Catherine the Great

Cultural  

1. An empress of Russia in the late eighteenth century who encouraged the cultural influences of western Europe in Russia and extended Russian territory toward the Black Sea. She is also known for her amorous intrigues, including affairs with members of her government.

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Example Sentences

An old Kremlin joke about Vladimir Putin is that the Russian president has only three trusted advisers: Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

It was the confidence of a leader who's already been in power for a quarter of a century and is set become the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2024

If he finishes the term, he will become the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 1700s.

From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2024

Yet for more than 200 years, Russia’s governance had been autocratic and every ruler from Catherine the Great to Leonid Brezhnev had achieved domestic stability through incessant foreign expansion.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2024

The story of the wraith of Catherine the Great is variously narrated. 

From The Book of Dreams and Ghosts by Lang, Andrew