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Catherine II of Russia

Also known as Catherine the Great (epithet)

Szczecin, 2 May 1729 – Saint Petersburg, 17 Nov 1796

13 facts3 sources

Animated by AI

About Catherine II

Catherine II: accession and a Russian imperial reign

AI-assisted · edited

The collection records Catherine II’s birth in 1729 in Szczecin. She was the daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. 123

Known as Catherine the Great, she held the imperial title from 1762 to 1796. Before her accession, she had been the consort of Emperor Peter III. The collection’s summary describes her rise to power after a coup that deposed him. 456

The Sixth Russo-Turkish War is one confirmed event associated with her reign. The collection records her death in 1796, although the date is disputed; one of the competing records gives Saint Petersburg as the place of death. 789

Drafted with AI and edited against the collection. Open a citation to see the record, its sources and how certain it is.

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 2 May 1729

    Born in Szczecin

  2. 1750–1775

    5 children are born

  3. 1762–1796

    Emperor of all the Russias

  4. 17 Nov 1796

    Dies in Saint Petersburg, aged 67

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 5

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Szczecin.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1720s · Catherine II is born in Szczecin

In the news1723

New Warsaw trading house, 1723

A major trading house was established in Warsaw by French Huguenots in 1723, marking an early sign of economic recovery and industrial development.

What people wore

Prized festive headscarf knots

Peasant women wore delicate, thin, and richly decorated festive headscarves, which they carefully removed after church to avoid undoing their intricate, highly-prized knots.

Getting around

Splendid processions of the magnates

Magnates displayed their immense wealth by traveling in elaborate caravans that included dozens of wagons, hundreds of horses, and sometimes exotic animals like camels and pack mules. These processions were grand spectacles that required hundreds of attendants to manage, protect, and serve the noble traveler.

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.In Europe · 1700–1721

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.

Imonoz · CC BY-SA 4.0

In the news1718–1722

Creation of police offices in 1718

The Russian state established police chief offices in 1718 in St. Petersburg and 1722 in Moscow, tasking them with regulating urban daily life, including sanitation, fire safety, and street behavior.

Music

Carnival Sleigh Rides and Masquerade Balls

During the carnival season, noblemen organized sleigh rides from mansion to mansion, accompanied by musicians playing dance music; these festivities included balls where guests sometimes wore costumes of peasants, Jews, and Gypsies.

Daily life

Lighting and cooking tools

Light depended on cost: poorer households used tallow candles made from animal fat, while wealthier homes burned more expensive beeswax candles. Cooking tools included suspended cauldrons or three-legged pots used over fires, and iron frying pans.