Catherine the Great: A Russian Leader of Absolutism

From all of this, it can be said that Catherine the Great was a good leader of absolutism. This is because she used the power she had from absolutism for the benefit of the country and the people, and she clearly understood the effects of her power on them.

For example, the Nakaz written by the Tsarina herself was one her greatest accomplishments. This book basically talks of Russia’s current state, and how Russia should be. Its main purpose was to organize the corrupt government, equalize all under the law, and actually make the laws specific and fair. But this is not a book of laws. It is merely stating what a good government would look like, which is the ideal that she pursues.

Within the Nakaz, she writes of many other important accomplishments such as the abolishment of torture. “All punishments by which the human body might be maimed are barbarism,” she wrote. She perfectly knew how it did not work well with confession and prevention of crimes. She also restricted capital punishment to be done unless they committed specific crimes. It also talked of which crimes receive what kind of punishment and the stated the differences between similar crimes. She wrote of the freedom to speak and not arresting those who criticized royalty unless followed by action.

The Nakaz takes in many ideas from political philosophers such as Montesquieu and Locke that Catherine thought was necessary for Russia. The publishment of the book called a wide popularity from other countries, while being considered dangerous by others. However, it can be said that it was one of her best accomplishments to Russia.

Another example would be religious tolerance in Russia. Her decision for religious freedom helped her gain better control and trust from the Muslim and Jewish population in Russia. Muslims being able to practice their religion freely and Jews being able to have rights as foreigners was useful in keeping the multi-religious and ethnic country stable.

Although Catherine was a good leader, some others may argue that she was not really a good leader. One reason they would say this is because of the reforms in class she made. The noblemen were favored more since they were exempt from paying taxes and were able to have their own factories to run to expand trade. However, peasants did not benefit much for they could not choose who to work under and were allowed to be put to hard labor. It is often said that it was the golden age for the Russian nobility during her time, but at the back of it, the peasants were not receiving much attention. This caused multiple peasant revolts to occur, including the greatest peasant rebellion in Russian history.

The greatest peasant rebellion was called the Pugachev’s Rebellion. This kicked off in September, 1773 and rapidly spread from central Russia to Siberia. It started off with the Cossacks who were skilled warriors being taken some of their privileges by the central government. With a leader who claims to be Emperor Peter III called Yemelyan Pugachev, the Cossacks united to revolt. Looking at the results, the Cossacks had lost most of the battles, having been crushed by army force, but people still joined in to make clear of their wish for their freedom. With these events, some people may think she was not equal at all to the lower class and neglected them.

However, this can be argued back. It is because they gained the freedom for education instead of the freedom of labor they had lost. Before Catherine the Great started educational reforms after inheriting a bankrupt country, most of the lower class men were uneducated. But with increasing education reforms being made by her, many boys and girls of upper and lower class could receive education. This is a huge benefit to many commoners for education for them was something not given often, especially to woman.

Also, Catherine never did not give attention to the serfdom in Russia. She noticed the problem about it during her rule and sought to resolve it, but her decree was still immature and she didn’t hold enough cards yet to do so. That is why she asked one of her men to gather information about the current state of serfs, their treatment, and to punish mistreaters. Even after she learned of the cruel treatment the serfs were receiving, she kept on trying to resolve the problem until it finally was resolved by her grandson Alexander II in 1861. Although the peasants may not have benefitted so much during Catherine’s rule, at least she brought improvements to Russian culture and did not omit the option to help them.

Another reason some might say she was not a good leader is from considering the many lovers and favorites throughout her lifetime. Even with her busy schedule to govern Russia, she somehow still found a way to have countless affairs with many men. As mentioned before in the first page, many people think that none of her children was fathered by her husband, but one of her lovers. Some people would look at this and question if she really was an effective and capable leader.

However, this reasoning can be countered by the fact that there were some reasons behind this. The first reason is that her husband Peter had a mistress. To Catherine, this was probably the last point for her to give up their marriage relationship. But she was still mentally strong enough to make the sister of her husband’s mistress a close friend and supporter.

The second reason was that the Empress was wishing for a child to be born quickly so he could be brought up by Elizabeth as she believed he should be — as a true heir and great-grandson of her father, Peter the Great. This also shows that having lovers (after giving up on her husband) was acknowledged by the previous Empress. It also shows that she did not care about the matter so long as they had a child.

The final reason is that her favorites or lovers were not only for romance, but they all actually helped her in improving Russia’s internal state and growth into a strong power in the Eurasian continent. She also was smart enough to not make problems considering affairs with men, and oftentimes stayed as good friends with those whom she ended romantic relationships with. Therefore, there was absolutely no problem with her having affairs because she had specific reasons on why she started, kept things under control, and even used them to improve Russia.

Catherine the Great was a good leader during the absolutism period. She used her power to the greatest extent for the benefit of her people. A wide range from government and territorial conquest to education and arts now in Russia owe their improvement to her accomplishments a lot. Although her relationships were unusual, there was not much mentioned of it being a cause for problems in her rule. She was an enlightened woman full of energy to take control. So in the end, it can be concluded that Catherine the Great was a good absolutist leader.