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Selected Letters
Catherine the Great's letters present a vivid picture of Russia in a momentous age. They also offer a unique account of her personal development and intimate life, her strategic acumen as a diplomat and military commander, and her political skills at the Russian court and in handling foreign monarchs. Born a German princess, Catherine married into the Russian royal family and came to the throne after a coup. As absolute ruler for 34 years she presided over the expansion of the Russian empire, legislated actively to reform the country in keeping with the principles of the Enlightenment, actively promoted the arts and sciences, and in her correspondence engaged with the most renowned minds in Europe, among them Diderot and Voltaire. Her letters are her literary masterpiece, written to a wide circle of associates and friends, not least her most celebrated lover and ally, Potemkin. Combining her wit, charm, and quick eye for detail, they entertain and tell the gripping story of a self-made woman and legendary ruler.
This edition of the letters offers a taste of Catherine's entire writing career, with biographies of Catherine's addressees, a thorough overview of her reign and an analysis of Catherine's literary skill as a letter-writer. Organized chronologically and thematically into six periods, each section also features an introduction to the domestic, personal, and foreign policy contexts out of which her letters emerge.
This edition of the letters offers a taste of Catherine's entire writing career, with biographies of Catherine's addressees, a thorough overview of her reign and an analysis of Catherine's literary skill as a letter-writer. Organized chronologically and thematically into six periods, each section also features an introduction to the domestic, personal, and foreign policy contexts out of which her letters emerge.
480 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
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Catherine II
88 books10 followersCatherine the Great, Empress and Autocrat of All the Russia, the most renowned and the longest-ruling female leader of Russia. Her reign, the Catherinian Era, was called Russia's golden age. Russia was revitalized, growing larger and stronger than ever and becoming recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.
The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Empress, changed the face of the country. A notable example of an enlightened despot, a correspondent of Voltaire and an amateur opera librettist, Catherine presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment, when the Smolny Institute, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe, was established.
Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities and towns were founded on her orders. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and economy continued to depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and private landowners led to increased levels of reliance on serfs. This was one of the chief reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachev's Rebellion of cossacks and peasants.
She was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, and came to power following a coup d'état and the assassination of her husband, Peter III, at the end of the Seven Years' War.
In both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov, and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars, and Russia colonised the vast territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.
The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Empress, changed the face of the country. A notable example of an enlightened despot, a correspondent of Voltaire and an amateur opera librettist, Catherine presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment, when the Smolny Institute, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe, was established.
Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities and towns were founded on her orders. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and economy continued to depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and private landowners led to increased levels of reliance on serfs. This was one of the chief reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachev's Rebellion of cossacks and peasants.
She was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, and came to power following a coup d'état and the assassination of her husband, Peter III, at the end of the Seven Years' War.
In both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Pyotr Rumyantsev and Alexander Suvorov, and admirals such as Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was crushed following victories over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish wars, and Russia colonised the vast territories of Novorossiya along the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. In the west, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherine's former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, with the Russian Empire gaining the largest share. In the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.
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July 30, 2022Catherine the Great belonged to a class of monarch that hasn't existed now for centuries and is very hard to place in contemporary terms: the enlightened despot. On the one hand, she corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot, re-ordered Russia's government and legal system, championed vaccination by example and derided charlatans like Cagliostro. Her correspondence is across a distinctly European context, writing to Austria, Britain, Prussia, Sweden and Denmark. Countries like China and Persia are referred to with contempt. She founded cities like Odesa and Kherson, which she lauded as being as beautiful as Saint Petersburg.
On the other, she came to power through a coup d'etat and spent much of her reign following expansionist military policies, leading to the annexation of Crimea through a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire and the partition of Poland. When the French Revolution took place towards the end of her reign, her immediate reaction was to endorse Burke's view of it as anarchism and to proclaim that equality did not exist in nature. The suppression of the Kościuszko uprising was entirely justified as a reaction against Jacobinism.
On the other, she came to power through a coup d'etat and spent much of her reign following expansionist military policies, leading to the annexation of Crimea through a series of wars against the Ottoman Empire and the partition of Poland. When the French Revolution took place towards the end of her reign, her immediate reaction was to endorse Burke's view of it as anarchism and to proclaim that equality did not exist in nature. The suppression of the Kościuszko uprising was entirely justified as a reaction against Jacobinism.
November 13, 2020
I'm really not sure what I expected "Selected Letters of Catherine the Great" to be, but... not this. Prior to reading this collection, I assumed that Catherine the Great was a fairly run-of-the-mill empress, as much as one can be. I knew fairly little about her reign, whether in terms of her rise to power, her involvement in different military campaigns, or even her allegedly salacious romantic entanglements (which have lately become oddly popular for television; who knew?).
Andrew Kahn and Kelsey Rubin-Detlev have curated a pretty remarkable collection here, with detailed context and references. Not only do we have the opportunity to learn about Catherine the Great in her own words and perspectives, the book also fills in the gaps to explain who the people are, and on certain occasions why Catherine is corresponding with them. This is especially fascinating when it comes to simpering letters to other heads of state or political powerbrokers, as a reflection of Catherine's approach to power. This comes alongside letters from Catherine to current or former lovers, as well as friends and her intellectual pen-pals. Some letters discuss military strategy, some discuss scientific/medical advancements, and some mention her grandchildren. One of my favorite quips involved Catherine saying she need to get her dresses adjusted after gaining weight during a happier period of time. Hashtag relatable?
Selected Letters is probably not for readers who aren't already interested in history, but for those who are - it is fascinating. Anyone interested in powerful women in history will likely also find themselves in for a treat, simply in learning more about the woman behind the myth and pop cultural representation through her own words and perspectives.
Andrew Kahn and Kelsey Rubin-Detlev have curated a pretty remarkable collection here, with detailed context and references. Not only do we have the opportunity to learn about Catherine the Great in her own words and perspectives, the book also fills in the gaps to explain who the people are, and on certain occasions why Catherine is corresponding with them. This is especially fascinating when it comes to simpering letters to other heads of state or political powerbrokers, as a reflection of Catherine's approach to power. This comes alongside letters from Catherine to current or former lovers, as well as friends and her intellectual pen-pals. Some letters discuss military strategy, some discuss scientific/medical advancements, and some mention her grandchildren. One of my favorite quips involved Catherine saying she need to get her dresses adjusted after gaining weight during a happier period of time. Hashtag relatable?
Selected Letters is probably not for readers who aren't already interested in history, but for those who are - it is fascinating. Anyone interested in powerful women in history will likely also find themselves in for a treat, simply in learning more about the woman behind the myth and pop cultural representation through her own words and perspectives.
July 20, 2024
Not great not terrible
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August 29, 2021Read for research purposes for my history coursework
January 13, 2026
As one of my intentions with my reading in 2026, I challenge myself to write reviews for every single book I read in order to be more reflective and engaged with the material I put myself through, and to combat the brain rot . As a by-product, I hope the reviews will be useful to anyone interested in the given book. If that’s the case, happy reading<3 This is the first read I’m doing so with.
Catherine The Great has, for a good while now, been one of most interesting historical figures to me. I’m not even sure myself what has drawn me to her, but the air of mystique about her (not illuminated by the infamous libel surrounding her myth) might be part of it. I guess that is what monarchs, statesmen, and imperial figureheads does best; despite their public dominance as larger-than-life shapes in the culture, the personhood underneath the title is what draws us in, enticing us to the person and endearing us to the personified power they hold.
Catherine’s life was largely shaped by this push-and-pull of political life within the elite. In the letters provided in this volume, we see a young, smart girl navigating the upper hemispheres of power in Russia and Western Europe to grow into perhaps one of the most formidable strategic minds of her age. The letters are translated, sequenced and introduced in a manner that makes this personal journey clear and contextualised to a reader despite their knowledge of her period.
In an early episode, a handful of Catherine’s letters are discovered with dire consequences. The letters afterwards carry a layered subtext beyond the niceties of the upper-class. But the layers of reading beyond the simple story in the letters gives a sense of the person behind them in a way only matched by the best biographies.
As always, the girlies at Oxford Uni Press are killing it with the introduction and all the pretextual stuff in the edition. I can definitely recommend reading the letters in this version, although I’m completely ignorant on other editions, so take that with a grain of salt
Rating: 4.25
Edition read: Oxford World Classics
2026, book I
Catherine The Great has, for a good while now, been one of most interesting historical figures to me. I’m not even sure myself what has drawn me to her, but the air of mystique about her (not illuminated by the infamous libel surrounding her myth) might be part of it. I guess that is what monarchs, statesmen, and imperial figureheads does best; despite their public dominance as larger-than-life shapes in the culture, the personhood underneath the title is what draws us in, enticing us to the person and endearing us to the personified power they hold.
Catherine’s life was largely shaped by this push-and-pull of political life within the elite. In the letters provided in this volume, we see a young, smart girl navigating the upper hemispheres of power in Russia and Western Europe to grow into perhaps one of the most formidable strategic minds of her age. The letters are translated, sequenced and introduced in a manner that makes this personal journey clear and contextualised to a reader despite their knowledge of her period.
In an early episode, a handful of Catherine’s letters are discovered with dire consequences. The letters afterwards carry a layered subtext beyond the niceties of the upper-class. But the layers of reading beyond the simple story in the letters gives a sense of the person behind them in a way only matched by the best biographies.
As always, the girlies at Oxford Uni Press are killing it with the introduction and all the pretextual stuff in the edition. I can definitely recommend reading the letters in this version, although I’m completely ignorant on other editions, so take that with a grain of salt
Rating: 4.25
Edition read: Oxford World Classics
2026, book I
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews