Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great proved to be an absolute monarch through her control of

the military, self promotion and control over the nobility, exercising authority over
the Eastern Orthodox church, and censorship of ideas and beliefs that were not
agreeable with the ones that she had. Although it is arguable that Catherine the
Great was an Enlightened Monarch, there is just more evidence stating that she was
and absolute monarch instead. In the beginning of her ruling of Russia she
attempted to be an enlightened monarch and was even going to free the Serfs
before she personally decided that absolute monarchy was the best form of
government.
One of the key factors to being an absolute monarch is obtaining full control
over the military and Catherine the Great did just that. Before Catherine even took
the throne she managed to control the military with the help of Grigory Orlov, a
military leader whom she was having an affair with. While Catherines husband was
on the throne, she saw an opportunity that could result in her being the first women
czar of Russia. With the help of Orlov, Catherine managed to have her husband
arrested and then later mysteriously killed. When Catherine was unable to use
her power to get what she wanted through the military she used her love. Catherine
was able to make her military engage in wars and attacks that were pointless and
dangerous in which did not satisfy anyone other than her at that time.
When Catherine the Great first took the throne many of the citizens were
outraged and therefore it was very important for Catherine II to gain their
admiration and trust. Catherine the Great went about this by promoting herself
then controlling the nobility. At first, Catherine displayed her ideas as if she wanted
to be an enlightened monarch and share power. Also, she said that she wanted the
Serfs who were the majority of the Russian population to be free and to have more
rights. However, she did not follow through with either of those plans and decided
that absolute monarchy was the best form of government. During the early years of
her reign Catherine the Great took advantage of every situation where she could
gain the support of the nobility. While Catherine the Great was gaining control of
the military and nobility she secured her position by persecuting and exterminating
everyone that went against her ideas and beliefs. By the time that Catherine the
Great gained control of the military the nobility fell under her spell too although she
tried not to displease them too much.
As Catherine the Great rose to power she decided that she must take over the
land of the Orthodox Church and convert it to Russian land. Before Catherine the
Great confiscated the Eastern Orthodox land, they had owned almost a third of
Russias agricultural land and Serfs. Around this time Catherine completely
abandoned her plans of being an Enlightened Monarch and become a full out
absolute monarch. With her new land that she had recently confiscated, Catherine
the Great used the land as state paid land that she occasionally held military
personnel on during war times.
When Catherine the Great first took the throne she believed and favored in
free press. However, that idea quickly changed and throughout her time in power
she went to extreme levels to censor anything that put her power in a vulnerable
state. Catherine the Great was also very fond of intimidation and on many occasions
publicly displayed executions such as the time they brutally murdered Pugachev in
the middle of Moscow. Most of Catherine the Greats assassinations were not
publicly displayed however and instead they were done mysteriously and secretly
such as the controversial murder of her own husband. Censorship was also very
important to keeping her power in control. Many also believe that Catherine the
Great was able to apply applications of censorship to entire journals and
newspapers that were not in agreement with her monarchy.
Although for many years Catherine the Great tried to be an Enlightened
Monarch, she just could not share her power. Her absolute monarchy was not
completed until later in her life when she was in full control and jurisdiction of all
the power and land in Russia. Although it did not seem like it, Catherine the Great
went through extreme measures to build her power over the people of Russia and
even Russia itself. Catherine the Great may have played a large role in making
Russia the way it is today but she was undeniably an Absolute Monarch. Through
holding power over the military, controlling the nobility and self-promoting,
censoring ideas and beliefs not in agreement with hers, and taking authority over
the Eastern Orthodox Church, Catherine the Great is undoubtedly verified to be an
absolute monarch.