ABSTRACT
The reign of Catherine II (1762–96) opened with prospects of extensive reform, but ended with unrelieved reaction. The change occurred not in the basis of her authority, for she had always insisted on maintaining her autocratic powers intact, but in the nature of her aspirations. The purpose of her absolutism was, at first, the introduction of certain policies inspired by the Enlightenment, but it eventually became merely the preservation of the status quo. The main reason for this change of direction was that she was subject to a long process of Russification. Before her accession in 1762 she had succeeded in implanting the Russian language and Russian customs upon her own German upbringing; but not until she had been in power for some time was she fully affected by the force of Russian tradition and conservatism. Increasingly, she had to adapt politically as well as socially, a process which made her re–examine her basic beliefs.
