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a-a-ra-s-s-s-s-a-s-s-a-s-a-s- Welcome to the Russian rulers podcast.

Episode 42, Catherine, the early years.

Last episode, we covered the end of two rains, that of Elizabeth the first daughter of Peter the Great, and Peter the Third grandson of the late

Tsar. We also recounted Russia's participation in two global conflicts, the war of

Austrian secession and the Seven Years War.

Russia was now seen as a truly global power emerging from its murky oriental past.

Now we need to travel back a bit and bring back to life both Elizabeth and the ill-fated Peter the third

in order to lay a groundwork for the new Empress, Catherine the Second, also known as Catherine the Great.

What makes Catherine's story so robust is that we have an incredible historical work, her memoir, which I'll be using along with other books,

about her incredible life and the 34-year reign.

Born on April 21st, 1729, Sophia Augusta Frederica was born the daughter of

Johanna Elizabeth of Holstein Gautorp and Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt Zerpst.

Sophie was not what you might call a wanted child.

Her mother preferred a boy, but that would come about a year later.

Johanna shunned her daughter, thinking that little would come of her.

She was sure that Sophie would be married off to some lowly prince within Prussia, or better yet if we're lucky, in Sweden where her family was related to King Charles of 13th.

Her family, while of noble blood, was relatively poor. Her father was a major general in the Prussian army.

They lived in a castle in Stetten, where they made do with what relatively little they had.

But this so-called poverty was still vastly better than the common peasant of the time,

but it still made Johanna bristle.

She wanted to be part of court intrigues to play political games and to rise above the rank that she had at the time.

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