Retro Raunch Revisit

JUL 9, 1762: Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the palace coup she launched against her husband, German-born Tsar Peter III. He was an unpopular & largely ineffective ruler who had angered the Army by returning conquered territory back to Prussia, stoking fears that he would return more in concessions, and having withdrawn forces from the Seven Years War (May 1756 to Feb 1763) that rendered recent victories & sacrifices, pointless. Having only been on the throne for 186 days, after he was overthrown he abdicated on Jul 9 and died under uncertain circumstances on Jul 17 either from a stroke according to his autopsy or from unconfirmed accounts of being strangled by a scarf. He was buried in St. Petersburg in Aug and her coronation was in Sept. Catherine's progressive reign was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment whose philosophical & intellectual movement brought a renaissance of science & culture that saw the founding of universities, theatres, and new cities allowing Russia to rise as one of Europe's great powers. Social & political ideas extended into financial reforms as the country's economic development was poor and her imposed regulations on industry helped modernize the labor force towards a middle class -- while the nobility of private landowners still exploited serfdom. She prioritized public health, established schools, was a huge patron of art & literature, and was indifferent to religion by choosing to assimilate Christians, Jews & Muslims through integration into the Empire, and by expropriating the lands of the Orthodox Church and in her secularization made the clergy dependant on the state for compensation. In diplomacy & foreign policy, a commercial treaty of trade with Britain was reached in 1766, victory achieved in the Russo-Turkish War (Sept 1768 to Jul 1774), signed a peace treaty ending the Russo-Swedish War (Jun 1788 to Aug 1790), gained huge partitions with the elimination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, opened relations with China & Japan, and saw the colonization of Alaska. Russia's borders were extended with the absorption of Crimea, the North Caucasus, Ukraine & Belarus, and had set up the Northern Accord which was a partnership of Russia, Prussia, Poland & Sweden to counter the Bourbon–Habsburg League which was an alliance of France & Austria. Known for having taken many lovers, upon her death in Nov 1796 from suffering a stroke in her bathroom (supposedly falling off a toilet) and passing away unconscious in her bed, the famous persistent rumor of her having died after committing beastiality with a horse began circulating. This is largely attibuted to British & French satirical publications, and anti-Russian propaganda by German scholar Adam Olearius whose 1647 book Description of the Muscovite and Persian Journey took aim at invoking disgust for a supposed sex-with-animals tendency of Russians & the barbarous Asian traits attributed to this.