Pilot Lecture: Catherine the Great

Discover how Russia’s most famous empress balanced Enlightenment ideals with imperial expansion in the 18th century.

Course Overview (No. 90135)

This lecture examines Catherine the Great’s remarkable reign – how she modernized Russia while expanding its borders and power, becoming one of history’s most effective “enlightened despots.”

Video Lecture

1. Catherine the Great
   How a German princess became Russia’s dominant ruler, achieving what Peter the Great could not while promoting Enlightenment reforms in government and culture.