A recent meeting of the Fredonia Shakespeare Club featured a presentation by Dr. Irene Strychalski entitled, “Catherine the Great, Empress of all Russias.”

Dr. Strychalski’s extensive and detailed paper covered the multitude of ways in which Sophie Frederica Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst became one of the most powerful women of history. From her early years at the Court of Brunswick, Germany to her initial visit to the Russian Court in St. Petersburg at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth to meet the future czar, Peter, to the births of her children by different lovers; from her expansive education to her popularity with the military to her network of spies; from her coronation with her eldest son at her side to her establishment of hospitals and schools; from her desire for, and active involvement in governmental reform to her amazing collection of art. Dr. Strychalski included anecdotes of humorous encounters at masquerade parties, including “…At one such masquerade there was a serious entanglement as Catherine was dancing with the Chamberlain, who was wearing a hooped dress. Everyone ended up on the floor, with Catherine trapped underneath the huge skirt. She was helpless with laughter as various dancers struggled to right them; the Chamberlain and other court worthies were less amused.” Excerpts from Dr. Strychalski’s paper include the following: ??In her memoirs Catherine wrote: “I wanted to be Russian in order that the Russians should love me.”

The Grand Duke and Duchess (Peter and Catherine) were extremely immature and behaved as best they could under the difficult circumstances. Peter enjoyed playing with toy soldiers and Catherine immersed herself in literature. …There were dangerous plots being made in the palaces and even the lives of Catherine and Peter were in some danger.

“Catherine succumbed to depression, but early the following year, she emerged from a depression a changed person. She had realized during the long weeks and months after little Paul’s birth, that no one would fight for her if she did not fight for herself. She would have to create her own destiny in Russia. She was 25 years old and at the peak of her beauty. She was tall and moved with agility, yet in a noble way. She had a pleasant voice and a laugh as merry as her disposition. She was fearless and affectionate and had an active mind. She was well educated, both by her tutors as well as by reading.”

“Peter was regarded as unsatisfactory as a future ruler, due to his childish ways, his obsession with soldiers, his admiration for the Prussian war machine and general disdain for Russia. Catherine knew that she had many supporters and prepared herself by making copious notes from the books she read. Her notes demonstrate her fundamental belief, characteristic of the Enlightenment philosophers, that through the application of reason, solutions to most human problems can be found. One of the items on her list was the creation of a school for young ladies. Other items she wanted to address were the high rate of infant mortality among the serfs, gradual emancipation of the serfs, saving small villages by moving industry out of the cities and into the country, and more. She recognized the necessity to stimulate discussion about any new law, as to whether it will work or not, before introducing it. She noted that it was important to respect religion, but not to let it influence matters of the state.”

“On June 26, soldiers took an oath of allegiance to Catherine: ‘Empress of all the Russias’ in the presence of a priest holding a cross. This was repeated for several other regiments, as Catherine described in ‘a frenzy of joy.’ Now that Catherine was firmly in control of the capitol, the next step was to draft the manifestos and orders which needed to be published immediately. The first manifesto announced Catherine’s assumption to the throne, because Peter had endangered the church, sullied Russia’s military glory and undermined the Empire’s institutions.”

…the Tsar was unable to defend himself and departed after abdicating. On Sunday June 30, 1762, Catherine re-entered St Petersburg in triumph…. There was great celebration in the streets and Catherine ordered the taverns opened for all. Catherine’s sense that she was fulfilling her destiny was validated completely. She wrote: ‘At last, God brought everything to the end by His hand’.

…At the end of the first year of her reign, Catherine was still working out how best to use the talents of the people around her. She was determined not to rush such important decisions and was still in the process of testing and trying out different combinations before making final selections…

Throughout 1763, the second year of her reign, Catherine concentrated on getting her administration into full working order. She had much to do to transform Russia into a powerful, and European Empire. Previously she had issued a decree establishing a medical college, whose purpose would be to expand medical care to the population as a whole. Then in September 1763, Paul’s Hospital was opened in the outskirts of Moscow. 6 months later the Moscow Foundling Home and lying-in hospital for unmarried and destitute mothers was opened. A boarding school for girls was opened in St Petersburg as well.

By early 1765 Catherine felt that she had made some progress in getting her government to work effectively, and it was time to turn her attention to her first major project of internal reform, reform of the legal system…

Catherine was a well-educated woman, she was voracious reader, extremely intelligent, and loved to socialize with like-minded people. Unfortunately, she was unique in that most woman of her time were not educated and not encouraged to expand their minds. Catherine also carried on a lively correspondence with famous authors and writers, Diderot, Voltaire and others.

There is much more about Catherine’s extraordinary life. She was an enlightened but absolute ruler. She was vain, ruthless, ambitious and duplicitous, but she was also tolerant, generous, well-intentioned, cultured and superbly intelligent and a political genius. She fought wars and improved conditions for at least some Russians. She moved Russia out of the dark into a brighter future.”

Dr. Strychalski concluded her presentation with photos and video from her visit to St. Petersburg.