Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great (1729 – 1796), was Tsarina, or empress, of Russia from 1762 until her death. A German-born princess, she ascended the throne after she had her husband, Tsar Peter III, assassinated. She continued the westernization work begun by an earlier Russian ruler, Tsar Peter the Great. By the end of her reign, Russia had fully joined the mainstream of European political and cultural life. However, as seen below, Catherine’s regal reign was not matched by an equally regal and dignified death.
The Formidable Catherine
Catherine the Great was born Sophie Friederike August von Anhalt-Zerbst into a minor German aristocratic family. When she was fourteen-years-old, she was married to Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Tsar Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne. The marriage was an unhappy one, to say the least. Peter was neurotic, mentally unstable, and probably impotent. The eighteen years that followed were full of humiliations and disappointments for Catherine.
She took a series of lovers, and strongly hinted that none of the children born during her marriage were Peter’s. When her husband became Tsar in 1761, he quickly alienated his court and nobles by making little effort to hide his contempt for Russia, and his preference for his native Germany. When Tsar Peter began to make moves to rid himself of Catherine, she beat him to the punch, and joined a conspiracy which staged a military coup in 1762.
Peter was seized and forced to abdicate. Eight days later, he was murdered. Catherine was then crowned Tsarina, and ruled Russia for the next 34 years. During that period, the Russian Empire expanded rapidly with a combination of conquests and diplomacy. To the west, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned with Austria and Prussia, with Russia getting the lion’s share. To the south, successful wars against the Ottoman Turks led to the conquest and annexation of the Crimean Khanate.
A Regal Life That Ended in a Decidedly Non-Regal Way
The territories of Novorossiya – the Russian speaking parts of today’s Ukraine – were colonized by Russians. Russian colonization also stretched far into the east, including Alaska and the foundation of Russian America. Domestically, she reformed the laws and administration of the Russian Empire, and brought them closer to contemporary European standards.
After a long and successful reign, her death came in an undignified manner. Rumors circulated that the insatiable Catherine had died after sustaining injuries from having sex with a horse. That is untrue. The truth was less scandalous, but embarrassing all the same for her imperial majesty. The empress had been feeling constipated, and during a heroic effort to force relief on the toilet, she overstrained herself and suffered a fatal stroke.
When Catherine’s loud gruntings ceased, her maids waiting outside assumed that her majesty had finally found relief. They started getting nervous, however, as the minutes dragged on without Catherine emerging or summoning them. Eventually they delicately inquired if all was well. When they heard no answer, they took a peak, and found the Empress of All the Russias dead on the toilet.
_________________
Some Sources & Further Reading
Encyclopedia of Trivia – Catherine the Great
History Halls – Deaths You’ll Go to Hell for Laughing At: Franz Reichelt
Rounding, Virginia – Catherine the Great: Love, Sex and Power (2006)
Troyat, Henri – Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Women in Power (2001)
