CATHERINE II

born May 2 [April 21, Old Style], 1729, Stettin, Prussia [now Szczecin, Pol.] died Nov. 17 , 1796, Tsarskoye Selo [now Pushkin], near St. Petersburg, Russia Russian in full Yekaterina Alekseyevna, byname Catherine The Great, Russian Yekaterina Velikaya, original name Sophie Friederike Auguste, Prinzessin (princess) Von Anhalt-zerbst German-born empress of Russia (176296), who led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe, carrying on the work begun by Peter the Great. With her ministers she reorganized the administration and law of the Russian Empire and extended Russian territory, adding the Crimea and much of Poland. Additional reading Primary sources. Mmoires de Catherine II, ed. by Dominique Maroger (1953; Eng. trans. 1955), is of great importance for the history of Catherine's beginnings and for an analysis of her character. This edition is not complete, but it constitutes a choice made among the various versions of the autobiography begun by Catherine; all versions stop very near to the date of her accession to power. Equally important are the Correspondance of Catherine II with Voltaire (published in various editions of the complete works of Voltaire, as well as in the Evdokimov edition of the complete works of Catherine II, 1893); the Correspondance avec le Baron F.M. Grimm (17741796), Grot edition (1878), is interesting for its autobiographical character; Grimm was Catherine's confidant. See also Lettres d' amour de Catherine II Potemkine, Georges Oudard edition (1934), which unfortunately is edited without chronological order. Works about Catherine II and her reign. V.A. Bilbassov, Geschichte Katharina II, 3 vol. (189193; also published in French as Histoire de Catherine II, 1900), is the most important work written about Catherine II, with quotations from many documents of the period; the last volume was banned in Russia under the tsarist regime. Ian Grey, Catherine the Great: Autocrat and Empress of All Russia (1961), a remarkable work, is a penetrating analysis of Catherine's character and notably of her relationships with Potemkin. Olga Wormser, Catherine II (1957; in French), is particularly interesting for its analysis of the social and cultural situation in Russia. Z. Oldenbourg, Catherine de Russie (1964; in French), is a work devoted primarily to the first half of Catherine's life.