Sophia Frederika-Augusta, later known as Catherine, was born on May 2, 1729 in the

Baltic seaport town of Stettin, then part of German Pomerania. She was born into the Anhalt-

Zerbst family, one of the poorest and most obscure of all the German princely families. Her

father, Christian Augusta, did not become the reigning prince of Zerbst until Catherine was

thirteen years old. In 1743, at the age of fifteen, Catherine's mother, Johanna, found her a

husband. She was to marry Grand Duke Peter III of Holstein, he was sixteen. When Catherine

met her husband she thought that he was weak, egotistical, unbalanced, ineffective and entirely

Lutheran and German in his attitude. Catherine decided to convert to Russian Orthodoxy after a

year of instruction and education from the Russian court.

She was married in 1745 and became Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia. Catherine's

life as a Grand Duchess from 1745 to 1762 was very difficult. Their......

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Title: Catherine The Great
Approximate Word Count: 1808
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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