Before Peter introduced westernization, monarchs as well as their subjects led a very simple life. ... A clever and deceitful woman, Catherine overthrew her husband after a bad political decision and coerced officials into naming her empress, giving her control of Russia in 1762. ... In her "Instruction" of 1767, Catherine stated that a Monarch must be given full support, for they are the absolute authority and all other authorities would ruin the nation. ... While Catherine clearly advocated a strong tsarist control, she also differed from Peter I, because she gave nobles power over peasants...

• Word Count: 969
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Balkan area was crucial for Russian expansionism in order to gain power in Europe. ... The church was an essential part of Russian politics because the majority of people followed the principles of the religion and would support the government if it used common principles. ... The foreign policy called for a growth in power by expansionism. ... For the monarch of Russia, maintaining the strength of the religion was a priority because if the church supports the government, then the people will also promote autocracy. ... According to his advisors, he was genuinely surprised to hear that the...

• Word Count: 2499
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Her title to be considered a great reforming ruler is by no means equally clear.4 Catherine had the power, not her lovers. ... Different sources claimed that Catherine had taken all of this power only by the influence of her lovers. ... Even to this day, Catherine still has intellectual works written about her, which proves her importance throughout Russia even to this day, as she's one of the many monarchs who carried on the Romanov Dynasty. ... Her achievements had also played a key role in the development of a more modernised Russia, not only in a political sense, but also in a cultur...

• Word Count: 1259
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

So when he became tsar, Nicholas had no knowledge of the world of men, politics or government. His training was only adequate for the role of consitutional monarch. ... And even when he did implement the Duma, he did not give it any power, he would still choose the minister he wanted, not give it any military support and would try to dismiss the Duma. ... Even the camarilla (a group of distinguished but degenerating families who were afraid to losing their power to changes and capitalism) found the Nicholas was too weak to keep tsarist autocratic rule strong. ... As Nicholas was weak and indec...

• Word Count: 996
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

She made Russia into a country active in the political, economic, and social styles of the rest of Europe, and led it to become a known power in the continent. ... Voltaire summed Catherine up in two words calling her a "benevolent despot," meaning an absolutist monarch molded by the philosophies of the Enlightenment. ... Catherine's visions for Alexander led him to show his power as a reformist and in foreign policy, hoping to better the nation. ... Alexander's Deputy Minister of Justice and State Secretary, Mikhail Speransky assumed a supreme role in the political affai...

• Word Count: 2847
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate