She felt that Russia could catch up with European civilisation and defined her mission practically as unlocking its economic and human resources. Her famed engagement with the philosophes, especially Voltaire and Diderot, has made her RussiaвЂ™s Enlightener-in-Chief. CatherineвЂ™s entire reign was in some ways dedicated to integrating Russia culturally and economically in Europe. Catherine worked to refute in print and in action the widespread contemporary perception of Russia as a barbaric вЂњotherвЂќ. Cultural integration with EuropeД¬atherineвЂ™s husband and Imperial predecessor, Peter III, passed some progressive reforms during his brief reign, but contemporary historians doubted their durability. In considering whether the reign of Catherine the Great, from 1762-97, marked a turning point in Russian history, it may be helpful to bypass debates about the continuity between Imperial Russian and Soviet history and focus on the intermediate legacies of the Catherine period. The 17th century saw the creation of systemic serfdom and the 18th century opened an age of vast imperial expansion and modernisation, seismic changes that brought chronic structural, economic and social challenges.

The history of Imperial Russia is famously marked by disruptive periods of transformation, from the Mongol invasions of the 13th century to the overthrow of the Romanov dynasty in 1917. Sprite-icon-accessible-parking sprite-icon-apple-podcasts sprite-icon-arrow-up sprite-icon-audio-description sprite-icon-baby-changing-facilities sprite-icon-british-sign-language sprite-icon-caret sprite-icon-chevron-in-circle sprite-icon-chevron sprite-icon-cross sprite-icon-deezer sprite-icon-disabled-parking sprite-icon-down-block-arrow sprite-icon-download sprite-icon-external Facebook sprite-icon-google-podcasts sprite-icon-hearing-loop sprite-icon-instagram LinkedIn sprite-icon-live-subtitling sprite-icon-medium sprite-icon-menu sprite-icon-minus-in-circle sprite-icon-online-and-in-person sprite-icon-online-event sprite-icon-open-quote sprite-icon-padlock sprite-icon-pause sprite-icon-play sprite-icon-plus-in-circle sprite-icon-podcast-addict sprite-icon-quote sprite-icon-right-arrow sprite-icon-search sprite-icon-soundcloud-blank sprite-icon-soundcloud sprite-icon-spotify sprite-icon-stitcher sprite-icon-subtitles Twitter sprite-icon-up-block-arrow Vimeo sprite-icon-warning sprite-icon-wheelchair-accessible-venue sprite-icon-youtube

Russian rulers