Catherine the Great was one of the most influential leaders of the Russian Empire. She became one of Russia's greatest political leaders due to her ability to remember specific details and ideas. During the 18th century she carried on her husband Peter the Great's dream, which was to westernize Russia. Catherine played a key role in improving the lives of Russian serfs, improving education, and strengthening the Russian government. Catherine the Great was essential to Russia as she westernized it and encouraged the modernization of agriculture and industry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Her birth name was Sophie Frederick Augusta. She was born in Prussia, now Poland, and was the daughter of the German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (Raeff 1). Empress Elizabeth invited Sophie to visit St. Petersburg, Russia (Kuhlman 2). Elizabeth knew that Sophia was unmarried and wanted a member of her family to remain ruler of Russia. Sophie was related to the Prussian king Frederick the Great (Kuhlman 1). Catherine married at the age of fifteen to Peter, nephew and heir of Empress Elizabeth. Pietro and Caterina's marriage did not last long because after some time Caterina became unfaithful to her husband. His marriage was not a love one and did not influence his political and intellectual interests (Type 1). After Elizabeth's death, Peter devised a plan to get rid of his so-called wife (Kuhlman 1). Both found lovers outside of marriage. Catherine and her lover Orlov devised a plan to remove Peter from the throne (Kuhlman 2). Catherine knew that Peter would make a terrible king. Catherine declared that Peter III had “the intention of destroying us completely and depriving us of life” (Murphy 1). On July 9, Catherine gathered 40,000 soldiers who were loyal to her. She marched them to St. Petersburg, the capital, and proclaimed herself Empress (Brown 1). Forcing Peter to grant her all his power, Catherine was crowned Empress on September 22, 1762 (Murphy 1). As Catherine was about to become empress, she wanted to show her dedication to Russia and the Russian Orthodox. Showing her loyalty would earn her a place on the throne and win over the Russian people (Type 2). Changing his name from Prussian to Russian was the first step in demonstrating his loyalty to Russia. Her name was Sophia, but she decided to use the name she had been baptized with in the Russian Church. That name was Catherine (Andrews 102). When Catherine came to power, she wanted to westernize Russia, but she did not want to do it the way her husband wanted. Catherine the Great encouraged individual initiative in the pursuit of self-interest (Raeff 1). Catherine wanted to improve Russia's reputation. He encouraged trade with other nations. Furthermore, he tried to increase trade in some parts of Russia (Kuhlman 2). During her reign, Catherine firmly believed in absolute government as a political necessity. In Russia the greatest theorist and practitioner of monarchy founded on law is even called the absolute government of the monarchy (Lentino 5). Russia needed to transform from Peter to Catherine and from a weak country to a powerful nation and become a player in European politics (Murphy 2). However, Catherine understood that Russia needed a period of peace in order to concentrate on internal affairs. The period of peace could only be achieved through a cautious foreign policy. Catherine entrusted this policy to Count Nikita Panin (de Madariaga 3). Catherine devoted herself to the Westernization of Russia. In his first years in power as members of the court, the courtiers tried to block thehis attempt to make a new constitution (Kuhlman 1). It was supposed to change the minds of sophisticated members of Russian society. He used his wits and “iron will” to show what the people of Russia were made of and what he could do to fix it (Andrews 27). While reading in her spare time, she often read the works of Voltaire and Montesquieu, learning about Russian conditions on her own (Felder 3). Catherine loved books so much that she became a bookworm, a bibliophile, and a writer. He believed that a printed book brought power. He wanted the production of books and the translation of foreign works into Russian to educate the minds of his people and spread the Enlightenment (Lent 3). He established free economic policy to encourage modernization. The goal was to promote trade and develop lesser-known regions by inviting foreign settlers. He created new cities (Raeff 1). The arts and sciences caught Catherine's attention (Kuhlman 3). By the time of the Enlightenment, learning became an important part of European civilization. Now that Russia had theater, arts, and music, he fought for more visitors and foreigners to visit one of the most dazzling cities in Europe, St. Petersburg (Kuhlman 3). Catherine cared deeply about the education system. He tried to improve it and added more elementary and secondary schools in Russia to give children full learning opportunities (Type 3). She believed that women could help her move out of the Middle Ages and help bring other great and powerful phases of developed European cultures (Felder 161). While he founded new cities, under his leadership there were a university and an academy, namely Moscow University and the Academy of Sciences. The University and Academy became one of the most important cultural centers in Europe. They became internationally renowned institutions that attracted foreign settlers (Raeff 1). Her love of literature and the arts encouraged her to promote Russia's social and political issues. She then became a passionate advocate who helped make Russia stronger (Murphy 3). Secondly, Catherine wanted to improve the Russian legal system. His ideas were inspired by the Enlightenment period. He changed the legal system to “Education”. (The new legal system created by Catherine to replace the old one.) The Russian legal system was based on an old inefficient code of laws (Type 2). In June 1767, the Legislative Commission was created to revise and update the old Russian laws. Catherine had high hopes that it would work. Unfortunately, the Legislative Commission made little progress, and due to the Commission's failure, Catherine was banned from meetings in 1768 (Type 2). The imperial guards supported Catherine, but behind her back they thought that a Roman dynasty should rule Russia instead of a German princess (Murphy 1). Third, Catherine embarked on the Westernization of Russia, modernizing her own ideas and traditions, to expand the Russian empire. Like other rulers, Catherine struggled to expand the empire's borders during her 35-year reign. Catherine added 200,000 square miles to Russia (Brown 1). The Russian Empire expanded during two victorious wars against Turkey (the Russo-Turkish wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792). For helping Ukraine fight the war, Russia got the northern part of the Black Sea as a reward. After Ukraine opened the country to settlements, some became part of Europe (Raeff 1). When the western border was secured, Catherine's attention shifted to Russia's enemies to the south and east, the Ottoman Empire and its vassals, the Crimean Khans and the Ghei dynasty (Murphy 2). As Catherine expanded Russia, Russia.