Russia in the age of Catherine the Great - I. de Madariaga

In the first full-scale history of the reign of Catherine to appear in almost a century Isabel de Madariaga uses a broad range of Western and Soviet scholarship to give an authoritative account of Catherine's own role in the forward march of Russia during the eighteenth century.

From her accession to the throne in 1762 Catherine ruled Russia for thirty-four years, and her greatness, de Madariaga shows, lay not in territorial acquisitions but in the new relationship she fostered between the ruler and the ruled. During her reign, administration was reorganized and new concepts of justice and legality were introduced to the public. Learning thrived and the court patronized the arts. On the other hand, reality fell far short of the hopes expressed in legislation. Corruption was widespread and too much of the national revenue was spent on military glory and too little on justice and administration. In domestic policy, major changes in the status of the serfs were postponed in the interests of internal order. Yet, Catherine brought Russia closer to the rest of Western Europe than it would be for more than a century: despotism was turned into monarchy, and obedience was one through honor not through fear.

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