Catherine I: «Tsarina-Assistant»: to typology of women-rulers of the New Age in Russia

Abstract

Information in the historiography about the main milestones of the biography of Catherine I and ideas about the peculiarities of her relationship with Peter I are subjected to critical analysis. Based on the achievements of psychology, an explanation is offered for raising a low-born woman to the rank of official spouse by the king-reformer. An attempt is being made to determine the «typological» place of Catherine I among the Russian sovereigns of the New Age, for which the concept of «Tsarina -Assistant» is proposed and characterized, denoting the type of monarch’s wife, which first representative was Catherine and which, after the era of palace coups, will become the norm in the Russian Empire

Keywords

• russian empire
• woman ruler
• catherine i
• peter i
• historical psychology