History UsefulNotes / CatherineTheGreat

Catherine II of Russia (2 May [21 April in the Old Style calendar] 1729 - 17 November [6 November in the Old Style calendar] 1796), aka Catherine The Great, was, as her epithet states, one of the great rulers of UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia, expanding the size, influence, and progress of the vast nation.

* ButNotTooForeign: The Saxon lands she was born in were (and still are — there's a cultural autonomy of Luzhician Serbs around Bautzen[[note]]Leipzig's original name was Lipsk amd Zerbst was called Serbsk back in Middle Ages. Drezden was Drježdźany, and Bautzen is still sometimes called Budyšin by a Sorbian minority[[/note]]) a Slavic territory, though more-or-less completely Germanized by the 18th century. Her princely house of Ascanii, though, still remembered their Luzhician origins, if barely, and also were direct decendants of Russia's Rurikids, even if through a female line.

* ''Young Catherine'' (1991): A British miniseries starring Julia Ormond.

* ''Series/TheGreat'' (2020): An American comedic miniseries starring Creator/ElleFanning.

* RequisiteRoyalRegalia: Several portraits show he with the royal scepter, a crown, and/or an ermine cape.

!!Works about her:
* ''Film/TheScarletEmpress'' (1934): An American biopic starring Creator/MarleneDietrich.
* ''The Rise of Catherine the Great'' (1934): A British biopic starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr.
* ''Young Catherine'' (1991): A British miniseries starring Julia Ormond.
* ''Catherine the Great'' (1995): An American television movie starring Creator/CatherineZetaJones.
* ''Series/{{Ekaterina}}'' (2014): A Russian series starring Marina Aleksandrova.
* ''Catherine the Great'' (2015): A Russian series starring Yuliya Snigir.
* ''Series/CatherineTheGreat'' (2019): An American miniseries starring Creator/HelenMirren.
* ''Series/TheGreat'' (2020): An American comedic miniseries starring Creator/ElleFanning.

!!Works featuring her:
* ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon'': Features her as a major character.
* She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''.
* She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it.
* Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons.
* One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture.

!!Appears in the following works:

* ''Film/TheScarletEmpress'' features Creator/MarleneDietrich playing Catherine during her rise to power.

* The 2014 Russia-1 series ''Series/{{Ekaterina}}'' starring Marina Aleksandrova as Catherine.
* The 2019 HBO series ''Series/CatherineTheGreat'' starring Creator/HelenMirren as Catherine.
* The 2020 Hulu series ''Series/TheGreat'' starring Creator/ElleFanning as Catherine.

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about her just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a TV movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 the TV series ''Series/{{Ekaterina}}'' was released by Russia-1.

* ''Series/{{Ekaterina}}''

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about her just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a TV movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 the TV series ''Series/Ekaterina'' was released by Russia-1.

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about her just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a TV movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 the TV series ''Ekaterina'' was released by Russia-1.

* ButNotTooForeign: The Saxon lands she was born in were (and still are) originally a Slavic territory, though more-or-less completely Germanized by the 18th century. Her princely house of Ascanii, though, still remembered their Luzhician origins, if barely, and also were direct decendants of Russia's Rurikids, even if through a female line.

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about here just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a TV movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 the TV series ''Ekaterina'' was released by Russia-1.

* On ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', she's the last of a line of "Great" rulers (like UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat and UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat) to face of against Ivan the Terrible.

She wasn't actually born part of the Russian royal family (although had some distant relations). She was born {{Princess}} Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst of one of the [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies many principalities of pre-imperial Germany]]. [[ArrangedMarriage A marriage was arranged]] between her and the future Peter III of Russia. After he ascended the throne, some of his reforms and military actions angered the nobility, and they conspired with Catherine to overthrow him, although her reasons were more personal.

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about here just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and Creator/DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a TV movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the recent miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statespersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 the TV series ''Ekaterina'' was released by Russia-1.

* ''Series/Ekaterina''

Despite the good she did for her country, there were still some bits of slander and libel about her, particularly her love life.

There have been a few works about her, notably ''The Scarlet Empress'' staring Creator/MarleneDietrich. That same year there was film about here just called ''Catherine The Great'' starring Elisabeth Bergner and DouglasFairbanksJr. Later there was ''Young Catherine'' starring Julia Ormond, and a tv movie ''Catherine The Great'' [[TheDanza starring]] Creator/CatherineZetaJones. She's also a major character in ''Anime/LeChevalierDEon''. She's also, naturally, a major character in some Russian {{Swashbuckler}} movies, such as ''The Gardemarines'' and the recent miniseries ''Catherine's Musketeers''. She appeared in the movie ''Film/RussianArk'' watching a play of her own composition and telling everyone to praise it. Valentin Pikul's novel ''Favourite'' tells the story of Catherine and Potemkin both as lovers and as statepersons. One of ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'' was about Catherine traveling to Russia to marry Peter and assimilating into Russian culture. In 2014 TV series ''Ekaterina'' was released by Russia-1.

* CommonKnowledge: How she died. (For those who don't know: [[BestialityIsDepraved banging a horse]].) Turns out [[http://www.snopes.com/risque/animals/catherine.asp it's not true]].
** In XIX-century Russia, there was another dirty legend of her death, saying she died while in the outhouse. Some even theorized she was stabbed from underside by someone. She did collapse from a stroke on the toilet, but she didn't die there; rather, she died in bed the next day. And since she was royalty, it was a chamber pot and not a common outhouse.

* CigarChomper: While she's now thought to mostly smoke a pipe, she's been known to enjoy an occasional cigar, and is, in fact, often credited fot introducing cigar smoking to Russia.