Interesting stories about Catherine 2. Interesting facts from the life of Catherine II (15 photos). According to Count Segur, the rule of Catherine II was to “praise out loud, and scold quietly”

Catherine II is probably one of the most prominent and respected women politicians in the entire history of the world. Opinions about her may be different, but the fact that she very skillfully combined the role of a wise ruler and a tender lover is undeniable. Our shot has ripened everywhere.

You can find out how she managed to combine business with pleasure, find time for herself, her interests and passionate gentlemen by looking at her daily routine.

The empress got up at five in the morning. It sounds terrifying, but she coped with it one hundred percent without much difficulty, being a lark by nature.

In order to finally move away from sleep, every morning Catherine drank strong Turkish coffee. Moreover, the strength of the coffee was such that the remaining coffee grounds were enough for a few more brews. Catherine herself loved to brew this strongest drink for herself, not believing that this somehow belittles her royal dignity.

After a light breakfast, the working day began. The Empress was very fond of writing, sometimes going too far with her penchant for graphomania. She loved to compose her own works - mostly plays and poems. With pleasure, Catherine kept diaries, wrote her memoirs with her own hand. And only after literary research I looked through state documents and petitions. When she was in the midst of her labor activity, the palace was just waking up. She was indulgent about someone else's love for a long sleep, realizing that not everyone gets up so early easily.

Paper work went on until nine in the morning. But with 9 sleepy ministers of the Russian state, they had to overcome their desire to lie in bed longer and come to the reception of the Empress with ready-made reports. Fortunately for the ministers, the ceremony lasted no more than three hours.

At noon, Catherine began her simple toilet: washing, building a comfortable, simple hairstyle, a light layer of powder to hide the excessive redness of her face, and she was ready to go out. Her Imperial Majesty valued naturalness both in appearance and in the manner of communication.

The next constant item in her schedule was the presence at the church service, where Catherine prayed fervently - each time she proved to her people that there was nothing foreign and alien in her, and that the religion of the Russian people became the only true one for her.

After the service - reception of foreign ambassadors and ministers.

And only after all these things - a modest dinner. She ate little and preferred boiled beef to other foods, taking care of her health and physical fitness. It's not easy to fit in with young lovers.

Despite her busy schedule, she always found time to relax. Most of all, she liked listening to readings of classical works or watching modern comedies. Catherine could not stand literature, in which there was excessive drama and sentimentality.

Often she went for walks, believing that slow, measured walking helps to clear her thoughts and calm her nerves.

The Empress loved horseback riding and hunting. With these activities, she managed no worse than any man. But Catherine had interests that were more exciting. Her main passion was the science of love, and, to a greater extent, it was physical. She treated this hobby of hers very carefully: only a young healthy man, distinguished not only by his attractive appearance, but also by his outstanding mental abilities, could be the empress's partner. But there were exceptions to this rule, because love, as they say, is evil.

August 13, 2011, 14:59

It is difficult to make a short post about the life of such an interesting, versatile and talented statesman as Catherine II. I chose some interesting facts about her life and a few historical anecdotes. 1. In January 1744, the escort that escorted from Riga to St. Petersburg fifteen-year-old Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst-Everskaya, who in 18 years will ascend the throne of Russia as autocratic Empress Catherine II, was commanded by Hieronymus Munchausen. The same well-known truth lover! 2. Daily routine: After accession to the throne, Catherine immediately established new rules at court, subordinating her regime to state affairs. Her day was scheduled by the hour, and its routine remained unchanged throughout her reign. Only the time of sleep changed: if in her mature years Catherine got up at 5, then closer to old age - at 6, and by the end of her life even at 7 in the morning. From 8 to 11 the empress received high-ranking officials and secretaries of state. The days and hours of reception of each official were constant. But German pedantry made itself felt not only in this. Her papers always lay on the table in a strictly defined order. The hours of work and rest, breakfast, lunch and dinner were also constant. At 10 or 11 pm Catherine finished the day and went to bed. 3. After dinner, the empress took up needlework, and I.I. Betskoy at that time read aloud to her. Ekaterina "masterfully sewed on canvas", knitted on knitting needles. Having finished reading, she moved to the Hermitage, where she sharpened from bone, wood, amber, translated antiques onto glass, engraved, played billiards. 4. Catherine was indifferent to fashion. She did not notice her, and sometimes quite deliberately ignored her. By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she wrote plays and even sent some of them to Voltaire for "review". 5. Catherine came up with a special suit for the six-month-old Tsarevich Alexander, the pattern of which was asked from her by the Prussian prince and the Swedish king for their own children. And for her beloved subjects, the empress invented the cut of the Russian dress, which they were forced to wear at her court. 6. On the shield at the entrance to the Hermitage there was an inscription: "The mistress of these places does not tolerate coercion." 7. People who knew Catherine closely note her attractive appearance not only in her youth, but also in her mature years, her exceptionally friendly appearance, ease of handling. 8. The Empress was quick-tempered, but knew how to control herself and never made decisions in a fit of anger. She was very polite even with the servants, no one heard a rude word from her, she did not order, but asked to fulfill her will. Her rule, according to the testimony of Count Segur, was "to praise aloud, and to scold on the sly." 9. Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, who was first introduced to her with her husband in Tsarskoye Selo at the end of August 1781, described Catherine as follows: "a very attractive woman with lovely expressive eyes and an intelligent look" 10. The same baroness calculated how much it costs Empress food. it turned out that 90 rubles are spent daily on this (for comparison: the salary of a soldier in the era of Catherine's reign was only 7 rubles a year). The Empress has lunch at one o'clock. She is served by lackeys, who serve food on silver utensils. She is reserved in her food and never eats dinner. Due to frequent headaches, he drinks some white wine before going to bed. 11. During her reign from 1762 to 1796, the population of Russia increased from 30 to 44 million, the army and state bodies were modernized, the possessions of the empire expanded significantly. 12. During her reign, only one execution was carried out - the leader of the peasant uprising, Emelyan Pugachev. 13. There were 13 documented men in her life, including her husband.
14. For promoting the spread of Buddhism in Russia, Catherine II was ranked by the lamas of Buryatia as one of the manifestations of White Tara. Since then, Buddhism has been one of the traditional religions in Russia. 15. Thomas Dimsdale, an English doctor, was called from London to introduce smallpox inoculations in Russia (the young emperor Peter II died of this terrible disease in 1729). Knowing about the resistance of society to innovation, Empress Catherine II decided to set a personal example and became one of the first patients of Dimsdale. In 1768, an Englishman vaccinated her and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich with smallpox. The recovery of the Empress and her son was a significant event in the life of the Russian court. 16. Long before her death, Catherine composed an epitaph for her future tombstone: “Here lies Catherine the Second. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At the age of fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth and the people. She did not miss anything in order to achieve success in this respect. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness prompted her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She she forgave easily and hated no one. She was indulgent, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a good heart. She had friends. Work was given to her easily. She liked social entertainment and the arts. " 17. The reign of Catherine II ended, according to legend, because of the advice of a rogue healer to take foot baths in cold water, followed by a blow and a 36-hour agony. Historical anecdotes about Catherine II: Once Catherine II received a petition from a naval captain to allow him to marry a black woman. Catherine allowed, but her permission caused condemnation among many Orthodox, who considered such a marriage to be sinful. Catherine answered this way: "This is nothing more than an ambitious political plan against Turkey: I wanted to solemnly commemorate the marriage of the Russian fleet with the Black Sea." On February 27, 1782, the abbot of the St. Nicholas Monastery, located in the Vladimir governorship in the vicinity of the county town of Shuya, told Catherine that the wife of a peasant Fyodor Vasiliev had 69 children in 40 years of their marriage. Fyodor Vasiliev was born in 1707 and married at 17. During the period from 1725 to 1765, 69 children appeared in his family - 16 twins, 7 triplets and 4 quadruples. Another thing is noteworthy, only two of the 69 children died in childhood, the rest were strong and healthy. At the request of Catherine, the peasants of the Vasilievs were introduced to her and generously endowed by her. And later the Empress from time to time remembered them and took part in them. The old General Fyodor Mikhailovich Shestakov, having served for more than 40 years, had never been to St. Petersburg and came there only on the occasion of his resignation to receive the documents necessary for his pension. The secretary of Catherine II introduced Shestakov to the Empress, who loved to present awards, diplomas and everything else that could be pleasant to honored officials and the military. Seeing Shestakov for the first time, Ekaterina was surprised, because she believed that she knew all her generals, and, unable to restrain herself, remarked: - How is it, Fyodor Mikhailovich, that I have never seen you before? “But I, mother queen, didn’t know you either,” answered the simple-hearted old man. - Well, me, a poor widow, where do you know! And you, Fyodor Mikhailovich, are still a general! Countess Branitskaya noticed that Catherine II was taking snuff with her left hand, and asked: "Why not with the right, Your Majesty?" To which Catherine replied: "As a tsar-woman, I often give kisses to my right hand and find it obscene to smother everyone with tobacco." One day, the Russian ambassador at the court of Frederick the Great once told Catherine that the Prussian king was telling everyone that she was ill. Then Catherine wrote the following to the ambassador: “I have long known that the Prussian king really likes to pass me off as sick, and this clearly proves that he himself is very sick, because a healthy person is never interested in and does not deal with the illnesses of another.” Once, in the presence of Catherine, Pavel Petrovich read dispatches from revolutionary France. Indignantly, he exclaimed: "I would have stopped everything with guns a long time ago!" Catherine calmly reacted to this: "You are a bloodthirsty fool! Or do you not understand that guns cannot fight ideas?"

The life of Catherine II was not so rich in external events. The history of Russia in the second half of the 18th century is the personal history of its ruler. But the opposite statement is also true: the history of Catherine is the history of Russia: this woman had too much influence on her subjects and their descendants. The daily life of the Empress is interesting not only in itself, but also in the context of the large-scale changes that the country experienced during the years of her reign.

V In 1788, sixty-year-old Catherine wrote, either proudly or bitterly: "I work like a horse." And apparently she wasn't exaggerating. According to the historian Yevgeny Anisimov, "after Peter the Great, there was no such hard worker on the Russian throne as she."

The morning of the empress began at five o'clock with a cup of Turkish coffee (over the years, she began to allow herself the "liberty" - to get up at six, but even in old age no later than seven). For "horse" work, the dose of coffee should be appropriate: a pound for five cups. The strength of the imperial coffee is legendary. The sediment at the bottom of the coffee pot was digested by the lackeys for themselves, after which there was also enough for the stokers. It was said that once Catherine offered her coffee to some nobleman, who, as it seemed to her, was frozen. After taking a sip, he felt ill and could barely stay on his feet. Sometimes the Empress made coffee herself. She kindled the fireplace in the morning, too.

Catherine's daily routine has hardly changed over the thirty-four years of her reign: after morning coffee, work began. The Empress admitted to a certain degree of "graphomania": she loved so much to draw up various kinds of "projects", to write various notes - from personal diaries to historical writings. According to her, “without peeing, you can’t live even one day.” Ekaterina's passion for "paper-smearing" was more than compensated for by the result of her work. Early morning, however, was mainly not "state", but the personal time of the Empress. At this time, plays, comic works, librettos, fairy tales, memoirs came out from under her pen ... These hours were also devoted to the empress's correspondence, and it was, as you know, extremely extensive. From the Winter Palace, letters went to all parts of Europe: to monarchs, philosophers, owners of fashionable literary and political salons. “I can’t see a clean pen without dipping it in ink,” Catherine admitted, “if there is still paper on the table, then, of course, my hand will end up with a pen on this paper.”

When the empress was already working with might and main, the servants were just waking up. Catherine treated this quite condescendingly, patiently waiting for her to change the water in the decanter. They say that the Empress somehow got bored with waiting, and she went out into the adjacent hall, where the valets calmly played cards. “We just wanted to finish the game,” was their whole tale. No punishment followed.

After nine, Catherine usually received visitors. The days and hours of reception of each official were constant, so that, voluntarily or involuntarily, all her closest employees had to adapt to the schedule of the empress. While the empress listened to her ministers, the palace was finally waking up. At the same time, not everyone paid attention to Catherine's classes. Once, during a report in the next room, young people made such a noise that they drowned out the dignitary. "Won't you tell them to be quiet?" he asked. “No, everyone has their own occupations,” the empress sighed. “Let them have fun, and read loudly yourself.”

TO in the afternoon, exhausted, Ekaterina usually took up her toilet. The hairdresser styled her hair - the empress loved a low, simple hairstyle with small curls behind her ears all her life. Then she rinsed her mouth and throat - that's her entire ten to fifteen minute toilet.

Immediately after him, the Empress went to dinner. But the meal was still far away. First, it was necessary to go through the ritual of the royal "exit". On the way to the dining room, the empress talked with the nobles who were waiting for her, attended church services, and on major holidays after that, in the large reception hall, she solemnly received foreign ministers and ambassadors. This ceremony made an indelible impression on foreigners. “Among what a myriad of sashes, stars, various uniforms, we saw ourselves,” the anonymous German traveler recalled. - The Empress is now 52 years old, but she is the least ugly; on the contrary, there are still many signs of her former beauty in the features of her face, and in general signs of her bodily charms are visible. There is as much dignity and majesty in her eyes as there is mercy and indulgence.

Only at the end of this ceremony did the empress proceed to dinner. Moderate in food, Catherine preferred to use the lunch time not so much to satisfy her gastronomic whims, but as an occasion for an interesting conversation. She usually tasted a little of the three or four courses on the table - her favorites were boiled beef and currant jelly, drank a glass of rheinwein and moved on to conversation. By the way, this was the last meal - Catherine never had dinner. At the table they talked about everything in the world, limiting themselves only to unflattering judgments about Peter the Great and Louis XIV, as well as to free comments on religious and moral topics.

After dinner, the Empress again took up business. Only in her old age, and even then in the summer, did she sometimes begin to sleep after dinner. European mail arrived twice a week: not only personal and diplomatic letters, but also Western newspapers. The nobles closest to the empress were engaged in parsing mail, and Catherine took on the role of press secretary, personally dictating rebuttals to articles she did not like.

Sometimes Catherine allowed herself to take a break from politics, and then fiction was read aloud to her. However, here, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, "she was very picky in her reading: she did not like anything either sad, or too tender, or the refinements of the mind and feelings." The empress preferred the classics, which is not surprising, since state activities took up too much of her time to also follow fashionable literature.

Catherine's daily activities were by no means limited to writing and reading. Her other passion was walking, and especially horseback riding. Having learned to ride a horse already in Russia, for many years she became a passionate rider who loved long walks and dangerous adventures. It seems that hunting and shooting with a gun was her personal way of asserting herself. True, the queen loved only summer trips; with the onset of winter, the rider completely disappeared in her.

A lover of horse riding, Catherine introduced the custom of walking on foot in Russia. In spring and autumn, she allowed herself to take a walk even in St. Petersburg, without any fear or embarrassment of her subjects. True, she usually took such walks early in the morning, when most Petersburgers were just waking up.

V Evening at the court began early - at six o'clock, which is not surprising, given that Catherine was a real "lark". The main event of the evening was, as a rule, a theatrical production. In the most turbulent years of Catherine's reign, performances were staged every other day, by the end of her life - once a week. Sometimes the empress herself became the author of the play.

In the days when the Empress preferred a narrow circle of friends to a wide gathering, a particularly relaxed atmosphere reigned in the palace. To achieve it, Ekaterina had to draw up instructions in which she suggested that guests behave as they please, forget about ranks and generally have a good time. A violation was even supposed to be a symbolic punishment - to drink a glass of water and read a page from the Telemachiad, Trediakovsky's epic poem, written in extremely difficult archaic language.

I must say that almost all her life Catherine was haunted by a train of scandalous rumors about the mores that prevailed at her court. It is difficult to judge their validity: on the one hand, the empress was really not very picky in love affairs, on the other hand, there is no reliable evidence of orgies that allegedly took place in the evenings at court. It is known that even for intimate meetings with her favorites, she usually preferred the morning, explaining this by the fact that by the evening her strength left her.

The real mystery of Catherine's life is not in secret games of a dubious nature, but in how, with such an outwardly measured lifestyle, she worked so efficiently and managed to do so much for her country.

Read about the activities of Catherine II in the newspaper "History"
Publishing House "First of September"

Times change, but the interest in the great rulers of the past remains unchanged, because you can borrow something from them that the modern leader really lacks. Empress Catherine II is among such outstanding leaders of her time. She was a beautiful and disciplined person who skillfully led the throne. It is impossible to reflect in a small publication all the interesting moments and facts of her life during her reign.

What is worth knowing

The following moments of her busy life deserve the attention of the public:

Having German roots, Catherine II was distinguished by her pedantry in everything. She always adhered to her daily routine: getting up at 5 in the morning, and after breakfast, the official reception hours for officials and secretaries of state began, it was limited to 11. At this time, the queen went to bed. The hours of eating were also strictly regulated.
Every day the food of the Empress took 90 rub. (the monthly salary of a soldier at that time was only 9 rubles per year). She preferred boiled beef with pickles; instead of the traditional tea, she drank a glass of berry juice. For dessert, she was served fresh apples or cherries.
Like any woman, the Empress devoted all afternoon time to her favorite pastime - needlework. She excellently sewed canvas, knitted, sharpened bone and stone figures, made various engravings, and played billiards well.
Despite her position, she was not so worried about fashion, she could deliberately ignore it, on weekdays she wore a simple dress and no jewelry. Despite this, her imagination was well developed. She came up with a unique costume for her 6-month-old baby Alexander. In the future, the famous Russian prince and the Swedish king sought to get his pattern for their own children. For her chosen subjects, the queen personally developed the original cut of the dress.
Ekaterina was a comprehensively developed, creative person. She wrote beautiful plays, some of which were edited by Voltaire.
During the reign, she managed to significantly expand the limits of the state, the system of state bodies and the tsarist army were modernized. At this time, 11 provinces were acquired, appeared 144 new cities.
The "golden age" for the local nobility was the time of her reign.
During her time on the throne, the total population increased for 14 million people.

Some features of the character of the empress

There was much more remarkable in this seemingly simple, but at the same time so majestic woman. If you list all the remarkable moments in history associated with this name, you get quite a lot. It is worth focusing on the following interesting facts:

Despite the fact that Catherine was among the Orthodox and Catholics, she was an adherent of Buddhism. Since then, this type of religion has become traditional in Russia.
She had a poor command of the basics of Russian grammar, so mistakes were often found in her notes.
In terms of addictions, Catherine had only a craving for smoking tobacco, so as not to stain her snow-white gloves with particles of tobacco, she asked each end of the cigar to be wrapped in a piece of expensive silk.
In dealing with people, she showed affability and courtesy, her temper was calm, she had a kind heart, she sincerely loved life. She was well versed in people and owned the intricacies of human psychology, she was extremely polite with everyone, in moments of anger she tried not to make fateful decisions.
The queen was the first to introduce the vaccination against smallpox without fail.
The ideas of the Enlightenment were very close to her and often appeared in conversations.
In her convictions she was a true Republican, she spoke out against serfdom.
The most precious thing in her life was her power and everything connected with it, the creation and adoption of all state laws were on her fragile shoulders.
Many noted her intelligence and beauty, which she was able to maintain even in old age, for which noble men of that time loved her.
At the time of her reign, they began issuing paper currency.
The first banks of national importance and savings banks opened during her reign.
According to official data, in the life of the Empress there were 13 men.
She was known for her generosity, even giving gifts to local peasants, such as a large family that gave birth to 69 children in 40 years of marriage.
She gave permission for the marriage of one naval captain to marry a black woman, her act caused a lot of indignation among noble people, many even saw this as some kind of political trick.
Secular entertainment and various kinds of art were to her liking, she actively took part in all secular festivities.
The only person she ordered to be executed was Yemelyan Pugachev.
Long before her death, Catherine wrote her grave epitaph with her own hand, where she tried to objectively reflect all the most important moments of her life, some remarkable character traits. In this way, she was able to convey to her contemporaries her true appearance - a simple, courteous, but fair empress.
An organized palace coup helped Catherine to take the throne, she prepared for the reign for a long time and carefully, studying the local customs and traditions, the Russian language.
During her reign, Russia managed to approach the number of countries with a well-developed culture, which she tried to pay maximum attention to.
Along with positive changes, there was a negative moment in the economic development of the country - a state debt of 34 million rubles was formed, with which this was connected, the sources are silent.
Catherine was famous for her good disposition, her ability to forgive, she preferred to praise loudly rather than scold someone in public.

This is the most basic thing that many historians note about this great personality, who played an important role in the history of the state.

Even during her lifetime, Catherine II was called the Great, and this honorary title was preserved for her in the official imperial historiography. The attitude of Russian and European society towards the most outstanding empress of the 18th century was, however, completely ambiguous. This is quite natural - in Catherine, as well as in the whole appearance of Catherine's Russia, incompatible features were combined: sin and virtue, greatness and meanness, subtlety of artistic taste and vulgarity. Empress Catherine II is one of the brightest phenomena in Russian history.

1) During the reign of Catherine the Great from 1762 to 1796, the possessions of the empire expanded significantly.

Of the 50 provinces, 11 were acquired during the years of her reign. The amount of state revenues increased from 16 to 68 million rubles. 144 new cities were built (more than 4 cities per year throughout the reign). The army almost doubled, the number of ships of the Russian fleet increased from 20 to 67 battleships, not counting other ships. The army and navy scored 78 brilliant victories, which strengthened Russia's international prestige.

Access to the Black and Azov Seas was won, Crimea, Ukraine (except for the Lvov region), Belarus, Eastern Poland, and Kabarda were annexed. The annexation of Georgia to Russia began.

During the entire reign of Catherine II (34 years), only two were subjected to public execution. Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich tried to release the "born" Tsar Ivan VI from prison. The guards, acting according to the instructions, killed the royal prisoner at the beginning of the storming of the prison. After that, Mirovich surrendered and was publicly executed in St. Petersburg "for intent against the persons of the imperial house."

Another executed - Emelyan Pugachev - was the leader of the rebellious peasants and Cossacks. Pugachev believed that the peasants would rather follow the "good" tsar than him, the Yaik Cossack (Bolotnikov and Razin, who carried self-proclaimed tsars with them, also believed). Pugachev named himself after Peter III. Pugachev said that, having signed a decree on the freedom of the nobility, Tsar Peter III prepared a decree on the freedom of the peasantry, but the nobles did not like it. The nobles planned to kill Tsar Peter III, but they killed another person, and the real king escaped. Many believed that Pugachev had gathered a large army. The war lasted two years, but the Pugachevites could not stand against the regular army. Pugachev was publicly executed in Moscow, and many of his supporters were executed in villages and villages - without much publicity.

During her reign from 1762 to 1796, the population of Russia increased from 30 to 44 million.

Under Catherine II, paper money was first issued.

The foreign policy of Catherine II was aggressive. The Empress believed that Russia should behave as during the time of Peter I.

2) The daily routine of the Empress was far from the idea of \u200b\u200bthe inhabitants of the royal life.
Her day was scheduled by the hour, and its routine remained unchanged throughout her reign. Only the time of sleep changed: if in her mature years Catherine got up at 5, then closer to old age - at 6, and by the end of her life even at 7 in the morning. After breakfast, the empress received high-ranking officials and secretaries of state. The days and hours of reception of each official were constant. The working day ended at four o'clock, and it was time for rest. The hours of work and rest, breakfast, lunch and dinner were also constant. At 10 or 11 pm Catherine finished the day and went to bed.

3) Every day, 90 rubles were spent on the food of the Empress (for comparison: the salary of a soldier in the era of Catherine's reign was only 7 rubles a year).
Boiled beef with pickles was a favorite dish, and currant juice was used as a drink. For dessert, preference was given to apples and cherries.

4) After dinner, the empress took up needlework, and Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy at that time read aloud to her.
Ekaterina “skillfully sewed on canvas”, knitted on knitting needles. Having finished reading, she moved to the Hermitage, where she sharpened from bone, wood, amber, engraved, played billiards.

5) Catherine was indifferent to fashion.
She did not notice her, and sometimes quite deliberately ignored her. On weekdays, the Empress wore a simple dress and did not wear jewelry.

6) By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she wrote plays, and even sent some of them to Voltaire for “reviewing”.

7) Catherine came up with a special suit for the six-month-old Tsarevich Alexander, the pattern of which was asked from her by the Prussian prince and the Swedish king for their own children.

And for her beloved subjects, the empress invented the cut of the Russian dress, which they were forced to wear at her court.

8) People who knew Catherine closely note her attractive appearance not only in her youth, but also in her mature years, her exceptionally friendly appearance, ease of handling.

Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, who was first introduced to her with her husband in Tsarskoye Selo at the end of August 1781, described Catherine as follows: "a very attractive woman with lovely expressive eyes and an intelligent look."

9) Catherine was aware that men liked her and she herself was not indifferent to their beauty and masculinity.
“I received from nature a great sensitivity and appearance, if not beautiful, then at least attractive. I liked the first time and did not use any art and embellishment for this.

10) The Empress was quick-tempered, but knew how to control herself, and never made decisions in a fit of anger.
She was very polite even with the servants, no one heard a rude word from her, she did not order, but asked to fulfill her will. Her rule, according to the testimony of Count Segur, was "to praise out loud, and to scold on the sly."

11) Rules hung on the walls of the ballrooms under Catherine II: it was forbidden to stand in front of the empress, even if she approached the guest and spoke to him while standing.
It was forbidden to be in a gloomy mood, insult each other. And on the shield at the entrance to the Hermitage there was an inscription: "The mistress of these places does not tolerate coercion."

12) Thomas Dimsdale, an English doctor was called from London to introduce smallpox inoculation into Russia.
Knowing about the resistance of society to innovation, Empress Catherine II decided to set a personal example and became one of the first patients of Dimsdale. In 1768, an Englishman vaccinated her and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich with smallpox. The recovery of the Empress and her son was a significant event in the life of the Russian court.

13) The Empress was a heavy smoker.
The cunning Ekaterina, not wanting her snow-white gloves to be saturated with a yellow nicotine coating, ordered to wrap the tip of each cigar with a ribbon of expensive silk.

14) The Empress read and wrote in German, French and Russian, but made many mistakes.
Ekaterina was aware of this and once confessed to one of her secretaries that “she could only learn Russian from books without a teacher,” since “Aunt Elizaveta Petrovna told my chamberlain: teach her enough, she’s already smart.” As a result, she made four mistakes in a three-letter word: instead of "more", she wrote "ischo".

15) Long before her death, Catherine composed an epitaph for her future tombstone: “Catherine the Second rests here. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth, and the people. She did not miss anything in order to achieve success in this respect. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness led her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She forgave easily and hated no one. She was indulgent, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a good heart. She had friends. The job was easy for her. She enjoyed secular entertainment and the arts."

More facts:
Under Catherine II, the Bronze Horseman was built. On the stone that served as the basis for the figure of the horseman, the inscription was made: "To Peter the Great Catherine the Second."

Tsarina Catherine II made sure that her court was magnificent. The clothes of the courtiers were all in diamonds - diamonds were on buttons, on hats, on shoes, on ties. Catherine II even played cards for diamonds (at that time 1 carat cost 100 rubles). In the front halls of the palaces one could see the bright uniforms of field marshals.

In the life of the Empress there were thirteen men, including her husband, relations with whom are documented.

In addition to Pavel, Catherine had a son from Count Orlov, Bobrinsky, Alexei Grigorievich.

Catherine II loved to sniff tobacco, she always did it with her left hand, since her right hand was kissed by loyal subjects (it was an obligatory ceremony).

Tsarina Catherine II generously gave lands, peasants, money, diamonds to her favorites, as well as to persons whom she considered necessary to reward or encourage. After her death, a public debt was discovered, which was covered for three years. 30,000 unresolved cases were also found.

Catherine II lived longer than any of the Russian tsars, she died at the age of 67.