Catherine the Great

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

At the age of 33, Catherine was not only a handsome woman (whose

numerous love affairs dominate the popular accounts of her life), but also

unusually well read and deeply involved in the cultural trends of

. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Grigori Catherine's, Unlike Peter, Europe Catherine, Academy Sciences, Yemelian PUGACHEV, Black Sea, Russian Orthodox, Petersburg Moscow, Szczecin Poland, Economic Society, catherine empress, black sea, catherine trans, local administration,
Approximate Word count = 717
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)