Catherine the Great Corresponds with the Philosophes
Russia's empress buys Diderot's library, funds his old age, and founds the Hermitage
Quick facts
- Ruler
- Catherine II (Catherine the Great) of Russia
- Reign
- 1762-1796
- Patronage
- Denis Diderot's library; correspondence with Voltaire
- Founded
- The Hermitage Museum
What happened
Catherine II of Russia, who came to power in 1762 and ruled until 1796, cultivated relationships with leading French philosophes as part of her self-image as an enlightened ruler. She was praised by Voltaire and corresponded with him for years, and she supported Denis Diderot financially, buying his personal library in 1765 while letting him keep and use the books for the rest of his life, and later hosted him at her court in St. Petersburg. Catherine founded the Hermitage Museum, which grew from her private art collection and remains one of the largest art museums in the world, and she attempted, with limited practical success, legal and administrative reforms informed by Enlightenment ideas about rational government.
Why it matters
Catherine's patronage of Diderot and Voltaire gave the French Enlightenment an audience and financial backing at the Russian court, but her actual governance, including the expansion of serfdom during her reign, shows the same gap between enlightened rhetoric and unchanged autocratic power visible in Frederick the Great's Prussia.
How we know
Catherine's correspondence and patronage of Diderot and Voltaire, and her founding of the Hermitage, are documented in the World History Encyclopedia's biography of Catherine the Great.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Catherine the Great · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- The State Hermitage Museum. Treasures of Catherine the Great in the Hermitage Rooms · Primary source (author-declared)hermitagemuseum.org · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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