History

PETER THE GREAT AND CATHERINE THE GREAT : SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Only two monarchs of Romanov dynasty of Russia were honored Great ' - Peter I (1672-1725 ) and Catherine II (1730-1797 . The most famous Russian poet Pushkin once observed , that Peter pranced ' Russia . Such is his monument in his city - Petersburg , erected by Catherine . The epigraph on it reads : to Peter I from Catherine II . It seems , that Catherine wanted to stress , that Peter was first , and she follows second in his reforms . In this I will try to show , whether these rulers were

truly similar by comparing their life and rule

Both Peter and Catherine appeared to have little chances to succeed the Russian throne . Peter was a tenth child of his father from his second wife with two older brothers . Catherine was a princess from a minor German principality and her father was nothing but a general and a governor of Frederick the Great of Prussia . Peter succeeded the throne after death of his father and older brother Fedor , followed by the revolt of the Streltsy (the guards , and had to share it with his sister Sophia and half-brother Ivan for seven years , when , after Ivan 's death he managed to enjail Sophia in a monastery and establish his own absolute rule . Catherine became a wife of prince Peter of Russia (later Peter III ) in the age of 15 and spent 12 years at the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia (niece of Peter I , until her husband succeeded the throne . After half a year of his rule she led the guards to overthrow Peter III from the throne . Her rule became absolute after her husband has been killed by the guards - either by her direct , or with her implied consent

Peter was Russian by birth , however , since his early years he has been strongly influenced by the Europeans , who lived in Moscow in a special district , called Nemetskaya Sloboda (German Village , and his whole life has been devoted to reforming Russia and turning it into a European power . Catherine was German by birth , but she did her best to understand the country , which she ruled . She learned Russian and even wrote satiric plays in this language , retained her German accent until her death . In some ways , Catherine seems to be even more Russian , than her Russian advisers

Peter is considered to be the greatest reformer of Russia . He reformed the army , navy , administrative system , church , industry and mining spelling of Russian language and even the appearance of his subjects Yet his reforms were rather sporadic , than systematic . Many of them were comical , such as his to the nobles to have their beards cut or to wear only a specific type of trousers , and some lead to catastrophic consequences , including peasant rebellions and deaths of thousands Moreover , many of those reforms , including army reform , started even before Peter 's birth . Peter often copied only external forms without deep understanding . He is more likely to play a European...