Eric Garman

Catherine the great was born in the early 1700s. She married peter the third
and this is what started her claim to fame. Her and peter ruled separately and she
gained full control soon after. An absolute monarch is a monarch that has full control
of his or her nation. They rule through fear and discipline with taxation or physical
means. On the other hand, an enlightened monarch is one that cares for their
nations people. They want only the best interest in the people of their nation.
Through my own personal beliefs and my research I concluded that Catherine
II was an absolute monarch. She had full control of her nation and enforced it
through torture and also through taxation. She made her own set of laws for Russia
and used force if they were not followed. When it came to religion, she was a
skeptic. She believed that the church should be taxed and she took the orthodox
churches wealth through doing this. Also, with her legal system, she made a
commission to discuss the current laws in Russia. She couldve done this to benefit
the people, or she could have done this as a manipulation for power. This legal
reform is also related to her economic reform and this was her excessive taxation.
This was support for her absolute monarchy since she inserted fear through
taxation. In the text, it clearly states that she believed in absolute rule and it is
evident through her style of rule.
On the other hand, many say she was an enlightened ruler. This means that
she wants the best for the citizens in her nation. People argue that through religion
she was enlightened because she allowed the Orthodox Church to have their own
land, property, and churches. They claim that she gave them the freedom to still
express through religion. When it comes to economic reform, people claim that her
taxation on churches and other groups was to benefit society in the way that an
enlightened monarch would, but this is not the case. The final point for a person to
make is how she made her commission. She made this commission to discuss laws
and she took citizens of Russia from all social classes and backgrounds to discuss
her current laws. People may claim that this was a way that she showed fairness to
the people. Also, people claim she was enlightened because she believed all people
were equal even though her taxing habits were not.
All in all, she was not an enlightened ruler because she used fear to have full
control on Russia. She put taxes on the Orthodox Church. Also, she didnt make any
changes to her law system even through having the commission to make or discuss
laws. She used manipulation of economic, political, and religious reforms to gain full
control. Finally, she did nothing to benefit the society she only put taxes on things
and she tortured those who betrayed her laws and this inserted fear among the
people in Russia.

http://www.biography.com/people/catherine-ii-9241622?page=3