ChronoFive
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Setting the scene
Catherine II, later 'the Great,' seized the Russian throne on July 9, 1762 (June 28 Old Style), in a coup against her husband Peter III. Born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst in Prussia in 1729, she married Peter, heir to the Russian throne, in 1745. The marriage was unhappy—Peter was immature and possibly impotent, while Catherine was intelligent and ambitious. She learned Russian, converted to Orthodoxy, and cultivated allies in the military and court, including the Orlov brothers, with whom she had affairs.
What happened
Peter III became emperor on January 5, 1762, after Empress Elizabeth's death. He immediately alienated the army, nobility, and church by withdrawing from the Seven Years' War (returning conquests to Frederick the Great), threatening to secularize church lands, and favoring his Holstein homeland. Catherine, fearing Peter would divorce her and disinherit her son Paul, conspired with the Orlovs and Guards officers. On July 9, she rode to St. Petersburg, was proclaimed empress by the Guards, and Peter abdicated without a fight. He was murdered eight days later, likely by Alexei Orlov.
Why it still matters
Catherine's coup began a 34-year reign (1762-1796) that made Russia a European great power. She expanded the empire by 200,000 square miles, partitioning Poland (1772, 1793, 1795), conquering Crimea (1783), and winning wars against the Ottoman Empire. She corresponded with Enlightenment philosophes, patronized arts, and attempted reforms, though she ultimately strengthened serfdom after Pugachev's Rebellion (1773-1775). Catherine's seizure of power exemplified 18th-century palace coups and established the model of the enlightened despot—an absolute ruler embracing Enlightenment ideas while maintaining autocracy.
Background
She expanded Russia south and west. Even centuries later, this episode remains a reference point for how empires rise, fracture, and transform.