In 1762 Catherine's husband became Tsar ... the process of Westernisation begun by Peter the Great. During her reign she extended the Russian empire southwards and westwards, adding territories ...

Catherine is responsible for a huge expansion of the Russian Empire, including the acquisition of Crimea, and turning Russia into one of the great powers of Europe. Brought from Germany as a young ...

The “Father of the American Navy” commanded a Russian warship but said he had not forsaken the United States Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. Please ...

Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea off southern Ukraine, was absorbed into the Russian empire along with most ethnic Ukrainian territory by Catherine the Great in the 18th century.