how did catherine the great manage to have absolute control over russia?

Answer 1

WOW, is this a good question.
She was not born to royalty. She wasn't even Russian - she was German. She only married into the Russian aristocracy. And she accomplished this in an extremely male dominated world.
How? She was very, very smart. She could read people. She could gain alliances with men who would follow her. She was said to use sex as a way to influence men - the men who would be her defenders. Very crafty. Very wise. An astute politician. She must be admired.
She was like President Bill Clinton who should also be admired for his political expertise, but she did it against the extreme gender barrier of her time. They say of Ginger Rogers that she performed all the dance moves of Fred Astaire - only backwards and in high heels. That might describe Catherine the Great.

I should add - - it also helped that her husband, the Czar Peter III, was an incredible jerk. It was fairly easy to find men willing to get rid of that guy and have Catherine become the leader instead.

Answer 2

Good question!You could compare her to Cleopatra.Here was a woman way back when who knew how to use her femininity to her advantage.The fact that her husband was a total nincompoop may have led to her taking control of her vast empire.It is said that she was multi-lingual,a shrewd stateswoman and could charm the pants off most men.If she were alive today she would make a great candidate for the American presidency,and put rings around Hillary Clinton.What the world needs is more women like her.Thank you for your question.