Charles Margerison - Amazing People of Russia

Welcome to this inspirational eBook, which provides you with a unique and fascinating collection of life stories. It is part of a series developed by the Amazing People Club, written in the form of a BioView, which is a short name for a biographical interview.

A BioView is a new concept that reveals amazing stories, as if the person has given an interview about their life. Each of the stories can normally be read in around five to ten minutes. They are based on the known facts of each individuals life, plus what they may have felt about their experiences.

The unique format and flow enables each persons story to come alive, as if it is being personally told to you. Each one of them reflects the interests, emotions and passions linked to the amazing persons achievements. They are stories that can provide inspiration and ideas for your own journey through life and we hope you will enjoy them.

The career notes at the end of each story supply information on each persons life, reflecting their achievements and some of the recognition they have received. They provide the background to the stories, and an easy way of learning about people who made major contributions to our world.

The stories show how ordinary people did extraordinary things to tackle problems and opportunities. Amazing people all had one thing in common. Rather than accepting the situation before them, they developed and implemented plans of action to make improvements. We can all learn from their experiences and the ways they dealt with the challenges and, in this eBook, you can understand their troubles and triumphs.

To learn more about the Amazing People Club books and audios, please visit www.amazingpeopleclub.com .

It is true that I had many lovers

Why not?

If men can have affairs, then so can a woman

That was my view, even though I was married

My marriage was a political convenience

The prospective Russian Tsar Peter became my husband

He was my second cousin

Neither of us believed we had to love each other

If that came to pass then it was a bonus

My marriage took place in St Petersburg on August 21 st 1745

It was arranged by Peters aunt, the Empress of Russia

Of course, there was a grand party and much celebration

At the time, I did not understand much of it

I was a foreigner who did not speak Russian

Having been born in Stettin, I spoke German

At the age of 16, I was chosen to be the bride of Tsar Peter

It sounded rather grand

Yet, I soon found out that my husband was not

On our wedding night, he showed little interest in me

Not that I was well experienced

But, it meant that I could not fulfil my role

After all, it was expected that I would produce an heir

The whole of Russia was waiting

After a few years, the Empress put pressure on us

I had to tell her about my husbands problem

In the sixth year of my marriage my love life changed

The Empress arranged for me to have an affaire

Serge Saltykov was introduced to me

He was a handsome Russian officer

Before long, he had achieved what my husband could not

I became pregnant and bore a son, called Paul

He was taken from me at birth

Rarely did I see him apart from official functions

It was a sad and difficult time for me

The Empress took charge

Of course, she claimed him as the son of Peter

Only my husband, his mother, and my lover, knew the truth

However, I was learning the political realities of life

To compete, I needed to understand the Russian language

Day after day, and night after night, I studied

Also, it was necessary to change my Lutheran religion

Therefore, I was accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church

My name was changed from Sophia to Catherine

Life at our Oranienbaum Palace was bizarre

To the outer world, I was happily married

Behind closed doors, I read Voltaire and had lovers

My first child was born in 1754

My daughter arrived four years later

Who was the father?

The Empress once again declared a royal birth

We both knew it was not true

But the people of Russia did not know

Deception was more important than truth

That was an important lesson

In 1762, however, reality struck

The Empress died

My husband became Peter III, Tsar of all Russia

Would he dismiss or imprison me

He knew that I had many lovers

In public and private he insulted me

Life was becoming unbearable

It was necessary to act decisively

My lover, at that time, was Prince Gregory Orlov

He was a military man with many powerful friends

However, as my lover he was in danger

His military friends decided to act

Orlov arranged for my husband to be arrested

At the time, Tsar Peter was with his mistress

Initially, he was imprisoned and then executed

Once again, a story was developed

The people were told that he died of a stomach illness

Although wearing black, I did not mourn

On September 22 nd 1762, I became Empress of All Russia

With ceremony, I was crowned at the Kremlin in Moscow

It was less than three months after my husbands murder

At the age of 33, I was the new ruler of Russia

My supporters were rewarded with land and titles

Prince Orlov asked me to marry him

As a lover, and an agent, he was excellent

But, I had no need for another husband

My focus and time was on ruling Russia

The previous Empress had shown me how to do it

Although, a foreigner by birth, I knew how to use power

Therefore, instructions were issued

Immigration to settle new lands was encouraged

Ideas based on the French philosophers were introduced

More rights and freedom for the serfs were proposed

But, the nobles rose up in opposition

The serfs were equally upset at being repressed

Civil war was looming and had to be averted

Severe action was taken and a Cossack leader killed

It was also necessary to safeguard our external borders

Therefore, I instructed the Russian Army to expand

They did so and took land to the west and the south

Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and the Crimea regions

They all came part of my empire

So did Poland in 1768

I appointed a former lover to the throne

Of course, it involved many battles and deaths

To assist me, I appointed Grigory Potyomkin