WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -She frequently corresponded with several Enlightenment thinkers, most notably Voltaire who she exchanged letters with for fifteen years. The influence of the Enlightenment can be seen in many of Catherine’s actions.

Detailed explanation-2: -When Catherine the Great Met Denis Diderot. A much-awaited carriage carrying the philosopher Denis Diderot arrived in Saint Petersburg. His initial welcome, unhappily, failed to make him feel any more alive.

Detailed explanation-3: -Voltaire sent fifteen more letters. Diderot replied nine times. The relationship, which actually deepened as time went by, was cemented by mutual friends, mutual interests, and a deep reciprocal respect for each other’s intelligence.

Detailed explanation-4: -Catherine had already ‘bought’ him by purchasing his library (which she would only gain possession of upon his death), by paying him to be her librarian and by offering to publish in Riga the unfinished Encyclopédie, his life’s work, uncensored.