Essay
By Emma Borkman
Who influenced Catherine the Great’s reforms and what impact did these reforms have on Russia?
Through Catherine’s the Great’s correspondence with Enlightenment Philosophers, she was able to formulate reforms to implement for Russia. The Enlightenment was a period of time where scientific exploration flourished. Catherine endeavoured to make contact with a number of Enlightenment Philosopher’s during her reign and through this correspondence, she was able to come up with a number of reforms. These reforms were of political, social, educational, economical and cultural nature and followed the principles of the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an era of cultural movement where philosophers attempted to reform society through challenging current ideas and using the scientific method. Although there is no specific year that the Enlightenment began, many people believe it originated during the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe. The Enlightenment was a time when people began to use reason, as an alternative to religion, to explain occurrences in the world. By doing this, they questioned authority and over time, ideas of the Enlightenment could be found in many countries such as Britain, the United States and France. The Enlightenment looked at social criticism, teaching people to question everything. It also encouraged people to put their trust in progress, over religion, to improve society using science and reason.
In order to formulate the ideas for her reforms, Catherine corresponded with a number of Enlightenment philosophers. The three philosophers she primarily communicated with were Voltaire, Diderot and d’Almebert and overtime she formed a close relationship with them all, with each of them mentioning her in their own writings. Through her correspondence with the philosopher’s, she was able to acquire a more in depth knowledge of the Enlightenment and the thinking behind it. The philosopher’s saw her as an enlightened despot, a ruler who implemented the ideas of the enlightenment, and were willing to give her advice on her reforms for Russia. Despite her passion for the Enlightenment, and her implementation of Enlightenment principles, Catherine the Great remained an absolute monarch, which was something that went against Enlightenment ideals. Of the three main philosophers she corresponded with, Catherine grew especially close to Voltaire, who she communicated with for fifteen years. Their interests in politics, philosophy and literature were very similar and she enjoyed the intellect of their conversations. In their letters, they often discussed the politics of Russia and it’s foreign and domestic affairs. In addition, Catherine received a collection of Voltaire’s books, which she placed in the National Library of Russia, to encourage interest in the Enlightenment amongst the people of Russia. Through her correspondence with the Enlightenment philosopher’s, Catherine the Great was able to model her reforms based on ideas of the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment philosopher’s influenced Catherine’s implementation of political reforms. One of which was making an alliance with nobility, by putting an end to meritocracy and giving rights back to nobles. Throughout her time as ruler of Russia, Catherine promoted westernisation and modernisation, in an attempt to put Russia at the same level as the other major countries of the world. She also supported westernisation because it allowed her to form foreign policies, helping her to strengthen Russia’s connections with Britain. One of her most notable political achievements was her engagement in two successful wars against the Ottoman Empire, which allowed her to extend the borders of Russia. Her first victory in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) enabled her to expand the Russian Empire to include areas such as Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Crimea and to gain access to ports on the Black Sea. This then led to her discovery of a number of new cities and improved trade relations between Russia and other European countries. Despite signing treaties with the Ottoman Empire, they engaged in war with Russia again, in the second Russo Turkish War (1787–1792) and once again Catherine successfully led her country to victory. As a result of the second war, Russian gained control of the Yedisan region. By implementing political reforms, Catherine improved Russia’s foreign relations and expanded the country.
During her reign, Catherine enforced both cultural and social reforms which shaped Russia. Catherine was an enlightened despot, which was when “absolute monarchs pursued legal, social, and educational reforms inspired by the Enlightenment” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/931000/enlightened-despotism). She was very passionate about literature and the arts, which led to her correspondence with philosophers, as she attempted to improve aspects of art and literature in Russia. To reform Russia’s architecture, Catherine commissioned a number of buildings in the country, modelling them using the ideas of the Enlightenment. She also built a number of academies and libraries and directed the building of an extension of the Hermitage Museum. In this section of the Hermitage Museum, Catherine displayed the collection of art, which she had acquired over time. Catherine’s cultural and social reforms modernised Russia and introduced new aspects of art and literature.
Catherine’s economic reforms enhanced the wealth of Russia and its people. One of her first acts was to help Russia rectify it’s financial situation. To do this, Catherine focused primarily on agriculture by encouraging farmers to breed horses, sheep and cattle. She also contributed funds for new machinery to be used by farmers for more efficient farming. She also responded to the petition from a number of Russian citizens, by creating the Free Economic Society (1765), which was used to encourage improvements to agriculture and industry and was seen as the bridge between science and agriculture. Through gaining access to the Black Sea Port, Russia’s trade opportunities with other countries, such as Britain and Japan, improved because they could now trade their goods with them with an increased level of ease. Another one of Catherine’s economic initiatives was the issuing of the first paper money for Russia, which was introduced along with the Assignation Bank. To bring money into the country, Catherine encouraged people to move to live in Russia.. If they could not afford to travel to the country, they could go to their closest Russian Embassy, where their travel fees would be funded for them. While this may seem costly, it made people more inclined to live in Russia. Through her implementation of economic reforms, Catherine improved Russia’s financial situation.
Catherine’s education reforms were based on ideas of the Enlightenment from the philosophers. She had a belief that education was imperative for Russian people and promoted the study of the Enlightenment for the elite. She firmly supported the idea of having a national school system, including a number of schools set up to educate the female population of Russia too and eventually, in 1786, Catherine went on to implement the Russian Statute of National Education. This decree encouraged the education of those who were nobles or were part of the middle class. Throughout her implementation of this reform, Catherine received guidance from Diderot, who told her that “It is necessary to set up in each large town one single school” and that she should make it law for parents to send their children to school. With the assistance of Diderot, Catherine successfully implemented education reforms in Russia.
Throughout her time as ruler of Russia, Catherine the Great made a significant impact. By corresponding with Enlightenment Philosopher’s, she was able to implement some of the ideas of the Enlightenment into reforms for Russia. These reforms looked at political, social, cultural, economical and educational policies which could have an impact upon Russia.. Through these reforms, Russia entered the worldwide stage of politics and became one of the most dominant countries in the world. Russia’s political reforms enable the country to expand over 500 000 square kilometres, after the conquering of the Ottoman Empire on two occasions. These wars allowed Russia to gain access to the Black Sea Port which improved Russia’s communication and trade relationships with other countries, providing a way to boost the Russian economy. Through education reforms, Catherine allowed Russian’s to learn of the enlightenment and to become more knowledgeable, giving them the opportunity to have jobs which required a higher level of education. Her introduction of social and cultural reforms allowed the people of Russia to become westernised, experiencing art and literature associated with the Enlightenment. Without her correspondence with the Enlightenment Philosophers, Voltaire, Diderot and d’Almebert, Catherine would never have been able to learn as much about the Enlightenment as she did. This meant she would never have been able to shape Russian society into being one of the major countries of the world that it is today.
By Emma Borkman
Who influenced Catherine the Great’s reforms and what impact did these reforms have on Russia?
Through Catherine’s the Great’s correspondence with Enlightenment Philosophers, she was able to formulate reforms to implement for Russia. The Enlightenment was a period of time where scientific exploration flourished. Catherine endeavoured to make contact with a number of Enlightenment Philosopher’s during her reign and through this correspondence, she was able to come up with a number of reforms. These reforms were of political, social, educational, economical and cultural nature and followed the principles of the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an era of cultural movement where philosophers attempted to reform society through challenging current ideas and using the scientific method. Although there is no specific year that the Enlightenment began, many people believe it originated during the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe. The Enlightenment was a time when people began to use reason, as an alternative to religion, to explain occurrences in the world. By doing this, they questioned authority and over time, ideas of the Enlightenment could be found in many countries such as Britain, the United States and France. The Enlightenment looked at social criticism, teaching people to question everything. It also encouraged people to put their trust in progress, over religion, to improve society using science and reason.
In order to formulate the ideas for her reforms, Catherine corresponded with a number of Enlightenment philosophers. The three philosophers she primarily communicated with were Voltaire, Diderot and d’Almebert and overtime she formed a close relationship with them all, with each of them mentioning her in their own writings. Through her correspondence with the philosopher’s, she was able to acquire a more in depth knowledge of the Enlightenment and the thinking behind it. The philosopher’s saw her as an enlightened despot, a ruler who implemented the ideas of the enlightenment, and were willing to give her advice on her reforms for Russia. Despite her passion for the Enlightenment, and her implementation of Enlightenment principles, Catherine the Great remained an absolute monarch, which was something that went against Enlightenment ideals. Of the three main philosophers she corresponded with, Catherine grew especially close to Voltaire, who she communicated with for fifteen years. Their interests in politics, philosophy and literature were very similar and she enjoyed the intellect of their conversations. In their letters, they often discussed the politics of Russia and it’s foreign and domestic affairs. In addition, Catherine received a collection of Voltaire’s books, which she placed in the National Library of Russia, to encourage interest in the Enlightenment amongst the people of Russia. Through her correspondence with the Enlightenment philosopher’s, Catherine the Great was able to model her reforms based on ideas of the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment philosopher’s influenced Catherine’s implementation of political reforms. One of which was making an alliance with nobility, by putting an end to meritocracy and giving rights back to nobles. Throughout her time as ruler of Russia, Catherine promoted westernisation and modernisation, in an attempt to put Russia at the same level as the other major countries of the world. She also supported westernisation because it allowed her to form foreign policies, helping her to strengthen Russia’s connections with Britain. One of her most notable political achievements was her engagement in two successful wars against the Ottoman Empire, which allowed her to extend the borders of Russia. Her first victory in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) enabled her to expand the Russian Empire to include areas such as Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Crimea and to gain access to ports on the Black Sea. This then led to her discovery of a number of new cities and improved trade relations between Russia and other European countries. Despite signing treaties with the Ottoman Empire, they engaged in war with Russia again, in the second Russo Turkish War (1787–1792) and once again Catherine successfully led her country to victory. As a result of the second war, Russian gained control of the Yedisan region. By implementing political reforms, Catherine improved Russia’s foreign relations and expanded the country.
During her reign, Catherine enforced both cultural and social reforms which shaped Russia. Catherine was an enlightened despot, which was when “absolute monarchs pursued legal, social, and educational reforms inspired by the Enlightenment” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/931000/enlightened-despotism). She was very passionate about literature and the arts, which led to her correspondence with philosophers, as she attempted to improve aspects of art and literature in Russia. To reform Russia’s architecture, Catherine commissioned a number of buildings in the country, modelling them using the ideas of the Enlightenment. She also built a number of academies and libraries and directed the building of an extension of the Hermitage Museum. In this section of the Hermitage Museum, Catherine displayed the collection of art, which she had acquired over time. Catherine’s cultural and social reforms modernised Russia and introduced new aspects of art and literature.
Catherine’s economic reforms enhanced the wealth of Russia and its people. One of her first acts was to help Russia rectify it’s financial situation. To do this, Catherine focused primarily on agriculture by encouraging farmers to breed horses, sheep and cattle. She also contributed funds for new machinery to be used by farmers for more efficient farming. She also responded to the petition from a number of Russian citizens, by creating the Free Economic Society (1765), which was used to encourage improvements to agriculture and industry and was seen as the bridge between science and agriculture. Through gaining access to the Black Sea Port, Russia’s trade opportunities with other countries, such as Britain and Japan, improved because they could now trade their goods with them with an increased level of ease. Another one of Catherine’s economic initiatives was the issuing of the first paper money for Russia, which was introduced along with the Assignation Bank. To bring money into the country, Catherine encouraged people to move to live in Russia.. If they could not afford to travel to the country, they could go to their closest Russian Embassy, where their travel fees would be funded for them. While this may seem costly, it made people more inclined to live in Russia. Through her implementation of economic reforms, Catherine improved Russia’s financial situation.
Catherine’s education reforms were based on ideas of the Enlightenment from the philosophers. She had a belief that education was imperative for Russian people and promoted the study of the Enlightenment for the elite. She firmly supported the idea of having a national school system, including a number of schools set up to educate the female population of Russia too and eventually, in 1786, Catherine went on to implement the Russian Statute of National Education. This decree encouraged the education of those who were nobles or were part of the middle class. Throughout her implementation of this reform, Catherine received guidance from Diderot, who told her that “It is necessary to set up in each large town one single school” and that she should make it law for parents to send their children to school. With the assistance of Diderot, Catherine successfully implemented education reforms in Russia.
Throughout her time as ruler of Russia, Catherine the Great made a significant impact. By corresponding with Enlightenment Philosopher’s, she was able to implement some of the ideas of the Enlightenment into reforms for Russia. These reforms looked at political, social, cultural, economical and educational policies which could have an impact upon Russia.. Through these reforms, Russia entered the worldwide stage of politics and became one of the most dominant countries in the world. Russia’s political reforms enable the country to expand over 500 000 square kilometres, after the conquering of the Ottoman Empire on two occasions. These wars allowed Russia to gain access to the Black Sea Port which improved Russia’s communication and trade relationships with other countries, providing a way to boost the Russian economy. Through education reforms, Catherine allowed Russian’s to learn of the enlightenment and to become more knowledgeable, giving them the opportunity to have jobs which required a higher level of education. Her introduction of social and cultural reforms allowed the people of Russia to become westernised, experiencing art and literature associated with the Enlightenment. Without her correspondence with the Enlightenment Philosophers, Voltaire, Diderot and d’Almebert, Catherine would never have been able to learn as much about the Enlightenment as she did. This meant she would never have been able to shape Russian society into being one of the major countries of the world that it is today.