Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (1762-96), did much to transform Russia into a modern country. Originally named Sophie Fredericke Augusta, she was born in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), on May 2, 1729, the daughter of the German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. At the age of 15 she went to Russia to become the wife of Peter, nephew and heir of Elizabeth died on Dec. 25, 1761, and Catherine's husband succeeded as PETER III. The new ruler soon made himself unpopular, especially with certain army officers. Led by Aleksei ORLOV (whose brother Grigori was Catherine's lover), the officers staged a coup in June 1762. Peter was deposed (and subsequentle murdered), and Catherine became absolute ruler of the largest European empire, whose language she never learned to speak correctly and without accent. At the age of 33, Catherine was not only a handsome woman (....

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