Catherine helped rally key guards regiments in St. Petersburg against her husband, Emperor Peter III, and was proclaimed Empress Catherine II. The coup created an urgent need to secure elite support and stabilize the government, shaping many of her early policies and alliances.
Catherine published her Instruction (the Nakaz) to guide a planned overhaul of Russia’s laws. It promoted ideas like equality before the law and criticized torture, while still defending strong autocratic rule. The document signaled Catherine’s interest in Enlightenment reforms, even as practical politics limited what could change.
War with the Ottoman Empire began after the Ottomans demanded that Catherine stop interfering in Polish affairs. The conflict became a major test of Russia’s growing military power and its push toward the Black Sea. It also tied Russia’s foreign policy to the broader balance of power in Eastern Europe.
The large Legislative Commission Catherine convened to draft a modern law code did not produce a new legal system. It adjourned as wars and disagreements made reform difficult. The outcome highlighted a pattern in her reign: ambitious reform plans were often slowed or redirected by politics and conflict.
Russia, Prussia, and Austria agreed to the First Partition of Poland, taking territory from the weakened Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partition reduced Poland’s ability to resist outside control and increased Russia’s influence in the region. It also helped relieve tensions among the neighboring powers while Russia was at war with the Ottomans.
A major uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev—claiming to be the deposed Peter III—drew in Cossacks, peasants, and other groups angry about taxes, service demands, and serfdom. The rebellion threatened imperial control across a wide region. Its scale frightened the elite and pushed Catherine toward stronger internal security and tighter control over the countryside.
Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, ending the war of 1768–1774. The treaty advanced Russia’s position around the Black Sea and made the Crimean Khanate independent from the Ottoman sultan—creating conditions that later allowed Russia to bring Crimea under its control. It also expanded Russia’s diplomatic and religious claims in Ottoman lands.
After defeats and betrayal by some followers, Pugachev was captured and executed in Moscow. The government’s victory ended the largest popular uprising of Catherine’s reign. The aftermath contributed to a harder line on peasant unrest and reinforced reliance on the nobility to maintain order.
Russian forces moved against the Zaporozhian Sich, a Cossack center with traditions of self-rule, and the imperial government officially abolished it later that year. This step reduced Cossack political autonomy in the south and strengthened central control over a strategic frontier region. It also fit Catherine’s broader drive to standardize administration and limit independent power centers.
Catherine issued a manifesto declaring the annexation of the Crimean Khanate, ending its remaining independence. This brought Russia a stronger position on the Black Sea and supported longer-term plans for southern expansion and new ports. The annexation also sharpened rivalry with the Ottoman Empire and contributed to renewed war later in the decade.
Catherine concluded the Treaty of Georgievsk with the Georgian king Erekle (Heraclius) II, placing Kartli-Kakheti under Russian protection. Russia guaranteed the kingdom’s territorial integrity and dynasty, while gaining influence over Georgian foreign affairs. The agreement extended Russian power into the Caucasus and set up long-term involvement there.
Catherine issued the Charter to the Gentry, formally confirming many privileges of the nobility and recognizing noble assemblies in provinces. In the same year, she also issued the Charter to the Towns, which organized urban residents into legal categories and set rules for town self-administration. Together these measures clarified social hierarchy and local governance, but also tied reform to cooperation with elites.
Renewed conflict with the Ottoman Empire began after Ottoman demands related to Russia’s position in Crimea and the Black Sea region. The war tested Catherine’s southern strategy and her state’s capacity to sustain major campaigns. It also drew in shifting alliances and helped define Russia’s role as a leading power in Eastern Europe.
Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Jassy, ending the 1787–1792 war. The agreement confirmed Russia’s growing dominance in the Black Sea region and advanced Russia’s frontier to the Dniester River. By the early 1790s, Catherine’s southern wars had firmly shifted the regional balance in Russia’s favor.
Catherine died at Tsarskoye Selo (near St. Petersburg) after ruling for more than three decades. By her death, Russia had expanded significantly—especially toward the Black Sea and into parts of Poland—and its international influence had grown. At the same time, the state depended heavily on noble support, and unrest like Pugachev’s revolt had encouraged stronger central control rather than broad political liberalization.
Reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796)