Catherine the Great

Throughout history, Russia has been viewed as a regressive cluster of barely civilized people on the verge of barbarism. In the eighteenth century, ideas of science and secularism grasped hold of Europe, and Russian Czars, realizing how behind Muscovite culture was, sought out this knowledge, attempting to imbed it into Russian society. Catherine II was one of these Czars. She listened to both the ideas of the philosophes and the problems of her people and …

…Russia abreast with western society, she must first build a backbone of government institutions from which knowledge could percolate down through all ranks of society. Her greatness comes, not only through her internal and foreign accomplishments, but also through her appreciation of Russian antiquity, and her ability to apply the new enlightened ideas to its eccentric culture. She won for Russia a place among the Great Powers which since her day, has never been lost.