Catherine The Great by Robert Massie

Ok, I admit that I know essentially nothing about Russian history, and less about the czars and how they came to power. What I knew about the empress Catherine was even more suspect, and fell into the category of titillating rather than historical--multiple lovers, died having sex with a horse. Well, if Robert Massey is to be believed, this is not the case. She did have a series of lovers throughout her adult life, but fewer than most college students rack up these days, and she appears to have been more or less serially monogamous. Robert K. Massie's thorough and readable biography, Catherine the Great, draws a complex portrait of the often-misunderstood empress. Relying on primary sources (including Catherine's diaries and letters) and firsthand accounts, Massie unveils the personal and private sides of one of Russia's strongest leaders--she fashioned herself as the heir to Peter the Great, and sought to further his gains in bringing European sensibilities to the Russian culture. This fascinating and accessible narrative transports us to heart of the eighteenth-century Russian court, providing an intimate look at the people, places, and events important to Catherine during her half-century tenure in her adopted country. She was born of a mid-level German prince, a disappointment to him and a project for his wife. She managed to get her insinuated into the house of Peter the Great (his daughter was childless, but had adopted a nephew as her heir)--that is the good news. The bad news is that the her spouse was an immature (probably impotent) cad. Her life with him was at first a friendship and then a misery. But she is a woman who knew how politics operated, and the throne of Russia was at least as much about political alliances as it was about heredity. She made and nurtured her friends and it made her empress. Without much fuss. In typical Russian fashion, all others with a claim to the throne were quickly disposed of and she began her reign of bringing Enlightenment to Russia--or at least as much of it as the countryside could tolerate. A well written and enjoyable biography.