Final answer:
Catherine the Great imagined a constitution for Russia as part of her Enlightenment-inspired reforms, but her rule remained authoritatively controlled without a fully realized constitutional government.
Step-by-step explanation:
Catherine the Great tried to have a constitution written for Russia. Known as an "enlightened despot," Empress Catherine II of Russia was indeed interested in the ideas of the Enlightenment and attempted reforms that would modernize Russia, even considering a constitution. However, even with her attempts to draft such a document, her rule remained largely authoritarian, and she never fully enacted a constitution during her reign. In contrast, Nicholas II eventually established a Duma, an elected national legislature, following the 1905 Russian Revolution, but he did so reluctantly and often opposed limiting his autocratic power.