Answer:
To boost Russia's strength and security, she used the Enlightenment values. Through free commerce, Catherine strengthened the Russian economy, made the government more effective, and gave the populace access to social amenities like healthcare and education.
What did Catherine the Great have to do with the Enlightenment?
The Russian people's perception of Catherine the Great as "Minerva," the Roman goddess of science and wisdom, was one of her greatest aspirations. She put into action a number of Enlightenment-inspired measures in an effort to achieve this idealized version of herself. She highlighted the potential of human intelligence and set out to establish a society that valued reading, reflection, and criticism.
- To build a community of civic-minded people, she placed a special emphasis on educational reforms. She introduced Western educational systems like the Legislative Commission, established schools for girls, and published Russia's first magazine in 1769, among other Enlightenment-based educational initiatives. Additionally, she boosted the publication of books in Russia to raise literacy levels, which finally sparked the emergence of the Russian intelligentsia.
- She was a prominent art patron in Russia, acquiring tens of thousands of paintings for the Hermitage and commissioning brand-new pieces. She accumulated 4000 new paintings throughout her lifetime, equaling the collections of Western European institutions. Her status as an equal among European powers was built on her support for the arts, and the Hermitage Museum currently houses this collection.
- Voltaire, to whom she corresponded, was one of the numerous French thinkers she studied. As part of her contact with Diderot, she also started a discussion about the validity of authoritarian authority and other Enlightenment values like liberty.
Although Catherine the Great is famous for introducing Western ideas of reason, freedom, and liberty to Russia and is often regarded as a supporter of the Enlightenment, historians frequently disagree on how far she actually carried out these beliefs. She banished people who advocated for the abolition of serfdom or spoke out against authoritarian authority, for instance, despite the fact that she promoted free thinking. Read Radischev's Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow for further information.
She thereby seemed to be an Enlightenment supporter and reformer, but in many instances she defended aristocratic privilege, extended serfdom, and maintained authoritarian authority.