Catherine the Great

12 December 2024. Tuesday, 07:55

Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, was born at 2. may 1729 in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia (today Szczecin, Poland). Her father was Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst and mother Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. She got the name Princess Sophie Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst. Considering that she was of noble origin, she had the title of a German princess and was related to the future kings of Sweden, Gustav III and Karl XIII.

Before the end of the reign of the Russian Empress Elisabeth, she determined her cousin Peter III for the succession of the Russian throne. The Empress Elizabeth also had decided that Peter III would be married to a German princess. By marriage, Sofia went to Orthodox faith and changed the baptized name to Katarina. Very soon, "Fig", as she was called at palace, showed her dissolute character. She got into a series of love affairs. That is why the marriage of the Russian sovereign was considered a catastrophic mistake and a great danger to the Empire.

With the arrival on the Russian tron in 1762, Peter III of Russia, with Catherine, moved to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Only six months after he became Russian sovereign, Peter III of Russia was killed in an assassination organized by some of Catherine's lovers. One of them was Grigory Orlov.

As a ruler of Russia, Catherine had a few children which fathers was some of her lovers. Her sexual appetite was literally unhealthy. She was openly support the necessity and well-being of everyday sexual activity at least six times a day. Officialy she had a 21 lovers, while over 80 of them she had a total. During her life, she suffered from multiple disorders, most often had insomnia. Against insomnia, it also fought with sex. In addition to numerous love affair and everyday sexual relationships, it has been noted that she was also a passionate voyeur.

She died on November 17, 1796. But, despite the apparent personality disorder, she stay remembered as monarch who was engaged enlightenment under the influence of Walter and Didro.