Catherine the Great proved to be an absolute monarch through her control of
the military, self promotion and control over the nobility, exercising authority over the Eastern Orthodox church, and censorship of ideas and beliefs that were not agreeable with the ones that she had. Although it is arguable that Catherine the Great was an Enlightened Monarch, there is just more evidence stating that she was and absolute monarch instead. In the beginning of her ruling of Russia she attempted to be an enlightened monarch and was even going to free the Serfs before she personally decided that absolute monarchy was the best form of government. One of the key factors to being an absolute monarch is obtaining full control over the military and Catherine the Great did just that. Before Catherine even took the throne she managed to control the military with the help of Grigory Orlov, a military leader whom she was having an affair with. While Catherines husband was on the throne, she saw an opportunity that could result in her being the first women czar of Russia. With the help of Orlov, Catherine managed to have her husband arrested and then later mysteriously killed. When Catherine was unable to use her power to get what she wanted through the military she used her love. Catherine was able to make her military engage in wars and attacks that were pointless and dangerous in which did not satisfy anyone other than her at that time. When Catherine the Great first took the throne many of the citizens were outraged and therefore it was very important for Catherine II to gain their admiration and trust. Catherine the Great went about this by promoting herself then controlling the nobility. At first, Catherine displayed her ideas as if she wanted to be an enlightened monarch and share power. Also, she said that she wanted the Serfs who were the majority of the Russian population to be free and to have more rights. However, she did not follow through with either of those plans and decided that absolute monarchy was the best form of government. During the early years of her reign Catherine the Great took advantage of every situation where she could gain the support of the nobility. While Catherine the Great was gaining control of the military and nobility she secured her position by persecuting and exterminating everyone that went against her ideas and beliefs. By the time that Catherine the Great gained control of the military the nobility fell under her spell too although she tried not to displease them too much. As Catherine the Great rose to power she decided that she must take over the land of the Orthodox Church and convert it to Russian land. Before Catherine the Great confiscated the Eastern Orthodox land, they had owned almost a third of Russias agricultural land and Serfs. Around this time Catherine completely abandoned her plans of being an Enlightened Monarch and become a full out absolute monarch. With her new land that she had recently confiscated, Catherine the Great used the land as state paid land that she occasionally held military personnel on during war times. When Catherine the Great first took the throne she believed and favored in free press. However, that idea quickly changed and throughout her time in power she went to extreme levels to censor anything that put her power in a vulnerable state. Catherine the Great was also very fond of intimidation and on many occasions publicly displayed executions such as the time they brutally murdered Pugachev in the middle of Moscow. Most of Catherine the Greats assassinations were not publicly displayed however and instead they were done mysteriously and secretly such as the controversial murder of her own husband. Censorship was also very important to keeping her power in control. Many also believe that Catherine the Great was able to apply applications of censorship to entire journals and newspapers that were not in agreement with her monarchy. Although for many years Catherine the Great tried to be an Enlightened Monarch, she just could not share her power. Her absolute monarchy was not completed until later in her life when she was in full control and jurisdiction of all the power and land in Russia. Although it did not seem like it, Catherine the Great went through extreme measures to build her power over the people of Russia and even Russia itself. Catherine the Great may have played a large role in making Russia the way it is today but she was undeniably an Absolute Monarch. Through holding power over the military, controlling the nobility and self-promoting, censoring ideas and beliefs not in agreement with hers, and taking authority over the Eastern Orthodox Church, Catherine the Great is undoubtedly verified to be an absolute monarch.