Comparing Frederick The Great And Catherine The Great

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Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great Frederick the Great (1712-1786) and Catherine the Great were to important leaders in their own right. Frederick II was a great King in Prussia (1740-1786) of the Hohenzollern dynasty and Catherine the Great (1729-1796) was the leader of the Russian Empire (1762-1796). Catherine the Great of Russia, administered as the authoritarian ruler of Russia from 1762 to 1796. Catherine, no different from other rulers during the eighteenth century, seemed to be highly fascinated by the Enlightenment. It is important to recognize that Catherine II also came from the Old Regime, and relished her status influence in Russia and the social order that was current. Catherine never held passion for the…show more content…
He was titled King in Prussia because this was only part of historic Prussia; he was to declare himself King of Prussia after acquiring most of the rest in 1772. The biggest failure of Fredrick the Great is that he never really understood power politics. Despite his tactical flair (many call it genius), he could never deliver a mortal blow to his enemies during the Seven Years War. Yes, Prussia survived, and Fredrick the Great cemented his reputation in the history books. But, after the war his kingdom was ravaged, farmlands destroyed, and his subjects were poorer. It was this failure, the war on many fronts, that lead future Prussian war planners and diplomats to the idea of avoiding a multi-front war. Prussia, while possessing excellent human resources, lacked material resources and money. A great military leader recognizes his nation's limitations and plans accordingly. Catherine ruled through corruption, scandal, political reforms, and land expansion. However, history sees her as having many more accomplishments than failures during her
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