remarks by comparing the course of Russia's evolution under Catherine to the character of the woman they called Catherine the Great (Madariaga 203). Under Catherine, Russia became an even more liberalized nation than it had been under Catherine's "great" predecessor, Peter.

This liberalization came about primarily through Catherine's contact with and implementation of "Enlightenment" ideals, a result of her voluminous correspondence with men like Voltaire, the popular Enlightenment Era philosopher, whose sharp wit made him an antagonist to even the most heralded traditions. Men like Voltaire went a long way in shaping Catherine's outlook, which is seen in the very outset of her 1767 Instruction to the Legislation: her first point being that Russia "is an European State" (Catherine "Instruction").

The fact that Russia should be viewed within the context of Europe rather than as an autonomous and diverse body, whose other boundary stretched all the way across Asia, illustrated the new identity that Catherine wished to cultivate, building as it did on the beginning work of Peter (whom she acknowledged as having begun this Europeanization in the "Instruction").

Her vision, thus, was to lead Russia to Enlightenment through European values (both Christian and Enlightenment -- which were, more or less, at variance with one another) and by doing so position Russia as a leader among Europeans. The Charter to the Nobility, for instance, was born out of Catherine's broad overhaul of the legislative and administrative enclaves in Russia.

The Charter, like Catherin herself, was pro-aristocratic and gave the aristocracy a number of "rights" regarding person, property and corporate -- which in turn transformed the Russian nobility in such a way that it now more than ever before "resembled the west European nobility" (Madariaga 123). Yet Catherine possessed the distinctions of European nobility that she wished Russia's aristocrats to possess: She was full of "grace and dignity," "charm," and learning (Madariaga 205).

She had attained a level of sophistication that only the noble class buttressed by superior education, leisure and discipline could attain. Nonetheless, her ideas were less traditional than they were modern, shaped as they were by the Enlightenment ideology much in vogue. Thus, it was Catherine's vision to Europeanize Russia and to spread this "reformation" throughout the realm -- as she intended in Crimea with the annexation urged by Potemkin. This involved safeguarding the border and Sea, which prior to annexation was held by the Ottoman Empire.

It was felt by Potemkin that Crimea should be Russia's for security purposes -- and because he had Catherine's heart and ear, he set about guiding her to get it: "Just imagine that Crimea is yours and no longer a thorn in your side .. " he wrote to her in his appeal for annexation (Cracraft 250).

By appealing to her imagination, Potemkin was appealing to that part of Catherine which he knew best could be won -- the idealistic side of her nature -- the side which "imagined" that "thorns" could be removed from sides through geopolitical conquest. Russia gained Crimea but it did not solve the problems that were really coming down the pipeline and within a century, the floodgates opened by the Revolutionary discourse rooted in European Enlightenment would undermine the Russian aristocracy and lead to a major and bloody Revolution in Russia's heart.

The fact that Catherine was a woman and a foreigner both added to her mystique and charm for Russians (after all, she was European -- that characteristic with which Russian high-society was so enamoured). It also added controversy to her rule, as her many lovers cast doubt upon the legitimacy of her children, such as Paul I.

Indeed, Paul was the exact opposite of his mother, and set about reversing many of her reforms following his accession (he did not favor the aristocracy the way his mother did but rather the military -- and he despised the revolutionary ideas coming out of France, which his mother had so admired).

Paul was soon murdered and his son Alexander acceded -- but the fact that Paul was raised by Elizabeth rather than by his mother Catherine, seemed to destine him from ever really being anything but an outside observer to Russia's "advancement." As soon as it became apparent that he would not advance Russia in a similar manner, the conspiracy to end his life began. Had Paul attained a majority,.