Catherine the Great: Empress of Russia, (1762-1796) History 120, Section 4 Russell Smith Dr. Homer December 2, 1999 One of the most interesting, hard-working and powerful people to grace the pages of history during the eighteenth century was Cather...

Throughout history, Russia has been viewed as a regressive cluster of barely civilized people on the verge of barbarism. In the eighteenth century, ideas of science and secularism grasped hold of Europe, and Russian Czars, realizing how behind Muscovite culture was, sought out this knowledge, at...