The Empress born in Prussia in 1729, more precisely in the city of Stettin, was the great modernizer of the Russian Empire despite being a foreigner. In 34 years she has governed with absolute obstinacy, extending the frontiers of the Empire, promoting the arts and promulgating laws to improve education, as well as carrying out a real reform in the administration.
Sophie Friederike Auguste, Princess von Anhalt-Zerbst, as her name was before marrying Peter III, maintained contact with philosophers such as Diderot and Voltaire, who nicknamed her "Catherine the Great", as well as other French encyclopedists, having been influenced by her ideas in the way of governing.