Catherine As Ruler

The Rule of Catherine can pretty much be summed up in one word: Reform.

One of the first things that Catherine did was the writing of her Nakaz or Insturctions.  This was essentially a code of laws that were inspired by the writings of [Beccaria] and [Montesquieu]. These were not normal laws, but more enlightened laws.  She instituted a law making body to enforce these laws, but it didn't really work out the way she planned.  And she decided to go a little more conservative after this.  Next, Catherine reorganized the administration in 1775.  The purpose was so the government could have more control over rural areas.  This reorganization led to the making of provinces and districts with these divisions lasting until about 1917.

However, I think the most important thing that Catherine did was to expand the borders of Russia and gain control of other areas. For example, she allowed serfdom to spill over into the Ukraine thus solidifying Russian power there and the Baltic Areas. At first, Catherine transferred some state land to nobles to show her gratitude.  But, she was really into gaining land by conquest.  She very much enjoyed this.

Catherine especially took advantage of her weaker neighbors.  aka Poland and Ottoman Empire.  (much to the dismay of the DYT). In 1764, Catherine placed one of her former lovers, Stanislaus Poniatowski, on the Polish throne becoming Stanislaus the II. After this, Poland was soon partitioned off to a few different countries.  So, Poland kind of just disappeared.

Next, Catherine went after the Ottoman Empire.  Thus she embarked on her first war with them from 1768-1774, ending in the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji.  This pretty much declared Russia's power in the Middle East.  This also led to the i nvention of the [Greek Project] by Catherine and another of her lovers Grigori Potemkin.  In 1783, Catherine went after Crimea.  This became part of Russia with the Treaty of [Jassay] in 1792.  This pretty much gave Russian control over the northern coast of the Black Sea.

Catherine was also good at sticking her nose in other peoples business...especially if it was European Affairs.  In 1778, she was the mediator between Prussia and Austria in the War of the Bavarian Succession.  In 1780, she organized a group to defend neutral shipping from attacks by Great Britain who was at that point fighting in the American Revolution.

On a side note, there seems to be a common theme among these wars.  Catherine loved her boyfriends, and they loved her.  I mean, come on, why wouldn't they?  Catherine loved to promote her current boy toy to some project or undertaking in her military expansion.    So, what power hungry guy wouldn't want to date Catherine?