Empress Catherine II 1790

Her being chosen as wife for the heir to the Russian throne brought her sixteen years of grief and frustration. Her husband’s murder made her Empress. Her love of everything Russian and her progressive views made her popular, even beloved. While she operated through gifted men and was a passionate lover of many, she was never the licentious Messalina of popular history. She was a hard working, serious administrator who deserved the title Catherine the Great.