July 17, 1762 CE – Catherine II Becomes Tsarina of Russia After the Assassination of Her Husband Peter III

*Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Few would have expected Russia to be eager to have a woman with strong Prussian ties at the helm after the assassination of Peter III – himself a victim of his pro-Prussian ideas – but Catherine II became the kind of leader her people loved. Rising to the seat of power after her husband’s death, she would reign for more than three decades after becoming tsarina on July 17th, 1762. By the time of her death in 1796, she would be known by another name: Catherine the Great. Peter and Catherine had taken the crown of Russia just six months before, when Empress Elizabeth died on January 5, 1762. Over the course of the next six months, he did much to alienate the powerful in his country – particularly in his profession of a deep fondness for the tactics and leadership of Frederick II of Prussia. The Russian nobility, angered by his strange fascination with their adversaries in the ongoing Seven Years’ War. His willingness to agree to Frederick’s terms at the end of the war – particularly dividing Poland amongst the Russians, Austrians and Prussians – left many of Catherine’s friends incensed. A conspiracy soon followed. Peter, perhaps suspicious of his wife’s intentions, managed to arrest one of the parties to the plan – an event which sped up his downfall. Catherine quickly moved to get herself under the protection of the Ismailovsky regiment, positioning herself to be named the only claimant to the crown once Peter was removed (at least two others could be said to have rights to the title). With her husband arrested and soon strangled by guards, she officially took power on July 17th, barely six months after she and Peter had moved into the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg after his coronation. A Prussian by birth, Catherine wished to be considered amongst the most intelligent royalty in Europe. Working as a mediator in international disputes, all while managing to see her country through two wars with the Turks, she gained acclaim for her fairness and forward-thinking approach to diplomacy. She negotiated a commercial treaty with Britain, yet shrewdly promised no military support, opening up new trade for Russian goods without committing her armies to conflict against the French or Spanish, frequent British opponents at the time. Though her foreign policy decisions could be argued as plenty to earn her acclaim, her dedication to the arts and literature in her own country led Russia to flourish under her reign. A prolific writer, Catherine composed a variety of plays and maintained regular correspondence with Voltaire, Diderot and d’Alembert. She used many of the philosophical treatises composed by luminaries such as Locke and Montesquieu to reform education and government in the interests of the Russian Empire. Though most of her parliamentary-like commissions resulted in little action, she did take steps to modernize the government. Having grown the National Library of Russia and encouraged a new level of thought amongst the provinces, she has often been called the head of the Russian Enlightenment.