Catherine the Great or Catherine II was born in Stettin in Prussia or known as Szczecin, Poland on May 2, 1729. She grew up as a German prince minor and her birth name was Sophie. Friederike Auguste, her mother was Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein Gottorp and her father was Christian August prince of Anhalt-zerbst, she also had a brother Wilhelm Christian but he died at the age of 12. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Catherine's mother spent a lot of time with Wilhelm and didn't really care about Catherine, so Catherine was raised by his housekeeper Babette. As she grew older, her mother came to see her more because of her brother's death and took her on trips to see if there was a possible suitor. Catherine's view on marriage was that she would get away from her very controlling mother. So, at the age of fourteen, Catherine was chosen to be the wife of Karl Ulrich, Duke of Holstein-gottorp, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne. In 1744, Catherine arrived in Russia and acquired the name Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. , and married his younger cousin the following year. Her husband was extremely unstable, stubborn, very disobedient and a fanatical worshiper of Frederick II of Prussia, the enemy of Empress Elizabeth, then ruler of Russia. Catherine's marriage was a failure and the eighteen years were filled with disappointment and humiliation for her. Elizabeth therefore devoted much pleasure and luxury and eager to give her court the splendor of a European court. Elisabeth therefore prepared the ground for Catherine to become the next ruler of Russia. Catherine loved Russia and she was very intelligent, which made her very needed. support. As Catherine was in court, she was bored and humiliated, so she read a lot to prepare. Elizabeth died and Peter took her place, Catherine, the new Peter, was not capable of ruling Russia, so Catherine planned to get rid of Peter and Peter planned to get rid of Catherine. Peter allied himself with Frederick II of Prussia, Peter did not hide that he loved Germany and hated Russia, and by this time Catherine had won the support of the army, the court, the public and enlightened people. Keep in mind: This is just a sample .Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssayOn June 28, 1762, Catherine led the regiments to St. Petersburg and had herself proclaimed empress. People thought Peter was murdered by someone on Catherine's orders just eight days after she became empress, but no one was Sertan. As the days went by, Catherine was, first and foremost, a leader and loved Russia very much. She dedicated herself to making Russia a prosperous and powerful state..