The main directions of foreign policy. During the reign of Catherine II, Russia managed to come closer to solving the foreign policy problems that faced the country for many decades.

The weakening of the military power of Turkey and the Crimea made it all the more realistic to ensure Russia's access to the Black Sea.

Allied relations of Russia with Austria and Prussia created an opportunity for the return to Russia of the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands that had been located since the XIV century. v the composition of the Polish-Lithuanian state.

The task of ensuring the safety of Peter's conquests in the Baltics remained.

Great French revolution caused the creation of the first anti-French coalition under the auspices of Catherine II.

All these factors determined the main directions of Catherine's foreign policy. II.

Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. The Russo-Turkish wars of the second half of the 18th century were explained not only by the desire of Russia to reach the Black Sea, but also by the no less desire of Turkey itself to expand its possessions in the Northern Black Sea region at the expense of Russia.

In 1768, the Russian-Turkish war broke out. Turkey started it. The cavalry of the Crimean Khan began to advance from the south to the steppe regions of Ukraine. A huge Turkish army was concentrated on the Dniester River to attack Kiev. In addition to the heavily fortified fortresses in the Balkans, Turkey relied on its large and well-armed fleet operating in the Black and Azov Seas.

On initial stage wars battles went on with varying success - the surprise of the attack and the superiority of Turkey in force affected. The chances of victory increased after the appointment of the renowned commander in chief of the Russian army, who distinguished himself during the Seven Years War, P.A.Rumyantsev. In September 1769, the troops led by him entered Iasi, and then Bucharest. Another part of the Russian army, operating in the lower reaches of the Don and in the Azov region, occupied Azov and Taganrog. At the same time, a military detachment was sent to help the Georgian population, who had raised an uprising against the Turks in Imeretin.

In July 1770 year the Turkish army was defeated by the troops of Rumyantsev at the Larga River. A few days later, near the Cahul River, a 17,000 Russian detachment defeated the main forces of the Turkish army of 150,000 people.

Meanwhile, the squadron of the Baltic Fleet under the command of A.G. Orlov and G. A. Spiridova circled Europe and on July 5, 1770, in the Chesme Bay, completely destroyed the Turkish squadron. Landings were landed from Russian ships, which, together with the Greek partisans, waged a successful struggle against the Turks.

In 1772 he was transferred from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the Danube Army Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov. The troops led by him in 1773 took Turtukai with a swift blow and crossed the Danube.

Having suffered complete defeat, Turkey was forced to ask for peace. The Russian army was ready to continue the war. But the peasant war that broke out in the country forced the government to go to peace. According to the agreement concluded by P.A.Rumyantsev in the town of Kuchuk-Kainardzhi in 1774, the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper with the Kinburn fortress, the Kerch and Yenikale fortresses on the Sea of ​​Azov, and Kabarda in the North Caucasus were annexed to Russia. Turkey was also forced to recognize independence Crimean Khanate and the right of the Russian fleet to unhindered passage through the Black Sea straits to the Mediterranean.

However, both sides viewed this agreement as temporary. They were preparing for a new war for the Northern Black Sea region.

Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. Another Russo-Turkish war broke out in 1787. The reason for it was the events in the Crimea, where a coup took place in favor of an open protégé of Turkey and an adversary of Russia. In response to this, in 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto on the termination of the existence of the Crimean Khanate and the annexation of its lands to Russia. As a result, the whole Crimea and part North Caucasus became part of Russia. Summer 1787 Years Catherine undertook a demonstrative trip to the Crimea (Taurida), accompanied by the Austrian emperor.

All this caused a storm of indignation in Turkey. In July 1787, the Sultan presented Russia with an ultimatum, in which he demanded the return of the Crimea, the restoration of Turkish power in Georgia and the inspection of Russian ships sailing through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Russia refused. In August, the Sultan declared war on Russia, which lasted four years.

Russia's military superiority was immediately apparent. In the fall of 1787, the Turks landed a large landing on the Kinburn Spit at the mouth of the Dnieper. The troops defending Kinburn under the command of Suvorov defeated and destroyed the landing. In 1788, troops under the command of G. A. Potemkina captured the fortress of Ochakov.

In the summer of 1789, decisive battles took place at Fokshany and Rymnik, during which Suvorov's troops defeated the numerically superior Turks.

The main event of the final stage of the war was the siege and the capture of the seemingly impregnable fortress of Izmail, which was defended by 35 thousand people. The commandant of Ishmael confidently declared that "the sky will sooner fall to the ground" than the enemy will be able to take this fortress.

The first assault attempts really did not bring success to the Russian troops. Only after the appointment of Suvorov as commander did the matter move.

The renowned commander began to prepare the troops for the assault. Life-size models of the fortress were created, ladders were prepared for the assault, soldiers were taught to overcome obstacles. The troops literally trained day and night. "It's hard in training - easy in battle," Suvorov said.

After artillery preparation on December 11, 1790, the assault on the fortress began. The battle went on for ten hours, after which the impregnable Ishmael fell. The Turks lost 26 thousand of their soldiers. The losses on the part of the Russians who stormed were 2 thousand people. One of the advancing columns was commanded by Major General M.I.Kutuzov.

In the summer of 1791, Russian troops finally defeated the Turkish army

in the Balkans. Then the young Russian Black Sea Fleet, led by Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov defeated the Turkish squadron in the Kerch Strait.

Turkey was finally defeated and asked for peace. According to the Yassy Peace Treaty of 1791, the Dniester River became the border between the two countries. Turkey recognized all the conquests of Russia in the Northern Black Sea region.

Russia not only got access to the Black Sea, but also became a great Black Sea power. The development of fertile Black Sea lands began, the construction of many ports and cities on them.

Greek project of Catherine II. Immediately after the end of the first war with Turkey, inspired by the successes of Catherine II and her favorite, G.A. Potemkin, drew up a project for further actions against the enemy weakened by failures. It was assumed that Turkey would be thrown back from Europe, and the Greek Empire with its capital in Constantinople would arise on the liberated Balkan lands. Catherine named her second grandson, born in 1779, Constantine in honor of the great Byzantine emperor. In the future, she wanted to see him head

Greek Empire. From the eastern Danubian principalities, the empress planned to create a buffer state of Dacia, and to transfer the western states to Austria (with which she was going to oust Turkey from Europe). This plan caused great commotion in European capitals, since its implementation (which was quite possible) would have caused an extraordinary strengthening of the already strong position of Russia in Europe. Catherine did not have time to implement these plans.

Russia's participation in the divisions of the Commonwealth. Austria and Prussia, allied with Russia, have repeatedly offered Russia to undertake the partition of the weakening Rzeczpospolita. Catherine II did not go to him due to the fact that her protege was the Polish king at that time Stanislav Ponyatovsky. However, after the victories of Russia during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, there was a very real threat of the conclusion of an alliance between Turkey and Austria for a joint struggle against it. And then Catherine agreed to the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. V 1772 year Russia, Austria and Prussia divided part of the territory of this state among themselves. Prussia occupied Pomorie, Austria occupied Galicia, and Russia occupied eastern Belarus and part of Livonia.

The second section, in which Prussia and Russia participated, occurred in 1793 year. The reason for it was the revolutionary events in France. The entire Baltic coast of Poland with Gdansk and Great Poland with Poznan went to Prussia, and to Russia - Belarus with Minsk and the Right-Bank Ukraine. This meant that many ancient Russian lands became part of Russia.

Meanwhile, an uprising under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, directed against the division of Polish lands by neighboring states. Taking advantage of the victories of the rebels, Russia, Austria and Prussia reintroduced their troops into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and suppressed the uprising. It was decided that the Polish state, as a source of "revolutionary danger", should cease to exist. This meant the third partition of Poland, which took place in 1795 year. The lands of central Poland with Warsaw were transferred to Prussia. Austria received Lesser Poland with Lublin. The main part of Lithuania, Western Belarus and Western Volhynia went to Russia, and the incorporation of Courland into Russia was also confirmed.

War with Sweden. In the midst of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, the Swedish king, taking advantage of the difficult situation in Russia, made a last attempt to return part of the Peter's conquests. In addition to demanding the return of all the Baltic coastline conquered by Russia, he demanded that Catherine return to Turkey (with which he acted in an alliance) all of her Black Sea acquisitions. Military operations began in 1788 and proceeded with varying success in Finland and the Baltic Sea. The fate of the war was decided by the Vyborg naval battle in June 1790, which ended in the victory of the Russian fleet. A peace treaty was signed in July. The war ended without changing the borders between the two countries. Its main result was the conclusion of allied relations between Russia and Sweden, which meant the final recognition by the Swedes of the results of the Northern War.

The policy of "armed neutrality". In 1775, the war of the British colonies in North America for independence began. England asked Russia to hire Russian troops to fight the American rebels. In response, Catherine II not only refused this, but later recognized the independence of the United States of America. In 1780, Russia adopted a declaration of "armed neutrality", according to which the ship of any neutral state is under the protection of all neutral states. This position played into the hands of the inhabitants of the American colonies. This greatly hurt the interests of England and could not but worsen Russian-British relations. But at the same time, the foundation was laid for the development of ties between Russia and America.

The struggle of Catherine II against revolutionary France. The revolutionary events in France alarmed Catherine from the very beginning. She was hostile to the convocation of the States General on May 5, 1789, and especially the capture of the Bastille on July 14. The Empress declared that she could not allow shoemakers to rule the state in any corner of Europe. She was even more worried by reports that some of the representatives of the Russian aristocracy who studied in Paris took part in revolutionary events those days. She soon demanded that all her subjects leave France.

On behalf of Catherine, the Russian ambassador in Paris was preparing an escape Louis XVI and his family. However, this escape failed, and soon the King and Queen of France were executed. The Empress took to her bed, and the court dressed in mourning. From that time on, Russia began to form an anti-French coalition of European states and prepare an invasion of revolutionary France. Diplomatic and trade ties between Russia and France were severed. The exiled French nobility, led by the brother of the executed king, began to come to St. Petersburg. In 1795, the first agreement was concluded between England and Russia on the sending of troops to France. Russia was supposed to deploy a 60,000-strong army led by Suvorov, and England provided large financial resources for the war. However, on November 6, 1796, Empress Catherine died, and the campaign did not take place.

The results of Catherine's foreign policy. The foreign policy of Catherine the Great led to a significant increase in the territory of Russia. It included the Right-Bank Ukraine and Belarus, the southern Baltic, the Northern Black Sea region, many new territories on Far East and in North America. The inhabitants of the Greek islands and the North Caucasus swore allegiance to the Russian empress. The population of Russia has increased from 22 million to 36 million.

Another important result of the foreign policy of Catherine II was the beginning of the transformation of Russia from a great European into a great world power. “I don’t know how it will be with you, but with us, not a single cannon in Europe dared to fire without our permission,” said Catherine’s chancellor, Count A. Bezborodko. The Russian fleet now plowed the expanses of not only coastal seas, but also Mediterranean Sea, Quiet and Atlantic oceans supporting by force of their weapons Russia's foreign policy in Europe, Asia and America.

However, the greatness of Russia cost its people a colossal exertion of forces and enormous material and human losses.

Catherine the Great was born on May 2, 1729 in the Prussian city of Stettin, in 1745 she married Peter III, and on July 9, 1762, she herself became the ruling empress as a result of a palace coup, while Peter abdicated and was imprisoned. He died a week later (most likely strangled by his jailers, who played cards with him).

In fact, it turned out that Catherine II made a double seizure of power - she took it away from her husband, but did not give it to her son Paul (according to the rules, she was supposed to become regent under the minor emperor). However, from the height of history, it can be argued that she was worthy of the title of empress.

Catherine became the first empress of non-Russian origin (since she was German), but still the Romanov dynasty on Peter III was not interrupted, since after Catherine he came to the throne Pavel Romanov, her son. It should be noted here that the direct male line of the Romanovs was interrupted for another Peter II Alekseevich, and later the Romanovs went along the female line, and officially the dynasty began to be called the Romanovs-Holstein-Gottorp.

Domestic policy of Catherine II.

In domestic politics, Catherine largely continued the line of Peter I. Just like Peter, the Empress paid a lot of attention to foreign policy and the image of Russia in the world, which is why she also had failures in the internal reforms of the state.

Catherine was well versed in people and knew how to select close people (assistants and consultants), found talents and supported them in every possible way (and in all spheres - military, art, architecture and culture). The only problem was that the overwhelming majority of these advisers and talented artists were invited foreigners, most often Germans and French. This was due to the desire to bring the Enlightenment of Europe to Russia. As a result, much less attention was paid to the education of their own minds and talents in the Russian Empire than we would like.

With regard to religious issues, Empress Catherine II carried out a number of successful transformations. The Russian Orthodox Church was actively supported by the ruler, the Old Believers were returned to Russia, and their persecution stopped (except for a couple of incidents). In the Far East, Buddhists received many privileges, and the Jewish community, which appeared after the annexation of part of the lands of the Commonwealth (moreover, a considerable one - about 1 million people) could preach Judaism and lead its national way of life beyond the line of permanent Jewish settlement, which provided the Jews with the territory of modern Ukraine , Belarus and Lithuania. In the event that a Jew wanted to live in Moscow, he had to convert to Orthodoxy. I must say that for all the anti-Semitism of this decree, the reform was still quite liberal in that era.

Talking about national policy, it is also necessary to mention the manifesto, according to which Catherine invited foreigners to Russia for permanent residence, granting them benefits and privileges. As a result, in the Volga region, for example, there were German settlements (Volga Germans). Five years after the publication of the manifesto (1767), their number already exceeded 23 thousand.

In 1763, Catherine II carried out a reform of the Senate. In 1764, the Zaporozhye Cossacks (Hetmanate) was liquidated, the first precondition was the liquidation of customs between Russia and the Hetmanate ten years earlier (in fact, the abolition of autonomy).

The main goal of the abolition of the Cossacks is the centralization of power and the unification of the country, the secondary goal is to move away from Moscow (to the Kuban) such an unstable class as the Cossacks.

Catherine's liberal policies sometimes let her down. In 1766, Catherine published Order- her vision of governing the state, and convened Stacked commission to reform Code, which was adopted back in 1649. Representatives of the nobility, townspeople and free peasants were convened, as well as one deputy from Synod.

Obviously, the "Order" was not enough for the direction of activity, and a firm hand was needed, since the interclass differences of the deputies prevented them from efficiently conducting legislative activity. The first few meetings they only chose the title for the Empress (the choice was "Great"). After working for about a year and a half, the Legislative Commission was disbanded, although the undertaking was good.

The same liberalism in relation to the nobility (for all the time not a single person was executed and even seriously repressed) gave a reason for its representatives to become insolent and bribery to flourish. Incidentally, immediately after coming to power, Catherine issued a Manifesto on the prevention of "covetousness", but no concrete action followed, and many took bribes.

After suppression the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev Catherine II carried out an administrative reform. Instead of 23 provinces, the country was divided into 53 governorships. The reform was not bad in that, for the same number of square kilometers, there were more local governments, which made it possible to closely monitor the local population in order to more effectively prevent possible conflicts. The downside of the reform was the increased bureaucratic apparatus, which required three (if not five) times more budget funds than before. Naturally, this affected the economy.

On April 21, 1785, the Charter on the Rights and Liberties of the Noble Nobility was adopted. This document secured the rights of the nobles, most of whom had already been published earlier. The charter strengthened the support of Catherine from the nobility, but did not particularly well affect the peasants. The issuance of a letter to the peasants was planned, but was not implemented due to the wars with the Turks and with the Swedes.

The export of grain, prohibited by Elizabeth, was opened, and duties on export goods were reduced. International trade immediately revived, although sometimes the export of grain exceeded the norm and there was a shortage of it within the country. Of course, this is not about the Holodomors (as some researchers of Polish and Ukrainian origin, as well as other unauthorized sources claim), but still it would be worth creating a body that controls the export of grain and other goods.

New credit institutions were established - a loan office and a state bank, and also such a function as deposits appeared. In addition, the Insurance Expedition was established - the first insurance company in Russia.

The role of the Russian Empire in the world economy has grown significantly. Russian ships began to sail the Baltic, Mediterranean and Atlantic, delivering goods from and to England, France, Spain, etc.

Here, the only negative point is that Russia sold mainly raw materials (metals, flour, wood) or semi-finished products (meat, for example). Meanwhile, the industrial revolution was in full swing in Europe, factories and factories with machine tools were created, but Catherine was in no hurry to bring "colossus" (as she put it) to Russia, fearing that they would deprive people of jobs and cause unemployment. This purely female shortsightedness threw the development of Russian industry and economic growth for several decades.

With all this, the empress carried out a number of extremely successful reforms in education, as well as in science and health (Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, a network of city schools, Academy of Sciences, and the best in Europe, various schools, a library, an observatory, botanical gardens etc.).

Catherine the Great introduced the mandatory vaccination against smallpox, and, by the way, she was the first to take root. In addition, a fight was waged against other infectious diseases, medical schools and specialized hospitals (psychiatric, venereal, etc.).

Homes were created for street children and even social assistance for widows.

Thus, there were both positive and negative aspects in the internal politics of Catherine II, and the latter were useful in that they provided invaluable experience for future generations.

In the second half of the 18th century. Russia's foreign policy was focused on solving problems in two main directions: southern and western (Figure 123).

First of all, this concerned the southern direction, where there was an acute struggle with the Ottoman Empire for the Northern Black Sea region and it was necessary to ensure the security of the southern borders of Russia.

The implementation of the policy in the western direction consisted in strengthening the position of Russia in Europe and was associated with participation in the partitions of Poland, as well as with the opposition of France, in which in 1789-1794. happened bourgeois revolution and whose revolutionary influence the European monarchical states, and above all the Russian Empire, feared.

Scheme 123

Solving foreign policy tasks related to southbound, complicated by clashes with the Ottoman Empire, which led to two Russian-Turkish wars(Scheme 124).

Scheme 124

Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 The reason for the war was Russia's interference in Poland's affairs, which displeased Turkey. Catherine II supported the Polish king Stanislav Poniatowski in the fight against the opposition (members of the so-called Bar Confederation). Pursuing one of the Confederate detachments, Russian Cossacks invaded Turkish territory and occupied locality located at the right tributary of the Southern Bug. In response, on September 25, 1768, Turkey declared war on Russia.

The hostilities began in the winter of 1769, when the Crimean Khan, an ally of Turkey, invaded Ukraine, but his attack was repelled by Russian troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev.

Military operations were conducted on the territory of Moldova, Wallachia and at sea. The decisive year in the war was 1770, in which the brilliant victories of the Russian army were won.

The fleet under the command of Admiral G.A. Spiridov and Count A.G. Orlova rounded Europe, entered the Mediterranean Sea and in the Chesme Bay off the coast of Asia Minor on June 24–26, 1770, completely destroyed the Turkish squadron.

On land, a number of victories were won by the Russian army led by P.A. Rumyantsev. He used a new combat formation of the infantry - a movable square. The troops "bristled" from all four sides with bayonets, which made it possible to successfully resist the numerous Turkish cavalry. In the summer of 1770 he won victories on the tributaries of the Prut - the rivers Large and Cahul, which made it possible for Russia to reach the Danube.

In 1771, Russian troops under the command of Prince V.M. Dolgorukov took the Crimea. In 1772-1773. an armistice was concluded between the warring parties and peace negotiations began. However, they ended in nothing. The war has resumed. The Russians crossed the Danube, in this campaign brilliant victories in the summer of 1774 were won by the corps of A.V. Suvorov. Turkey started talking about making peace. On July 10, 1774, a peace treaty was signed at the headquarters of the Russian command, in the town of Kuchuk-Kainarzhi.

Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791 Confrontation between Russia and Ottoman Empire continued. The Turkish Sultan Selim III began to demand the return of the Crimea, the recognition of Georgia as a vassal and the inspection of Russian merchant ships passing through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. On August 13, 1787, having received a refusal, he declared war on Russia, which acted in an alliance with Austria.

Military operations began with repelling an attack by Turkish troops on the Kinburn fortress (not far from Ochakov). The general leadership of the Russian army was carried out by the head of the Military Collegium, Prince G.A. Potemkin. In December 1788, after a long siege, Russian troops took the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. In 1789 A.V. Suvorov, with less forces, twice achieved victory in the battles at Fokshany and on the river. Rym-nike. For this victory he received the title of count and became known as Count Suvorov-Rymniksky. In December 1790, the troops under his command managed to achieve the capture of the fortress of Izmail - the citadel of Ottoman rule on the Danube, which was the main victory in the war.

In 1791, the Turks lost the Anapa fortress in the Caucasus, and then lost a sea battle at Cape Kaliakria (near the Bulgarian city of Varna) in the Black Sea to the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral F.F. Ushakov. All this forced Turkey to conclude a peace treaty, which was signed in the city of Iasi in December 1791.

Strengthening Russia's position in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. was associated with the weakening of the Polish state and its division between the leading European powers (Scheme 125).

Scheme 125

The initiator this process made by Prussia. Its king Frederick II proposed to Catherine II to divide the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between her neighbors, especially since Austria had already begun the partition, since her troops were located directly on the territory of this state. As a result, the Petersburg Convention of July 25, 1772 was concluded, which sanctioned the first partition of Poland. Russia received the eastern part of Belarus and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. In 1793, the second partition of Poland took place. Russia took possession of Central Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine, including Zhitomir and Kamenets-Podolsk. This provoked an uprising of Polish patriots in 1794 under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was brutally suppressed by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov. The defeat of the rebels predetermined the third and final section of the Commonwealth. The lands of Courland, Lithuania were transferred to Russia, Western Belarus... As a result, Russia captured more than half of all Polish lands. Poland lost its statehood for more than a hundred years.

The most important result of the partitions of Poland for Russia was not only the acquisition of huge territories, but also the transfer state border far west towards the center of the continent, which greatly increased its influence in Europe. The reunification of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples with Russia freed them from the religious oppression of Catholicism and created opportunities for further development peoples within the framework of the East Slavic socio-cultural community.

Finally, in late XVIII v. the main task of Russia's foreign policy was the struggle against revolutionary France (see diagram 125). After the execution of King Louis XVI, Catherine II broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, actively helped counter-revolutionaries and, together with England, tried to exert economic pressure on France. Only the Polish national liberation uprising in 1794 prevented Russia from openly organizing an intervention.

Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the 18th century was active and expansionist, which made it possible to include new lands in the state and strengthen its position in Europe.

Domestic policy of Catherine II

Catherine II ruled Russia from 1762 to 1796. The power of the monarch came to her as a result of a palace coup, the result of which was the overthrow of her husband Peter III. During the reign, Catherine became famous as a powerful and active woman who was able to finally strengthen the cultural status Russian Empire in the European arena.

In her domestic policy, the empress adhered to a dual system. Praising the ideas of enlightenment and humanism, she maximally enslaved the peasant people, and also comprehensively expanded the already large privileges of the nobility. The most important reforms domestic policy Catherine II historians believe:

1. Provincial reform, according to which the administrative division of the empire was completely reorganized. Indeed, now, instead of a three-stage division (province-province-district), a two-stage division (province-district) was introduced.

2. A commissioned commission was formed, which pursued the goal of clarifying the needs of the people for the subsequent implementation of the remaining reforms.

3. Senate reform, which significantly curtailed the powers of the Senate to executive and judicial authorities. From now on, all legislative power was transferred to the cabinet of state secretaries and the empress personally.

4. Abolition of the Zaporizhzhya Sich in 1775.

5. The economic reforms of Catherine II became the reason for the establishment of fixed prices for products necessary for each person, as well as the rise of the country's economy, the development of its trade relations and the elimination of monopolies.

6. Favorites and corruption were the consequences and causes of some domestic policy reforms. Due to the extended privileges of the ruling elite, the level of abuse of rights has increased. At the same time, the favorites of Catherine II accepted rich gifts from the treasury of the Russian Empire.

7. Religious reform, according to the decree of which the ROC was prohibited from interfering in any affairs of other confessions.

8. Classical transformations, beneficial primarily only to representatives of the nobility.

9. National policy, as a result of which the so-called Pale of Settlement was established for the Jews, the German population of Russia was exempted from duties and taxes, and indigenous population became the most disenfranchised stratum in the country.

10. Scientific and educational reforms. It was during the reign of Empress Catherine II that public schools (small and main) began to open, which became the foundation for the education of general education schools. At the same time, the level of education in comparison with other states was extremely low.