I appreciate Taylor Swifts achievements, but come on guys... Catherine_the_Great
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Seized Power with Surgical Precision: Orchestrated a coup against her unpopular husband Peter III by winning over the military and elites. He was dead within days and she ruled unchallenged for 34 years.
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Mastered Identity Politics: German-born, she rebranded herself as Russian: converted to Orthodoxy and learned the language and then used it to rally national pride and loyalty.
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Talked Enlightenment, Ruled Autocracy: She courted philosophers like Voltaire and Diderot, published liberal-sounding reforms (Nakaz), and branded herself as a "philosopher queen", while keeping tight control and strengthening the nobility.
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Turned lovers into loyal lieutenants — military commanders, diplomats, advisors — then replaced them when they weren't useful anymore.
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Expanded Without Overextending: Catherine outmaneuvered rivals in wars and diplomacy: took Crimea through influence, took parts of Poland through alliances, beat the Ottomans by maneuvering.
ok, ein paar Eier zerschlagen! Übrigens ging die Verkehrswende in den Niederlanden damals auch nicht einfach so. Es gab Shitstorm, Bürgermeister haben Morddrohungen bekommen etc. Die konservativen werden alles gegen Veränderung tun, da muss man durch.