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[79], Within a few months of her accession in 1762, having heard the French government threatened to stop the publication of the famous French Encyclopdie on account of its irreligious spirit, Catherine proposed to Diderot that he should complete his great work in Russia under her protection. Though Hartley acknowledges that serfdom is a scar on Russia, she emphasizes the practical obstacles the empress faced in enacting such a far-reaching reform, adding, Where [Catherine] could do things, she did do things., Serfdom endured long beyond Catherines reign, only ending in 1861 with Alexander IIs Emancipation Manifesto. She applied herself to learning the Russian language with zeal, rising at night and walking about her bedroom barefoot, repeating her lessons. These differences led both parties to seek intimacy elsewhere, a fact that raised questions, both at the time and in the centuries since, about the paternity of their son, the future Paul I. Catherine herself suggested in her memoirs that Paul was the child of her first lover, Sergei Saltykov. ]]> [11] Despite Joanna's interference, Empress Elizabeth took a strong liking to Sophie, and Sophie and Peter eventually married in 1745. In 1769, a last major CrimeanNogai slave raid, which ravaged the Russian held territories in Ukraine, saw the capture of up to 20,000 slaves. [32], Peter the Great had succeeded in gaining a toehold in the south, on the edge of the Black Sea, in the Azov campaigns. With Peter out of the picture, Catherine was able to consolidate power from a position of strength. AETNUK. [50] She had more success when she strongly encouraged the migration of the Volga Germans, farmers from Germany who settled mostly in the Volga River Valley region. They disliked the power she wielded over them as few other women in the world at that time could claim to have such authority. Apart from providing that experience, the marriage was unsuccessfulit was not consummated for years due to Peter III's mental immaturity. King Augustus III of Poland died in 1763, so Poland needed to elect a new ruler. Historians consider her efforts to be a success. 7 Reasons Catherine the Great Was So Great. Born in 1729, and known as Catherine the Great because she served as Russia's longest-reigning female ruler, she was empress from 1762 until her death in 1796. Far away from the capital, they were confused as to the circumstances of her accession to the throne.[66]. Peter supposedly was assassinated, but it is unknown how he died. The Treaty of Kk Kaynarca, signed 10 July 1774, gave the Russians territories at Azov, Kerch, Yenikale, Kinburn, and the small strip of Black Sea coast between the rivers Dnieper and Bug. Catherine named ahin Giray, a Crimean Tatar leader, to head the Crimean state and maintain friendly relations with Russia. [54], According to a census taken from 1754 to 1762, Catherine owned 500,000 serfs. Friday, Feb. 1 is the American Liked by Catherine Porter