a
reference to
Catherine II (1729-1796), empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, known as "
Catherine the Great." During her
reign,
Catherine built
schools and hospitals, promoted
education and extended Russian territory; however, she did little to
grant basic civil rights to the Russian people, carried out few social reforms and
left the
vast majority impoverished. In 1773, a peasant uprising swept across Russia, almost advancing to
Moscow, and became the greatest Russian
rebellion up to that
time.
Catherine crushed this
revolt with
government troops and thereafter instituted more systematized
control of the peasants, nearly
eradicating what
freedom they had, and divided the
administration of the various areas of Russia between her favorites and ministers.