Cold Open

It’s early morning on July 9th, 1762, in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia.

A carriage speeds through the deserted streets of the city. Inside sits Catherine Alekseyevna, wife of Peter III, Emperor of Russia. Peter only ascended to the throne seven months ago. But for most of that time, Catherine has been plotting to overthrow him and take the crown for herself.

Sitting beside Catherine is a handsome, hulking soldier named Grigory Orlov. Grigory is Catherine’s secret lover and closest confidant. Through months of backroom dealing with Russia’s most powerful generals, he has laid the groundwork for today’s coup.

Apprehensively, Catherine and Grigory speed through the capital.

They head directly for the city’s largest barracks. Grigory already has summoned the most important members of the Imperial Army there.

Catherine’s carriage comes to a halt outside the barracks and an entire regiment of Russian soldiers stands to attention in the square in front of the building.

Grigory leaps out of the carriage and then, holding out his hand… guides Catherine down the steps.

She gazes nervously over the crowd of thousands of men, wondering whether they will join her rebellion.

Only Grigory’s closest allies could be trusted with advance knowledge of the coup, and so these foot soldiers have no idea what’s about to happen.

Silence falls over the square. Then, she clears her throat, and Catherine declares that she is the new Empress of Russia.

There is a pause as the soldiers process Catherine’s statement. And then, collectively… the soldiers erupt in applause.

Catherine looks over them smiling. She’s taken the first step. But she knows that the road ahead will require many more and each filled with danger.

Born a nearly penniless Prussian Princess, Catherine Alekseyevna seemed an unlikely choice for Peter, heir to the Russian throne. Few thought she would amount to anything as his wife and even fewer expected that she would stage a coup. But Catherine had hidden depths and strengths. History will remember her as Catherine the Great, and her long, transformative reign began when she took the Russian crown from her husband, on July 9th, 1762.  

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is July 9th, 1762: Catherine the Great Seizes the Throne of Russia.

Act One

It’s February 3rd, 1744, outside Moscow, Russia, eighteen years before Emperor Peter is overthrown.

Fourteen-year-old Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who will later be known as Catherine the Great, stands at the doorway of an Imperial mansion. She is a small, bookish girl who's rarely seen such a magnificent house. Waiting inside are Empress Elizabeth, ruler of Russia, and her 16-year-old nephew and heir Prince Peter.

By now, Sophie has been traveling for weeks. She’s come by carriage and sleigh from her native Prussia, through bitter cold, and across unforgiving, snow-covered landscapes. Before the trip began, she had never stepped foot in Russia. The poverty she witnessed along the route and the howling of wolves every night have terrified her. Making matters worse, she's only met her betrothed, Prince Peter, once, five years earlier. At the time, she thought Peter was an unruly and unpleasant eleven-year-old, and Catherine did everything she could to keep her distance from him. She finds it hard to believe that Peter has changed much since, but she has little choice in the matter. Her mother, Joanna, has worked hard to arrange this marriage, and her success is something of a miracle. Compared with Russian nobility, Sophie’s family is extremely poor. All they have to offer are connections, but Joanna has managed to convince Russia’s childless Empress Elizabeth that a union between Peter and Sophie will strengthen the relationship between Russia and Prussia, and weaken their mutual rival, Austria.

So, Joanna beams with pride as she stands beside her daughter. She deliberately left Sophie’s father, aunts, uncles, and five siblings at home, since they do not approve of the marriage. Russia’s court is notorious for its vicious politics. So, Sophie is entering a nest of vipers, and many in her family fear that the fickle Empress Elizabeth will soon rethink the marriage. If that should happen, she may decide to solve the problem by banishing Sophie to a distant palace, or worse, having her killed.

But now, as the doors to the mansion swing open, it’s too late to turn back. Joanna and Sophie step into a grand chamber, where they are greeted by a teeming crowd of expectant courtiers. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of Sophie, primarily out of deference in manners, but also because they want to assess her beauty. It’s well known that the Empress is extremely vain and violently jealous of other women who are perceived as beautiful. She must always be the most fashionable lady at any gathering, and it’s an unwritten rule that only she may wear her favorite color, pink. The last noblewoman to wear pink was made to kneel before the court and was slapped in public.

Sophia is so terrified to meet the Empress that she is relieved when she spots a familiar face among the crowd - her fiancé, Peter. Peter has grown tall and is more handsome than she remembers. He greets Joanna and Sophie warmly and proceeds to introduce them to each member of the court. Then, leading them to a private chamber, he waits with Catherine and Joanna for several hours until the Empress is ready to receive them. When it’s finally time, they are whisked into an opulent bedroom. The Empress wears a dazzling gold and silver dress, and black feathers protrude from her elaborately styled hair. She calls Sophie to stand before her, then assesses the princess silently for a long time, until, she finally nods. A wave of relief rushes over not only Sophie, her other Joanna, fiancé Peter, and the entire court. The marriage will proceed.

After her engagement to Peter is approved, Sophie throws herself into Russian culture. She stays up all hours of the night to learn the language. She renounces her Lutheran upbringing to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church. And she takes on a new name to symbolize her transformation: Catherine. Then finally, on August 21st, 1745, a year and a half after arriving in Russia, Catherine marries Peter.  

It seems to outsiders that Catherine has navigated this difficult political maze with skill. She has managed to win the favor of both the Empress and the Russian people. But behind the scenes, Catherine is aware of problems which will soon boil over into outright conflict. Although Peter was courteous to her at first, Catherine has come to find his darker side, a volatile temper with streaks of jealousy and cruelty. She knows he will not be a good Emperor.

So, when the Empress Elizabeth dies in early 1762, Catherine will fear for the fate of Russia. Outwardly, she will feign loyalty to her husband Peter. But secretly, she will begin to plot to overthrow him and take power for herself.

Act Two

It’s June 1762, in St. Petersburg, six months after the death of Empress Elizabeth.

The new Emperor Peter III of Russia and his wife Catherine are hosting a grand banquet to celebrate Russia’s new alliance with Prussia. Hundreds of noblemen and women are seated at a long table, which is laden with silver and crystal and glistens in the candlelight.

Peter is enjoying himself. Before he came to power, he spent his days fantasizing about war and conquest, and now with the crown finally on his head, he has his chance to win glory on the battlefield.

Peter plans to use this new Prussian alliance to wage war on Denmark - and he intends to lead his imperial army personally. His close friends have advised against leaving the country, warning that the Russian people are conservative, suspicious, and liable to rebel if they feel their Emperor is abandoning them. But Peter has waved off these warnings, and now, at the banquet table, he raises a toast to the royal family and to his military campaign’s success.

The gathered nobles obediently stand and raise their glasses. Only one person ignores the emperor: his wife Catherine. Positioned at the distant end of the table, opposite Peter, she remains in her chair, with her hands folded in her lap. There are gasps when nearby courtiers notice, and the shock ripples down the table to Peter. He stares across the room at his wife, before loudly demanding her reason for not joining in the toast. Calmly, Catherine explains that she is a member of the royal family, and therefore it would be rude for her to join a toast to herself. Everyone can see that this is a humiliating display of defiance by Catherine, but Peter outwitted, can only grit his teeth and take a seat.

Catherine has come to despise Peter and no longer wishes to pretend otherwise - in public or in private. Her worst fears about him as emperor have been realized. She sees Peter as impulsive and crude. While she speaks several languages and has read the works of great philosophers and historians, Peter seems to have few intellectual interests and reads only prayer books or childish adventure stories.

But Catherine doesn’t have to put up with his company for much longer. The very next day, Peter leaves with his armies for war. Left behind in St. Petersburg, Catherine is free to pursue a plot she’s been hatching for years: to depose Peter and take his place on the Russian throne.

Catherine is encouraged in her scheming by her lover, Grigory Orlov, a charismatic and decorated soldier. Together, they sow the seeds of rebellion at court and among the regiments of the Imperial army which have remained behind in Russia. When Peter returns briefly from his campaign a month later, he doesn’t realize it, but he’s walking into a trap.

Catherine and Grigory make their move against Peter in the early hours of July 9th, 1762. Catherine is acclaimed as Empress by the troops of St. Petersburg, and then priests ordain her as the new ruler of Russia in a religious ceremony. Everything goes almost exactly as planned - with one exception. Despite the best efforts of the conspirators to apprehend him first, the deposed Emperor Peter manages to escape from the capital.

He’s rushed into a carriage by a few remaining loyalists and heads for the nearby coast. There, he boards a boat, hoping to set sail for a military base in the Baltic Sea. But news of Catherine’s coup is moving faster than he is. It's already reached the Imperial fleet, waiting just offshore, and the Russian ships open fire on Peter’s boat and force him back toward land. Peter is shocked by the betrayal of his Navy. But it won’t be the last treachery he’ll experience. When the people of St. Petersburg are alerted to his escape and that he's been turned back to shore by his own Navy, they arm themselves and form a mob, waiting for his arrival. Out of options, he declares from his boat that he will abdicate the throne. Peter's then escorted to a country palace 30 miles south-west of St. Petersburg and there, he is told he will be under house arrest. But just eight days later, Peter dies under mysterious circumstances.

In the weeks that follow, some witnesses will claim that Peter suffered a stroke brought on by the shock of being deposed by his own wife. Others will claim that assassins, sent by Catherine, strangled him to death with a scarf. Whatever the case, the mystery of Peter’s death will cast a shadow on Catherine’s otherwise bloodless coup. There will be immediate rumors of counter-rebellion against her new regime and Catherine will have to quickly prove that she is fit to be Empress of Russia.

Act Three

It’s September 22nd, 1762, at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Moscow, three months after Catherine seized the Russian throne from her husband.

It's now the day of Catherine’s coronation. She stands on a raised platform, resplendent in golden robes. Hundreds of noble men and women fill the cathedral, here to pay homage to Russia’s new ruler.

Catherine doesn’t much like Moscow. Compared to St. Petersburg, it's dirty, crowded, and poor. But the city is also the home of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Catherine understands its symbolism. Her husband Peter had made himself unpopular in part by disdaining Russian traditions, so, in the very early days of her reign, Catherine is making sure that she is seen to embrace convention.

The high priest approaches Catherine holding a glittering crown. Made with silver and studded with over 4000 diamonds and pearls, it's been fashioned especially for this occasion. The crown is more expensive than the Imperial treasury can really afford. But Catherine knows she must inspire confidence in her people. She must appear powerful, regal, and wealthy beyond measure. She takes the weighty crown from the priest and places it on her own head. A moment later, she is handed a golden orb and scepter, symbols of her new power and authority.

Soon after the ceremony is complete and in the city outside, nearly two thousand church bells ring, and cannons thunder. Catherine was once a poor Prussian princess named Sophie. Now, she's been crowned Empress of Russia.  

Catherine will oversee a new golden era in the country. She will be a patron of the arts and a promoter of public health. She will modernize the Russian state, founding new cities, universities, and theaters. And by the end of her 34-year reign, Russia will be recognized as one of Europe’s foremost powers. It's a legacy that has bestowed on her the title Catherine the Great. And it all began when she dared to seize the throne from the husband she hated on July 9th, 1762.

Outro

Next on History Daily. July 10th, 1985. The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior sinks after a terror attack orchestrated by the French secret service.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Owen Long.

Edited by Dorian Merina.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.