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Catherine II (1729-1796) was the empress of Russia after she organized a coup to overthrow her husband.

Contents 1 In-Game 2 History 2.1 Early life 2.2 Rise to Power 2.3 Foreign Policy 2.4 Domestic Policy 2.5 The Arts 2.6 The Scandal 2.7 Judgment of History 3 Lines 4 Intro

In-GameEdit

Catherine speaks modern Russian. She is in her palace, likely the famous Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg.

Capital: Moscow

Unique Unit: Cossack

Unique Building: Krepost

Unique Ability: Siberian Riches

Voice Actress: Svetlana Migdissova

As a general warning: Do not attack Catherine unless you are sure that you'll win. She is one of the hardest leaders to make peace with, and if you are losing, or nobody is winning, Catherine will often only accept peace if you give her all your resources and cities that you can trade, or at least a large amount of gold.

Catherine is also very likely to use atomic weapons (she's tied in second place with Montezuma). However, Gandhi is the most likely leader to use atomic bombs.

Players playing as Catherine may want to expand a lot to get use of the extra strategic resources and possibly to sell them. Remember to build Kreposts everywhere, to make your empire look like the Soviet Union in size.

Catherine is a good player to use as either a domination victory or as a science victory.

HistoryEdit

Catherine the Great ruled Russia during the latter half of the 18th century. She oversaw a great expansion of the Russian empire, adding tens of thousands of square miles of territory through conquest and shrewd diplomacy. A beautiful and intelligent woman, she beguiled and seduced the best minds of Europe, making her court one of the centers of Enlightenment thinking on the Continent. Although born in Germany, Catherine is one of the greatest rulers in Russian history.

Early lifeEdit

Sophie Friederike Auguste Von Anhalt-Zerbst was born in Szczecin in 1729, a princess of Pomerania, a small kingdom in Prussia. At 16 she was married to Carl Peter Ulrich, the heir to the Russian throne, becoming Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. Catherine quickly learned Russian and joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Largely self-educated, Catherine immersed herself in the literature of the time. Endowed with both beauty and intelligence, she became strong friends (if not more) with the great thinkers of the day, including the brilliant French philosophers Rousseau and Diderot.

Rise to PowerEdit

Catherine's marriage was extremely unhappy. Her husband, the Tsar Peter III, was by all accounts a shabby and neurotic person. He was described as mean, cruel, hideous (from smallpox scars) and a drunkard. He was said to detest Russians and loved Prussians, which didn't endear him to the Russian court. Although born a foreigner, Catherine was far more popular with the nobility and, most importantly, with the Russian military. At the age of 33, with the support of the Imperial guard, she overthrew her husband, who was soon killed "in a hunting accident," leaving Catherine the sole ruler of Russia.

Foreign PolicyEdit

As Empress, Catherine pursued an expansionist policy backed by military muscle. The "First Russo-Turkish War" (1768-1774) − declared by Sultan Mustafa III after a border incident in which a Cossack entered Ottoman territory and allegedly slaughtered the residents of Balta − was a resounding Russian success, gaining for Catherine the Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus and the Crimea, expanding Russian access to the Black Sea. The Ottomans tried to take their territory back in the Second Russo-Turkish war, but they failed miserably.

In the years following the French Revolution, Catherine became afraid that Enlightenment movements throughout Europe would threaten the monarchies of Europe. Toward the end of the century Poland, a Russian puppet, began to show disturbing signs of edging toward democracy. In 1792 Russian forces defeated Polish loyalists in the Polish "War in Defense of the Constitution," following which Poland was partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia. Throughout her reign Catherine maintained cordial relations with the great powers of Europe, Prussia, France and Austria, who in return did not stand in the way of Russian expansion.

Domestic PolicyEdit

During her reign Catherine undertook a wide range of political reforms, attempting to shape up the notoriously corrupt and incompetent Russian bureaucracy. She tried to model her government and court on Versailles, France. She paid for her reforms by seizing property from the clergy, who owned almost one-third of the land and serfs in Russia. She curried favor with the aristocracy, expanding their already-great power over the Russian peasants. In 1773 a plague broke out in Russia, which was already suffering from ill-effects of the long war with Turkey. Taking advantage of growing public disaffection, Pugachov, a Cossack officer, pretended to be Catherine's dead husband, Tsar Peter III, and attempted to raise a peasant army to overthrow the Empress while the Russian military was locked in battle with the Turks. Fortunately for Catherine, the First Russo-Turkish War ended at just the right time, and a Russian army was able to return from the Front and crush the rebellion before it could reach Moscow. This made Catherine suspicious of the Russian peasants and she implemented even more repressive laws against them.

The ArtsEdit

A patron of the arts, Catherine commissioned many statues and paintings. Under her rule St. Petersburg was transformed from a primitive and forbidding city into one of the most beautiful and impressive European capitals. Her private art collection formed the basis of the famous Hermitage Museum, one of the world's great art museums.

The ScandalEdit

Despite her many public successes, Catherine is best known for her private excesses. Her affairs are legendary; it has been suggested that she slept with a fairly large fraction of the Russian officers corps, not to mention her many well-publicized dalliances with a horde of well-known European politicians and artists. It is said that once she tired of a lover Catherine would "pension him off," giving him a large gift of cash, peasants, and land somewhere far away from Moscow.

Judgment of HistoryEdit

Catherine's reign was notable for imperial expansion. Most important were the securing of the northern shore of the Black Sea, the annexation of the Crimea, and the expansion into the steppes beyond the Urals. This permitted the protection of Russian agricultural settlements in the south and the establishment of trade routes through the Black Sea. Catherine's partitioning of Poland also helped bring Russia closer to the rest of Europe, at least geographically. Catherine implemented many public work projects throughout Russia and its possessions. She also increased internal and foreign trade. On the other hand, she did little to improve the lot of the Russian peasant; in fact, their lives grew distinctly harder during her reign. Catherine died at the age of 67, having lived longer than any other Romanov monarch. Like Queen Elizabeth I of England, she proved that a woman could be smart enough and tough enough to lead a great country.

LinesEdit

Attacked: You've mistaken my passion for a weakness, you'll regret about this. Ты принял мою страсть за слабость, ты пожалеешь об этом.

DeclareWar: You've behaved yourself very badly, you know it. Now it's payback time. Ты очень плохо себя вёл, ты это знаешь. Настал час расплаты.

Defeated: We were defeated, so this makes me your prisoner. I suppose there are worse fates. Мы были побеждены, так что я становлюсь твоей пленницей. Мне кажется, это не самый худший удел.

Hate Hear It 01: And? И?

Hate Hear It 02: Forward. Дальше.

Hate Hear It 03: Go on. Продолжай. (Unpleasant tone)

Hate Hello: What do you need?! Что тебе нужно?!

Hate No 01: Are you joking?! Ты шутишь?!

Hate No 02: I beg your pardon?! Прошу прощения?!

Hate No 03: This is unacceptable. Это неприемлемо.

Hate Yes 01: Oh... Very good. Ох... Очень хорошо.

Hate Yes 02: I think... I shall agree. Пожалуй, я...соглашусь.

Hate Yes 03: Deal. Договорились (Neat tone).

Intro: I greet you, stranger! If you are as intelligent and tactful as you are attractive, we'll get along just fine. Приветствую тебя, незнакомец! Если твой ум и такт сравнимы с твоей привлекательностью - мы замечательно поладим.

Neutral Hear It 01: Go on. Продолжай. (Polite tone).

Neutral Hear It 02: Speak. Говори.

Neutral Hear It 03: Go on. Продолжай. (same line as 01)

Neutral Hello: Hello! Здравствуй!

Neutral No 01: Ha! Of course not! Ха! Разумеется, нет.

Neutral No 02: We decline. Мы отказываемся.

Neutral No 03: Certainly not. Конечно, нет.

Neutral Yes 01: Deal. Договорились (Polite tone).

Neutral Yes 02: Wonderful. Прекрасно.

Neutral Yes 03: Very Good. Очень хорошо.

Peaceful: Now it's the time to enjoy the fruits of peace. Теперь пора насладиться плодами мира.

Request: How would you like it if I propose this kind of exchange? Как тебе понравится, если я предложу такой обмен?

IntroEdit

Greetings upon thee, Your Imperial Majesty Catherine, wondrous Empress of all the Russias. At your command lies the largest country in the world. Mighty Russia stretches from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Baltic Sea in the west. Despite wars, droughts, and every manner of disaster the heroic Russian people survive and prosper, their artists and scientists among the best in the world. The Empire today remains one of the strongest ever seen in human history-a true superpower, with the greatest destructive force ever devised at her command.

Catherine, your people look to you to bring forth glorious days for Russia and her people, to revitalize the land and recapture the wonder of the Enlightenment. Will you lead your people once more into greatness? Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of time?