Catherine the Great, born a minor Prussian princess, transformed herself into one of Russia’s most famous rulers after orchestrating a coup to overthrow her unpopular husband, Tsar Peter III. Her 34-year reign saw the Russian Enlightenment begin to transform Russia, heavily expanding the empire’s borders and cementing them as a dominant European power. She did this by charming the pants off anyone who met her and ingratiating herself with people in the right positions. Her list of lovers and their contributions to Russia are pretty legendary but only slightly less so is the story of her rise.

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