The intrigues of Russian royalty fill many long books, and it would be unrealistic to attempt to cover them all here. Suffice it to say that Peter the Great divorced his first wife and eventually married Catherine, who was not Russian but rather from a part of Sweden that is now Estonia. They had nine children together, but only two survived to adulthood, which was the sad state of medicine at that time.
While St. Petersburg was being built, they lived in a three room log cabin, where she tended house and he gardened as if he was not the Tsar of Russia. Perhaps that love of common life as much as her great beauty, intelligence and warm personality attracted Peter to Catherine, who was the daughter of a commoners rumored to be escaped serfs.
Peter continued with enormous construction projects, and as with the tradesmen who worked for Mad Ludwig in Germany decades later, I’m sure a lot of people were happy to have good jobs making his big dreams reality. In 1717, he and Catherine commissioned Catherine’s Palace, another amazing place we were privileged to visit while in Russia.
Despite his common touch, Peter the Great changed his title from Tsar to Emperor, and he made Catherine his Empress, a title he did not take from her despite the fact that they became estranged in 1724 when he learned of her involvement in some court intrigue that involved selling favors based on political connections, something completely anathema to his idea of a meritocracy.
Peter had modern ideas, believing people should rise in positions due to competence rather than noble birth. Had he not died at the age of 52 due to health complications suffered as a result of rescuing drowning soldiers from freezing water in the winter of 1725, perhaps Russia would have developed more along the path of America’s example.
While built for Empress Catherine I and improved by Empress Elizabeth, Catherine’s Palace is most closely associated with Empress Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great. Under her reign, the noble class was strengthened, and she relished the glamorous life.
On our evening excursion to Catherine’s Palace, we were granted a glimpse into that world, along with about 90 others, so let me share a little information about Catherine the Great. Born in 1729, four years after the death of Peter the Great, Sophia Augusta Frederica was a child of Prussian nobility. Attempts to arrange a marriage between her and Duke Peter von Hostein-Gortopp, who was in line to be Emperor of Russia, were thwarted when her mother was accused of spying for the King of Prussia by Empress Elizabeth.
However, Sophia eventually was invited to visit the royal court and went out of her way to impress Empress Elizabeth and the Russian people. A bright girl, she studied the Russian language intently, and in 1745 at the age of 16 she married the Duke and became Duchess Catherine.
She read extensively and enjoyed friendships with some of the great thinkers of her day, including Voltaire. She stayed current with all the news throughout the world. The marriage, however, was less than ideal. Duke Peter had a mistress, while Duchess Catherine took many lovers.
In 1762, Empress Elizabeth died, and the Duke became Emperor Peter III while Catherine became Empress Consort. The Emperor left St. Petersburg to live with his courtiers in Oranienbaum, and rumor had it that he planned to get rid of Catherine. She beat him to the punch, staging a “bloodless coup d’etat.” Three days later, however, Peter was killed by Alexei Orlov, who supported the coup. Whether Catherine was involved or not, Russian royalty and the populace went along with the succession, along the lines of non-Russian Catherine I succeeding Peter the Great upon his death.
Catherine saw no reason to improve the lot of her subjects, but in international terms, she was a powerful leader, winning wars and modernizing along the lines of Europe.
Russia became one of the most powerful nations in the world, which is quite remarkable considering what it had been about a century earlier when Peter the Great came to power. After the French Revolution in 1789, Catherine II rejected many tenets of the Age of Enlightenment, preferring the old ways of nobility ruling by right of birth, which had certainly been good for her and her cousins throughout Europe.
Coming on the heels of our visit to Peterhof, which was amazing but definitely overcrowded, this was like being honored guests at a royal reception. We took a leisurely stroll through the lovely gardens, greeted by a uniformed band. We toured the carriage house, where gorgeous carriages that once carried royalty are on display.
Once inside the Palace, we took a leisurely, uncrowded tour of the amazing rooms. The amber room, with walls made entirely of amber designs, was both garish and amazing. A flute player by an incredible fire place entertained us as we passed one room, and a harpsichordist played in another ornate room. It was really a treat.
Eventually, we arrived in the giant ballroom, where we had string quartet and champagne awaiting us. Dancers entertained us, and even Empress Catherine herself made an appearance.
(Okay, I know it wasn’t really her, but it was cool.) She invited us out to the garden, where a horse drawn carriage arrived carrying a couple who further entertained us with dancing.
Afterwards, we headed to a restaurant on the grounds, where we had excellent vodka, mediocre caviar and bad wine before a great dinner was served.
The gentleman sitting next to me and his wife didn’t drink vodka, so they gave me theirs. With Amy’s, that meant I had four, but Jay and Julie quickly made like communists and redistributed my wealth, so we each had two. All the while, a band of folk musicians featuring a singer who had the range of Pavarotti entertained us with great music and dancing.
Not all of the music was Russian, but it was all delivered with good-humored energy and flare worthy of a command performance. Not at all stuffy, the band came across as happy celebrants, welcoming honored guests to the hospitality of Russia.
This was an expensive excursion, and I would never have selected it if Julie hadn’t insisted, but I highly recommend it if you take this cruise. How often will any of us be in St. Petersburg?
Though it was close to midnight, it was still dusk, and we all had contented smiles on our faces as we rode back to the ship on the bus. We'll always remember fondly An Evening at Catherine's Palace.
