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86-606: The ideas of the Russian Enlightenment were first espoused by the "learned druzhina " of Peter the Great . It is the spirit which animates the sermons of Feofan Prokopovich , the satires of Antiokh Kantemir , and the historiography of Vasily Tatishchev . During the reign of Peter's daughter Elizaveta Petrovna the ideas of the Enlightened Absolutism found their way into Russia. Elizaveta's favourite, Ivan Shuvalov ,

172-568: A "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain , also called knyaz . The name is derived from the Slavic word drug ( друг ) with the meaning of "companion, friend". In the Rus' Khaganate , a druzhina helped the prince administer his principality and constituted the area's military force. The first members of a druzhina were the Varangians , whose princes established control there in

258-578: A commercial colony town, named Alektor , near the Thracian coast. Archaeological excavations also show that near the area was the old Milesian ( ancient Greek ) colony of Pontic Olbia ; it is supposed that the same Greek expeditions settled Alektor. In the 1st century BC, Alektor became a Roman colony and part of the Roman empire . The area was part of the space in which the Romanians ' ethnogenesis took place, and

344-470: A copy of her Instructions, which he read twice. The subject of serfdom , in regard to which Voltaire advocated emancipation, also figured prominently in their correspondence. Although Voltaire sent Catherine advice on the subject, he never pushed his ideas, nor did he condemn Catherine for not taking more progressive action against the institution. Nevertheless, Voltaire made clear his stance regarding serfdom in his submission for an essay competition held by

430-411: A council to regulate legislation but this was promptly rejected. Once Catherine began to lose the slightest amount of power she reverted to the ways of the past: autocratic rule . She ruled through a series of functional colleges headed by boards under presidents, who worked in cooperation with an appointed administrative Senate of 20 or 30 people. The Senate possessed no legislative powers. Catherine kept

516-439: A discussion…in the case of the [Claude Adrien] Helvetius translation by Golitsuin. In response to Voltaire's comments…Catherine blithely agrees…but confesses she has not read the book yet,". One has the impression that Voltaire would have liked to dwell on literary, philosophic or artistic subjects as he did with his other correspondents. However, Catherine was far more interested in winning the philosopher's approval than in entering

602-437: A fairly impoverished majority and small extremely wealthy minority. The lower gentry farmed and lived slightly better than the few serfs they had. In 1777, 59 percent of the gentry owned less than twenty serfs. The lives of serfs and peasants remained relatively the same during Catherine's reign. In 1762 the peasantry was divided into three groups: private serfs, Church peasants, and state peasants. Consisting of 56 percent of

688-459: A leading world power. Catherine's letters to Voltaire often served as a means to woo the influential philosopher to her cause. Rather than pursue intellectual subjects, Catherine utilized her letters to flatter and cajole the philosopher. While Voltaire often attempted to initiate the Empress in an intellectual dialogue, Catherine often sidestepped his inquiries. For example, "Voltaire did try to start

774-510: A library and reportedly spent an average of 80,000 rubles annually on books. In his essay, "Catherine the Great: Enlightened Empress?" Simon Henderson implores the reader to consider the constraints the empress faced when deciding if she was truly an enlightened despot. Henderson asserts that despite her deceptive tactics, she always possessed an "unswerving commitment to modernizing Russia,". Early on, Catherine concerned herself with

860-629: A loyal and unwavering disciple of Voltaire. Catherine revered the philosopher whose work she had read since her youth. Upon receiving a poem from Voltaire dedicated to her, the empress was "totally overwhelmed by her emotions…In a letter full of flattery and profound respect…Catherine announced that she had no desire to read any literary works that were not written as well as Voltaire's,". She often called Voltaire her "teacher", her "thinking instructor", and her "master of thought,". After his death in 1778, Catherine wrote letters to her contemporaries imploring them to study and memorize his works. "She believed that

946-609: A more contrived manner, perhaps due to the fact that her secretary Pictet thoroughly revised the letters (unlike the letters she wrote to Frederick the Great) prior to sending them. The main difference between the two sets of letters seems to be that "[Catherine] compliments Voltaire, to tickle his vanity and play on his prejudices", while Voltaire's compliments "convey undertones of hero-worship." Domestic affairs In their discussions of Russia's domestic affairs, Catherine only exchanged news with Voltaire that would cast Russia and her rule in

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1032-413: A philosophical dialogue. The content of her letters does not permit one to see her primary motives as anything other than propagandistic. She is not at all interested in broadening her cultural and intellectual horizons. Catherine seeks no advice from Voltaire on how to rule Russia.... Instead Catherine tries to impose her views, justify her policies and explain away her failures. Voltaire is, for Catherine,

1118-401: A positive light. She sent him news that depicted Russia as an economically stable and prosperous country and to depict herself as the epitome of an enlightened despot. Catherine greatly exaggerated Russia's economic stability and greatly misinformed Voltaire on the subject. For instance, Catherine in the correspondence never mentioned Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–74. When Voltaire brought up

1204-601: A result of her campaign to modify Russia, Catherine successfully introduced the tsardom to the Western world and furthered the degree to which it was involved in European affairs. While Catherine worked to bring enlightenment principles to Russia, Voltaire worked to improve her reputation in Europe. The philosopher enthusiastically adopted her cause, commending her to friends in high places, advising her in politics, and distributing her texts to

1290-462: A role in local political affairs. Catherine's political reforms went beyond perfecting Russia's bureaucracy. Her Nakaz or "Instruction" expressed her political ideals. She wrote this for her Legislative Commission, summoned in 1767 to draft a Code of Laws for Russia. Representatives from all the free estates of the realm, government bodies, and non-Russian people considered the state of Russia's laws. Several of her advisers suggested putting in place

1376-608: A sanjak centre of its own. In 1600 Michael the Brave , Prince of Wallachia , took control of the city for a short time. Giovanni Battista Malbi noted in 1620 that the town and the land of Vozia, even if ruled by the Tatars, were inhabited by Romanians, describing them as having the Orthodox religion and a corrupt Latin-Italian language, with Slavic influences, as in those times the Old Slav language

1462-505: Is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion , Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine . It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada , one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is 13,663 (2022 estimate). For many years the city fortress served as a capital of the Ottoman province ( eyalet ) of Özu (Silistria). The city is located at the mouth of Dnieper , on the banks of

1548-495: The Church , which still held significant influence in the 18th century. She wished to show Western Europe that her country would be a powerful presence in European political matters. Catherine's partition of Poland was an even more blatant example of power politics. Russia invaded three separate times, in 1772, 1793, and 1795, and divided the once important European state between itself, Austria and Prussia . The 3rd May Constitution of

1634-604: The Dnieper-Bug Estuary . Between the Cape of Ochakiv (northern bank) and the Kinburn Spit (southern bank) there are only 3.6 km (2.2 miles). The Ochakiv and Kinburn fortresses controlled the entrance to Dnieper and Bug. The strip of land on which Ochakov is located was inhabited by Thracians and Scythians in ancient times. It was known as a part of Great Scythia. In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Greek colonists had founded

1720-845: The Ottoman Empire over the Crimea . Gaining access to the Crimea would have given Russia access to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles . While Russia occupied Poland , France realized that the Ottoman Empire was the only country in a position to topple Catherine. Supported by France, the Turks told Russia to leave Poland. Russia declared war on the Sultan immediately afterward. After several successful victories including

1806-716: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth voted in 1791 was considered by Catherine as a Jacobin threat and as a therefore presenting a threat to Russia's monarchy and its influence in Poland, which ultimately led to a military expedition resulting in the destruction of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Catherine's land acquisitions show the quantitative changes she made to the Russian Empire . But she went far beyond this type of modernization that Peter

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1892-461: The Russian gentry . Catherine did this because of universal standards Europeans used to compare themselves. In contrast to Peter I, who regulated Russian society through public ceremony and legislation, Catherine promoted "the internal mechanisms of behavior regulation." She attempted to achieve this remarkable goal through education. Russia set up state-run schools that provided students with learning in

1978-510: The Suvorov Museum , which served as a mosque in the 15th century. It was converted into the church of St. Nicholas in 1804 and was reconstructed in Russian style in 1842. Ochakiv is home to a Ukrainian Navy ’s Maritime Operations Center , one of several buildings built by U.S. forces in the late 2010s. It was attacked in the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Not far from the city is located

2064-584: The 14th century the Senarega brothers, Genovese merchants and warriors, had settled a castle at the place called Lerici , very close to Vozia city. It was a good point for commerce with Romanians and Tatars, but the Senarega family's interference in Moldavia 's internal affairs made the Moldavians from Cetatea Albă (today's Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi) take the castle from them in 1455. In 1492, Crimean Tatars took Vozia from

2150-483: The 1770s, but never finished a unitary code. She drew heavily in the Nakaz from the latest continental jurisprudence but ignored references to natural law . Criticism of the Empress's reforms abounded. Professor Semyon Desnitsky , a follower of Adam Smith , suggested that Catherine institute elections every five years of a representative Senate and separation of powers. Mikhail Kheraskov used novels and poems to show that

2236-400: The 9th century. Soon, members of the local Slavic aristocracy and adventurers of a variety of other nationalities became druzhinniki. The druzhina's organization varied with time and survived in one form or another until the 16th century. The druzhina was composed of two groups: the senior members, later known as boyars , and the junior members, later known as boyar scions . The boyars were

2322-493: The Court of St. Petersburg, asked for copies of his complete works, and invited him to come to Russia. Her flattery eventually won over Voltaire, and they began writing letters to each other in the autumn of 1763, continuing to do so until Voltaire's death fifteen years later. A relationship with Voltaire benefited Catherine for several reasons. Firstly, Catherine felt the need to strengthen her claim to power, having only recently taken

2408-447: The Empress of her disparaging image. "As Catherine's name was linked more and more to that of the philosophes, it became important that she be cleared of such any unsavory charges,". Thus neither pen pal was possessed entirely "pure" intentions. Yet, despite their ulterior motives, the correspondence remains an important document recording the political pursuits of an Empire. Catherine's alignment with Voltaire acted as an early indication of

2494-594: The Free Economic Society of St. Petersburg in 1767. For the subject topic of the contest, Catherine chose "the merits of private ownership of land by the peasants." Voltaire's essay, to his disappointment, only received an honorable mention. Druzhina In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland , a druzhina , drużyna , or družyna ( Slovak and Czech : družina ; Polish : drużyna ; Russian : дружина , romanized :  druzhina ; Ukrainian : дружи́на , druzhýna literally

2580-554: The Great used in Russia. The institution of laws and importation of liberal Western European thought served as means of expanding the state. At the advice of her learned correspondents, Catherine introduced a number of changes, ranging from the vast secularization of monastic properties to the domestic reform which envisioned more rational planning for the Russian towns. Catherine believed in Enlightenment political thought. She reformed

2666-434: The Great considered herself an enlightened despot . She read the most prominent philosophes of the day, including Montesquieu and Voltaire and tried to adhere to Enlightenment ideas. She wished to bring Russia up to par with its neighbors not only in a military sense, but also politically, culturally, and intellectually. Many of Catherine's contemporaries questioned her adherence to Enlightenment ideals and thought she

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2752-402: The Moldavians and named it Özü-Cale , which literally meant "Dnieper-fortress". The name was also very similar to the then current Romanian Vozia . At that time, the city was also referred to as Kara-Kerman ("Black city") as an opposite to Cetatea Albă ("White City", hence the synonymous naming as Ak-Kerman), also taken by the Tatars and Turkish army from their once Moldavian rulers. In 1493,

2838-684: The Russian Empire planned to establish a "New Moldavia" as a point of attraction for the Romanians from Moldavia, Wallachia and other Romanian-speaking areas. Romanians became a minority in the area as a result of the Russian Empire's policy of Slavic settlement. During the Crimean War the Kinburn Fortress opposite Ochakiv was bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet and captured on 17 October 1855, in

2924-478: The Russian aristocracy "should not permit the vast majority of the people to go on suffering from the arbitrariness of [the] very laws who ought to be to afford protection to each and all,". Furthermore, in an attempt to create a more educated bureaucracy, Catherine moved to bring better education to her people. In 1786, she established the Russian Statute of National Education to launch a national school system. As

3010-410: The Russian gentry's adherence to a set standard and its imitation of the Western values. Westernization in Russia included the modernization of machinery, the refinement of a more efficient bureaucracy , and the acceptance of Western European tastes. Russia produced more goods, and enlisted thousands of troops during Catherine's reign. While she acquired new lands, including Crimea and Poland, updated

3096-434: The Russian throne, Catherine the Great held no legitimate claim to the crown. Her sole connection with the house of Romanov derived from her marriage to the late Emperor, Peter III, whose murder she was widely known to have orchestrated. The royals who held genealogical claims to the throne overtly devised plots to replace the new Tsarina. Both Ivan VI and Paul I , armed with supporters, threatened Catherine's rule, as well as

3182-667: The Russian tsardom moving towards closer relations with Europe. Correspondence The main topics of discussion in the Voltaire-Catherine letters were Russia's foreign and domestic affairs. Despite their mutual affection for literature, art and philosophy, very rarely did Catherine and Voltaire discuss such topics. One scholar has suggested that Catherine did not have the intellectual capacity to have such discussions with Voltaire, and that Catherine brought up primarily political affairs in her letters in order to impart her political ideas onto Voltaire. They did discuss cultural matters in

3268-539: The Russians went in the same year and installed their own leader to the throne. Because she gained significant diplomatic power in the early 1770s Catherine considered something called the "Greek Project". This consisted of pushing the Turks out of Europe but it also carried another more utopian aspect: reclaiming Constantinople from Muslim to Orthodox Christian rule. The Second Turkish War , 1787–1792, ended with Russia gaining

3354-593: The Turks and Tatars, the conquerors of Vozia, the city was inhabited by Moldavians (Romanians) and a number of Greek merchants. Ochakiv was listed as one of the three chief towns of Yedisan in a 1701 book by English cartographer Herman Moll . During the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) , the Russian Empire , viewing the Ottoman fortress as the key for obtaining control of the Black Sea littoral, besieged it in 1737. Russian troops commanded by Marshal von Münnich took

3440-601: The Well-Born Russian Nobility": "The right to the name of dvoryanin (gentry) comes down from the quality and virtue of those men who took the lead in ancient times and distinguished themselves by particular service." She codified this by ordering assemblies of the gentry in regional centers to keep genealogical records. Catherine's reforms allowed those with historically powerful families to keep their status in society, and others to rise due to service. A nobleman no longer showed his refinement through his servitude to

3526-416: The army, and supported burgeoning manufactures, she really wanted to westernize Russia by reforming it, specifically the lives of the gentry , qualitatively. Bringing Russia to an equal level with the rest of Europe intellectually was a major concern of Catherine's. For this reason she created laws that justified her rule. Almost every Russian ruler has sought to conquer ports in warm waters. Peter I fought

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3612-527: The autumn of 1763, Catherine arranged for her Genevan secretary François-Pierre Pictet, an acquaintance of Voltaire, to send Voltaire a letter (supposedly written by Catherine herself) in which Pictet praised her at great length. Catherine made many other attempts to link herself to the French philosophes : she offered to publish the Encyclopédie in Russia, arranged for several of Voltaire's plays to be produced at

3698-523: The best method of diffusing favorable information in Europe. As a testament to Catherine's political ingenuity, she skillfully kept Voltaire at arm's length, feigning a belief in absolute liberalism in her letters while, in practice, implementing repressive reforms in her country. For example, the opinion she shares with Voltaire regarding serfdom did not always correspond with the laws she passed. "The Empress turned over 800,000 peasants to private proprietors. The 1763 law limiting freedom of movement by requiring

3784-579: The course of the Battle of Kinburn . The fortress remained in Anglo-French hands for the remaining months of the war, while the Russians abandoned Ochakiv and destroyed the fort located there. After that war the coastal defences around Ochakiv were rebuilt and strengthened. With the establishment of the Ukrainian statehood as the Ukrainian People's Republic the Ukrainian name of the city became official. Ochakiv

3870-599: The court but through what he owned and what company he kept. Catherine's Smol'nyi Institute in St. Petersburg , based on the French Maison royale de Saint Louis , taught upper-class girls polite manners in society and gave them a moral education. Girls studied not only "dance, music, sewing, drawing, and household economy" but also "law, mathematics, languages, geography, history, economy, architecture , science, and ethics ." Her Sub-Commission on Education concerned itself not with

3956-505: The destruction of the Turkish naval fleet, Catherine impressed many European powers: "Catherine, who had at first been treated as a dilettante in politics, now appeared to all the Western chanceries as an evil genius." Catherine returned to the Crimea in November 1776, and imposed a ruler for the reoccupation of the peninsula because of disturbances there. The Crimeans revolted in 1778, after which

4042-640: The druzhinniki wages, sharing his war booty and taxes with them and eventually rewarding the boyars with landed estates that were complete with rights to tax and administer justice to the local population. At the Battle on the Ice , the army of the Novgorod Republic had about 5000 men in all. Around 3000 men in both the cavalry and the infantry were part of Alexander Nevsky 's druzhina. Ibrahim ibn Yaqub , who traveled in 961–62 in Central Europe , mentions that

4128-825: The drużyna of Duke Mieszko I of Poland had 3000 men, paid by the duke. Unlike his predecessors, Casimir I the Restorer promoted landed gentry over the drużyna as his base of power. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  "Дружина"  . Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. [REDACTED] Media related to Druzhina at Wikimedia Commons Ochakov Ochakiv ( Ukrainian : Очаків , pronounced [oˈtʃɑkiu̯] ), also known as Ochakov ( Russian : Очаков ; Crimean Tatar : Özü ; Romanian : Oceacov or, archaically, Vozia ) and Alektor ( Ancient Greek : Ἀλέκτωρ ),

4214-406: The duty of the autocrat was to transition from an enlightened absolute monarch to a constitutional or limited monarch. To understand the significance of Catherine's rule, one must look back on Peter the Great's reign. Peter established the idea of a "reforming tsar." He broke away from the old Muscovite conception of the Russian sovereign as "good tsar." From his reign on all tsars were judged by

4300-471: The economic pressure put upon the gentry that needed more wealth in order to indulge in Western European tastes. The gentry used potentially arable land in old areas as well as new land on the peripheries of the empire. This expansion occurred during the 1780s and 90s. Throughout Catherine's reign she tried to find a balance between liberal political economic ideas in the tradition of Adam Smith , and

4386-735: The finances and teachers to run schools properly. Secularization , a "western" principle, officially came to Russia through monetary necessity. Of course Enlightenment ideas about religion influenced the gentry but Catherine established the Commission on Church Lands on February 6, 1764 to support the finances of the state. The appropriation of Church lands to the state brought a substantial amount of money, land, and peasants under Catherine's control. The state's efforts to "westernize" Russia's gentry greatly affected their economic cirmcumstances. The wealthiest classes gained more income in order to afford education and western habits. The gentry consisted of

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4472-409: The fortress by storm (July 1737) , but the following year Russia abandoned it, restoring it to Turkey in 1739. The 1737 siege became famous as the background to one of the tales of the fictional Baron Munchausen . During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 , Russian land forces under Alexander Suvorov and naval units commanded by John Paul Jones started a second siege of Ochakov , which began in

4558-484: The fortress of Ochakov and the Black Sea shore to the Dniester river, and the Ottoman Empire recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea. Retaking Constantinople and creating a Christian empire centered there does not appear to be a very enlightened plan. However, Catherine saw land grabbing as an easy way to assert Russia's intentions. By declaring that Constantinople would one day belong to Christians, she also appeased

4644-540: The fortress was taken by the cossacks of Bohdan Gliński. Due to its strategic location the fortress was a site of contest for a long time between Moldavia , Moldavia's ally Zaporizhian Sich , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and the Ottoman Empire . At a later date it became the centre of an Ottoman sanjak which included Khajidereh (today Ovidiopol), Khadjibey (Odessa), and Dubossary , as well as some 150 villages, and Silistra Province , sometimes called Özi Province, to which it belonged. Khadjibey later became

4730-443: The guards who possessed the military might to overthrow the Empress. In a letter to Voltaire on September 21, 1762, Catherine acknowledged the conspirators and potential traitors all around her: "Every guardsman when he looks at me can say: 'I made that woman.'" A shrewd politician, Catherina also knew she needed the support of the Court, the public, and other powerful regimes in order to maintain power, suppress rebellion, and emerge as

4816-514: The liberal media, thereby cementing her title as an enlightened despot. "Voltaire participated in a campaign to protect Catherine's reputation…he wrote pamphlets in support of her policies…[and] published her pronouncements in the western press,". In a letter to Marquis D'Argenson, a French statesman, Voltaire asked him to help "re-establish [Catherine's] reputation in Paris", (Lentin 13). Catherine, happy with rise to popularity, admits to Prince De Ligne: "It

4902-455: The most literal sense of the word—the appointments of Western European polite society." Catherine called the gentry , in her Nakaz as "an Appellation of Honour, which distinguishes all those who are adorned with it from every other Person of Inferior Rank." In 1785, she fused the notion of reward for service with the idea of inherited rank in "Declaration of the Rights, Freedom and Privileges of

4988-458: The option to "purchase their freedom" or that the government limit the period of servitude to six years. However, the nobles omitted this section from the document as it did not benefit them. "Rather than seeing her as insincere in her concern for the peasantry, historians have recently highlighted…what she might have achieved had the circumstances been different,". Despite the constraints, Catherine did manage to implement few policies that benefitted

5074-527: The peasant to get a permit from the landlord before he/she could leave the property has been cited as evidence that Catherine enserfed peasants in the name of fiscal expediency,". Catherine's correspondence largely acted as propaganda intended to assure Voltaire (and Europe) of Russia's prosperity. Handicapped by distance and a lack of information, Voltaire was simply too willing to believe in Catherine's liberalism. Despite her impure intentions, Catherine remained

5160-488: The peasantry, private serfs were bound to their villages because of tax purposes and military conscription. Their masters had a legal responsibility to feed them in time of famine, care for them in old age, and pay their poll-tax . The upper classes of Russia put more money into manufacturing, which grew during Catherine's reign. The number of enterprises increased from 600 to 700 in 1762 to over 2,000 when her reign ended. Russian agriculture grew during Catherine's reign due to

5246-476: The philosophies and culture of the enlightenment. Though she often agreed with their liberal positions, her status in court was entirely reliant upon the support of noble families. As a result, the Empress could not always implement reforms the way she would have liked. For example, when confronted with the issue of serfdom, Catherine initially suggested in her proposal of "the Instruction" that landowners offer serfs

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5332-1011: The possibilities for enlightened despotism and allow him to compare the laws and customs of Russia with those of France. By 1763, Voltaire had long been interested in Russia on an intellectual level, having written in 1759 the Histoire de l'Empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand . Furthermore, because Voltaire was persecuted in Europe for his ideas and even exiled from Paris, he appreciated the Russian Empress's flattery and recognition of his talents and progressive thinking. Voltaire played an important role in promoting Catherine's image in Europe. He has been described as Catherine's "most distinguished western partisan, her most enthusiastic devotee, and her most indefatigable and eloquent propagandist." In addition to singing her praises among his circles of friends, Voltaire wrote pamphlets that supported Catherine's policies and had her pronouncements and letters published in

5418-481: The post of Minister of Finance. In the 1762, the Church owned two-thirds of ploughed land. After Catherine's reform, secularized Church land brought the state "an annual income of 1,370,000 rubles, of which less than 463,000 was returned to the Church each year between 1764 and 1768." Catherine first initiated the relationship between herself and Voltaire , and she went to very great lengths to make his acquaintance. In

5504-461: The power to pass laws. She realized the need for the establishment of laws. Some argue that Catherine used the Enlightenment as a way of placing "her rule on firm philosophic foundations and providing a national guide for the moral leadership of Europe." Others say she used her laws for purely practical reasons. She established a civil law code in January 1774 and a criminal code during the second half of

5590-405: The prince's closest advisers and performed higher state functions. The junior members constituted the prince's personal bodyguard and were common soldiers. Members were dependent upon their prince for financial support but served the prince freely and had the right to leave him and join the druzhina of another prince. As a result, a prince was inclined to seek the goodwill of his druzhina by paying

5676-414: The raion. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Mykolaiv Oblast to four, the city of Ochakiv was merged into Mykolaiv Raion. Today Ochakiv is a resort town and a fishing port. The current estimated population is around 16,900 (as of 2001). Military personnel are about a third of the local population. The town's main sight is the building of

5762-433: The serfs. In 1767 it was forbidden for foster parents to enserf illegitimate children and in 1781 enserfment of prisoners of war was prohibited and a law passes that saw marriage of a free man to a serf woman emancipate the woman. Catherine is known to have investigated and then bought out landowners who were reported to ill-treat their serfs,. Voltaire outwardly supported emancipation of the serfs. The philosopher believed that

5848-458: The standard of: modernizing economics, society, politics and cultural life, gaining influence abroad, and leading Russia on secular Western European ideas. No longer did leaders paternalistically protect the Russian homeland . Russia became a major European power because of Peter's reforms. From Peter's rule set the precedent for succeeding leaders. For the next 150 years, Russian rulers followed "reform conservatism" which consisted of maintaining

5934-479: The state's power, fighting off fundamental change, but also adopting progressive changes that gave the autocracy a feature of liberalism , which was actually conservative in practice. Considered the "only articulate ideologist to rule Russia between Ivan IV and Lenin ", Catherine not only wanted to have military and political equality with Western European countries but she also strove to emulate their enlightened rule by supplanting western thought and practices onto

6020-416: The strong and powerful bureaucracy Peter the Great established. She established fifty "gubernii" provinces, divided into ten districts. 300,000 to 400,000 people lived in each province and 20,000 to 30,000 lived in every district. A governor, and a network of officials, divided by executive, legislative, and judicial functions were ideally supposed to run each province. Catherine also wanted the gentry to play

6106-469: The strong regulation started by Peter I . She preferred hired labor in industry, lowered internal tariffs and custom duties, and did not support monopolies. Catherine forbade the purchase of serfs for industry. Mining was a source of Russian wealth. Catherine invited German mineralogy expert Franz Ludwig von Cancrin to Russia and put him in charge of a major salt mine at Staraya . Cancrin's son Georg von Cancrin joined him later in Russia, where he rose to

6192-437: The study of his work educated citizens, that it helped to form geniuses, heroes and writers, and that it would help to develop thousands of talents,". Her devotion to Voltaire after his death remains evident of her sincere and genuine reverence of him. Throughout her reign, Catherine remained committed to intellectual pursuits and encouraged members of her court to engage in them as well. The empress provided her palace staff with

6278-400: The subject, Catherine brushed it off by simply saying that she had it under control. As a result, Voltaire never realized the significant economic hardship of Russia's peasant class that had triggered the revolt. They often discussed legislation, as both strongly advocated for the absolute power of the law. Voltaire asked for information on Catherine's regulations, and Catherine sent Voltaire

6364-752: The subtleties of sciences, but with primary, secondary, and higher education. The idea was to teach children the duties required of those who live in society. The Sub-Commission began its work in May 1768 and used English universities, the Prussian system of national education and "Irish school" as models. The state then established free, co-educational high schools and primary schools in provincial towns in 1786. By 1764, district towns received primary schools however; rural schools did not come into existence. Few children attended public schools. Around 176,000 children passed through Russian public school between 1786 and 1796. Russia lacked

6450-482: The summer of 1788 and lasted six months. In December 1788, in temperatures of −23 °C (−9 °F), the Russians stormed the fortress, resulting in a terrible loss of life. The siege became the subject of a famous ode by Gavrila Derzhavin . The naval Battle of Ochakov (July 1788) took place alongside the city during the same campaign. The Treaty of Jassy of 1792 transferred Özi to the Russian Empire, which renamed it as Ochakov ( Russian : Оча́ков ). Initially

6536-474: The three Rs , as well as about behavior proper for citizenship. The schools stressed two principles above all else: the need to be patriotic, and the need to accept innovation. The upper classes ' increased purchasing power caused them to see themselves as equals to the French , British , Swiss, Danish and Swedes. This led the gentry , viewed as the "pillar of absolutism and of the Russian state," to "domesticate—in

6622-816: The throne from her husband in a coup d'état . Since the philosophes significantly shaped public opinion in Western Europe, Catherine wanted desperately to gain Voltaire's approval. She used him to spread support of her policies throughout Western Europe. Voltaire also interested Catherine on an intellectual level, as they shared a common interest in politics, philosophy, and literature. Her correspondence with Voltaire provided an outlet for her intellectual curiosity. Voltaire likewise benefited from Catherine's friendship. Long an admirer of enlightened despotism , Voltaire approved of Catherine's secular policies. He thought that his correspondence with Catherine would help him explore

6708-569: The western press, particularly targeting anti-Russian publications such as the Gazette de France , the Gazette de Cologne , and the Courrier d'Avignon . Voltaire even succeeded in convincing the French historian Claude-Carloman de Rulhière not to publish his Histoire ou anecdotes sur la révolution de Russie en l'année 1762 , which provided a disparaging account of Catherine's rise to power . Voltaire as propagandist A foreign-born woman and usurper of

6794-461: The year 1772, which suggests that Catherine wanted to distract Voltaire from her recent partition of Poland . Both Catherine and Voltaire wrote to each other in generally approbatory tones. Voltaire's letters to Catherine have been described as "a catalogue of extravagant and unqualified compliments, and fulsome approbation of her policies." He even addressed her as "my Catherine." While Catherine also flattered Voltaire in her letters, she wrote in

6880-620: Was a part of the Brodnici rule. It fell under Tatar domination in the time of the Mongol invasion of Europe . Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander I, the Good), ruler of Moldavia (r. 1400–1432), and his ally Vytautas , Grand Duke of Lithuania (r. 1392–1430), freed the Vozia territory and a fortress was built again close to Alektor's ruins. Later the stronghold will be mentioned in Russian chronics as Dashev . In

6966-602: Was also more generally a place of passage for many migratory people and tribes. As a result of the migrations, the city fell and the inhabitants lived in small settlements built on the shores of the Bug and Dnieper Rivers . During the Middle Ages the place was named Vozia by Romanians. The name is supposed to come from a plant known in Romanian as bozii or bozia ( Sambucus ebulus ), a medicinal herb frequently found there. The territory

7052-525: Was an egoist, merely using concepts from the Age of Enlightenment to further her selfish gains. Gender played a primary role in these criticisms. Contemporaries interpreted her personality as combining masculine strength with feminine vanity. " Westernization " carries different meanings in different countries over varying time periods. But in relation to Russia during the 18th century, the term meant legislative changes to economics, politics and culture. It also entails

7138-556: Was an ideal enlightened courtier : he was instrumental in the establishment of the Moscow University and the Imperial Academy of Arts , which would start the careers of most intellectuals active during the last quarter of the 18th century. Shuvalov was also the patron of the greatest Russian polymath – Mikhail Lomonosov – who left his mark in various branches of science, religious philosophy, poetry, and fine arts. Catherine

7224-435: Was certainly Voltaire who brought me into fashion,". However, Voltaire certainly recognized the benefits of fraternizing with the Empress of Russia. The philosopher enjoyed socializing with Europe's elite and often boasted of his influential friends. "He avowed the usefulness of having a crowned up [his] sleeve…". Furthermore, as a result of his association with Catherine, Voltaire saw it beneficial for his own reputation to rid

7310-516: Was part of the Soviet Union 's Ukrainian SSR and during World War II it was occupied by Romania between 1941 and 1944. This was the first time in the city's history that the ethnological and sociological research of Ochakiv's Romanians survivors were made by Anton Golopenția . Until 18 July 2020, Ochakiv was incorporated as a city of oblast significance . It also served as the administrative center of Ochakiv Raion even though it did not belong to

7396-1057: Was the church language in all Romanian countries. The same ethnic note was made by Niccolo Barsi from Lucca in the same century. Lawryn Piaseczynski, secretary of the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa , traveling with a diplomatic mission to Gazi Giray Khan, traversing the region of Cetatea Albă (Ak-Kerman) and the Vozia or Oceakov region, found only "Moldavian villages under the Tatar Khan's domination, ruled in his name by Nazyl Aga" ("sate moldoveneşti pe care le ţine hanul tătărăsc şi pe care le guvernează în numele lui sluga lui Nazyl aga") Similar notes were made by Giovanni Botero (1540–1617) in Relazioni universali (Venice 1591); Gian Lorenzo d'Anania in L'Universale fabbrica del Mondo, ovvero Cosmografia (Napoli 1573, Venice 1596 etc.) and Giovanni Antonio Magini (1555–1617), from Padova , în Geographie universae (Venice 1596). Daniel Krman wrote that apart from

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