Western Ideas Catherine the Great Adopted in Russia

Catherine II (r. 1762–1796) was a self-styled "Enlightened Despot" who selectively imported Western European concepts to modernize Russia:

1. Enlightenment Philosophy

• Corresponded with Voltaire, Diderot, d'Alembert.
• Purchased Diderot's library; hired him as librarian (with salary for life).
• Founded Russian Academy of Sciences (1783) on French model.

2. Political & Legal Reform

• Nakaz (Instruction), 1767 – law reform manifesto citing Montesquieu, Beccaria; proposed equality before law, abolition of torture, religious tolerance.
• Provincial Reform (1775) – reorganized administration into 50 provinces, introduced elected local courts.
• Charter to the Nobility (1785) – confirmed noble privileges, corporate self-governance.
• Charter to the Towns (1785) – urban self-administration (limited).

3. Education

• Smolny Institute (1764) – first state girls' school (noble), French curriculum.
• Moscow University (1755, expanded) – Lomonosov; secular curriculum.
• Statute of National Schools (1786) – 4-tier system: parish → district → provincial → university. Compulsory? No. But structured.

4. Social Policy

• Secularized church lands (1764) – state control of vast wealth.
• Toleration edicts – Old Believers, Muslims, Jews granted limited relief.
• Serfdom: Did not emancipate; expanded noble power over serfs. Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–75) hardened her stance.

5. Economy

• Free trade decrees – internal tariffs reduced.
• Chartered companies – fur, whaling, trade monopolies.
• Foreign investment invited – German miners, British engineers, French artisans.
• Founded Assignation Bank (1769) – first paper currency.

Paradox: She talked like Voltaire but ruled like Peter the Great. Modernized the state, entrenched serfdom. Russia entered Europe's great-power club—but on autocratic terms.