The Age of Enlightenment ushered in a wave of new ideas and concepts centered on the use of reason that had never been seen before. Catherine the Great (Russia) was one of the most notable enlightened rulers. Catherine, who ruled according to Enlightenment values such as equal rights, equal taxation and equality under the law in many cases, took steps to keep her absolute power. She did this by removing herself and others from the law.
Enlightened despotism refers to a form or government where absolute monarchs strive for education, legal, and social reform. Administrative reforms, religious tolerance, and economic growth were also common reforms. Catherine the Great was certainly a reformer in these areas. In her new laws, Catherine stopped the rich from oppressing those who were poor. She also defined and protected personal liberty, prohibited torture, outlawed death penalty, instituted trial by peer jury, enacted the concept of innocence before proven guilt, and implemented a fairer tax code. Catherine argued in the document that everyone should be treated as equal before the law. She then convened a Legislative Commission, which included people from different classes and social backgrounds. The purpose was to hear their opinions on the issues facing the country. Catherine was particularly active on matters of education and arts. In the spirit of Enlightenment, Catherine sought to improve the education of girls. Later she called for the creation of free schools. Catherine loved art and culture. She sponsored cultural projects, built theaters, corresponded to Voltaire, collected art at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
She was still an absolutist monarch who was not subjected to law. In her law code she justified her despotism by stating that the empire was too large to be effectively run by just one person and that nature dictated that certain people should rule while others were supposed to obey. She would often disregard the Senate rulings to display her power. She would also freely take and confiscate land. Prince Mikhail Schterbatov asserted that Catherine’s disregard for morals filtered down to her lower level officials, encouraging them to bid for office and assigning military ranks arbitrarily. Catherine had to be absolutist in order to maintain total control of her kingdom. To gain noble support, she also condoned the practice of serfdom. Even though Catherine’s code of law stated that all were equal, she made an allowance for serfs. She said they owed landlords “proper subjection and absolute obedience” in everything. Serfs weren’t allowed to even complain to the crown. Alexander Radishchev noticed the harsh conditions of serfs on his journey to Moscow. They worked six days for their masters, and only had the nights and holidays free.
Catherine the Great reign was filled with contradictions. She was a contradiction. While her attitude towards serfdom grew harsher with the Emelyan-Pugachev revolt, and she gained more control over her empire, many of her core Enlightenment ideas remained. These included education, the arts, and individual rights.