Catherine II the Great, Alekseyevna (1729-1796, St. Petersburg), Empress

Catherine II the Great, Alekseyevna (1729-1796, St. Petersburg), Empress from 1761.
Nee Sophie Friederike Auguste, Princess von Anhalt-Zerbst . In 1744 she came into Russia being the bride of the Heir Grand Duke Peter Fiodorovich (the future Emperor Peter III), with who the marriage was contracted in 1745. Catherine II came to the power in 1762 as a result of the military coup, during which Pyetr III was arrested and murdered soon afterwards. She carried out some reforms including gubernia one, reforms of the city management. Catherine II made successful wars with the Ottoman Empaire, Sweden, Poland as the result of which Russia annexed territories in the west (Belorussia, the right bank Ukraine) and in the south (the Crimea and the Black Sea Lands). Catherine II was the author of fiction and sociopolitical works. The ruling of Catherine II entered into the history as the period of “enlightened absolutism”. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. During the ruling of Catherine I building and city area improvement was done intensively. During 1762-1796 the Committee for Building in St. Petersburg and Moscow was working, the Committee architecture department was headed by A.V. Kvasov (1962-1972), I.Ye. Starov (1772-1774), I.M. Leym (1774-1796). Stone embankments of the Fontanka and Neva rivers (now: Kutuzovskaya, Dvortsovaya, Angliyskaya), the Zimnyaya (winter) Canal were constructed, the Catherine Canal (it was named after Catherine II, now it is Griboyedova Canal) was built, the first part of the Obvodny Canal (from the Yekateringofka River up to the Ligovsky Canal) was digged. In 1767 according to a decree of Catherine canals of Vasilyevsky Island were filled up; in 1770 she ordered to build underground canals for exporting surface rain water into rivers and canals of the city. All these measures promoted to improving the sanitary state of St. Petersburg. During 1765-1788 works on New Holland Island were done: new timber yards were built: a ladle was dug, two canals for transportation of timber led to the ladle: the Southern Canal from the side of the Moika River and the Eastern Canal from the side of the Kryukov Canal. After the disastrous flood of 1977 (the water rise was 310 centimeters above the line) Catherine II approved the warning system of the capital residents about imminent danger using cannon shots and rising flags (at nights – lanterns) on the Admiralty spire. The system was being more than 100 years.
Works: Works. St. Petersburg, 1905-1907, Volumes 1-12.
Literature: A.B. Kamensky “Pod seniyu Yekaterini” (“Under the Ruling of Catherine”: the second half of the 18th century, St. Petersburg, 1992; O.A. Omelchenko “Zakonnaya monarkhia” (the Legitimate Monarchy) of Catherine II: Enlightened Absolutism in Russia., M., 1993
A.Yu. Chistyakov Catherine II, Empress
Kvasov Alexey Vasilievich
Leim (Lem) Ivan Mikhailovich
Peter III, Emperor
Starov Ivan Egorovich
Angliiskaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Dvortsovaya Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Ekateringofka River/Saint Petersburg, city
Fontanka River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Griboedova Canal/Saint Petersburg, city
Kryukov Canal/Saint Petersburg, city
Kutuzova Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Ligovsky Canal/Saint Petersburg, city
Moika River/Saint Petersburg, city
Neva River/Saint Petersburg, city
Obvodny Canal/Saint Petersburg, city
Vasilievsky Island/Saint Petersburg, city
Zimnaya Kanavka/Saint Petersburg, city
Сочинения. СПб. 1905-1907. Т. 1-12.
Каменский А. Б. "Под сению Екатерины": Вторая половина XVIII в. СПб., 1992
Омельченко О. А. "Законная монархия" Екатерины II: Просвещен. абсолютизм в России. М., 1993 SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral
Commission for St. Petersburg and Moscow Stone Construction
Admiralty
Admiralty Fortress