Catherine the Great. The Golden Age of the Russian Empire. From the Collection of the State Hermitage

Only two Russian rulers have been accorded the honour of being known as “the Great: Peter I and Catherine II. It would be hard to find any sphere in the life of the empire to which Catherine II did not turn her attention. Science and art flourished in Russia, factories and industries developed, cities and towns were built and improved. In her time, the foundations for the territorial division of the state and its administration were laid; principles were developed for the education and upbringing of the youth; reforms were implemented that determined the course along which Russian history would develop for many decades. Catherine’s reign was an era of great military commanders and brilliant victories. The reign of Catherine the Great is quite justly called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.

The exhibition housed in the halls of the Hermitage–Kazan Centre contains a large number of thematic sections. The story of the young German princess’s arrival in Russia, her life at the court of Empress Elizabeth, the palace coup of 1762 and the coronation of Catherine II, her collecting activities, the ways of her court and her family life. To illustrate these themes, the display includes formal portraits of the Empress by Andreas Caspar Hüne and Vigilius Erichsen; a double portrait of her granddaughters Alexandra and Yelena, and personal possessions of her grandsons Konstantin and Alexander, who would become Emperor Alexander I. The halls contain a large number of memorial items that belonged to Catherine the Great and other members of the imperial family: clothing, children’s toys, jewellery, weapons, pieces of furniture, cameos, porcelain table services, books that Catherine herself wrote for her grandchildren, works of art made personally by rulers and their close kin, and much more. Some of the items have been specially restored for this exhibition and are on public show for the first time.

Catherine II is considered the founder of the Hermitage. In 18th-century Russia, the French word hermitage (“a place of solitude”) had several meanings. For example, Marie Daniel Bourrée, Baron de Corberon, who was part of the French diplomatic mission to Russia from 1775, wrote: “We were then shown the Hermitage – small apartments of Her Imperial Majesty.” The term “Small Hermitage” was also used for gatherings to which some 60–80 people would be invited. They were treated to performances in the Hermitage Theatre and dinner. Later, the word “Hermitage” began to be used not only for the place where the ruler could relax among her close circle, but also for the Empress’s soirees, where guests would admire works of art, play cards, listen to music, converse and read new works of poetry and literature aloud. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to acquaint themselves with the humorous rules that Catherine II drew up for those attending such Hermitages and discover that some of them are just as relevant today, such as: “Speak with restraint and not very loudly, so that others present might not get a headache or earache.”

Items in the second part of the exhibition tell about the main events of Catherine II’s reign, about the advances of the arts and crafts, and about the Empress’s reforms aimed at enlightening her subjects. Thanks to the policy of protectionism that she pursued, manufacturing developed: by providing it with orders and inviting leading European and Russian specialists to work, Catherine contributed to the prosperity not only of existing enterprises, but also of new ones that appeared over the course of her reign. The various methods employed to encourage “business” at that time are told about by exhibits made of Tula steel, porcelain, glass, semiprecious stone and ivory, as well as examples of tapestry-weaving from the Hermitage collection. Many of these items belonged to the Empress herself.

Catherine II’s reign was also a very important period in the history of Kazan, and this found reflection in many ways in the concept for the exhibition. In 1767, during a journey along the Volga, a river she came to love, the Empress spent several days in the city. The place made a favourable impression on her, and she wrote: “We feel very good here and genuinely as if at home.” The people of Kazan called her Ebi-patsha, which means “Grandmother-Tsarina”. The exhibition includes engravings showing views of Kazan and its environs, portraits of Catherine II in travelling attire and objects that she took with her on her journeys.

It was under Catherine II that the systematic studies of the Tatars’ history, culture and language began. The first Alphabet of the Tatar Tongue was published, as well as a Russian translation of the Quran, Piotr Ivanovich Rychkov’s work An Essay on the History of Kazan in Ancient and Mediaeval Times and other books, some of which feature in the display. It is impossible to talk about 18th-century Russian literature without mentioning Gavriil Derzhavin, who was born in Kazan. A bronze bust of the poet can also be found in the exhibition. Derzhavin devoted many verses to his native region, including the famous poem The Harp from 1798.

One of the sections of the exhibition tells about the Pugachev Rebellion. The headquarters of the troops that Catherine sent to put down the uprising was located in Kazan. Besides that, the sites of the battles where they put Pugachev’s forces to flight, allowing the revolt to be ended are close to the city.

Catherine II took care to ensure that the heads of her regional administrations were able to receive exalted guests and the Empress herself in a fitting manner. In the 1770s and ’80s, she decreed the production of “governors’ silver services”. Among the Hermitage’s stocks, a few items from the Kazan service have survived, and these are also included in the exhibition.

The author of the concept and curator of the exhibition is Natalia Yuryevna Bakhareva, a senior researcher in the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture.

An illustrated scholarly catalogue has been produced for the exhibition with forewords by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, and the General Director of the State Hermitage, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, texts and catalogue descriptions compiled by State Hermitage researchers.

The exhibition is accompanied by a wide-ranging educational programme. As part of the Hermitage Days in Kazan, the exhibition curator, Natalia Yuryevna Bakhareva, is giving a series of lectures on Empress Catherine the Great.