Catherine II was one of Russia's greatest leaders. She came to power in 1762 and ruled Russia for 34 years until her death in 1796.

Catherine did many important things during her time in power. Even though she was not born in Russia, she loved the country very much. And she wanted to see it become strong, rich, and cultured.

Catherine believed in the power of education. She thought Russia would become great if its people improved their minds.

So she set about modernizing education across Russia. In 1786, she established hundreds of free schools across the country. These schools were open to boys and girls, whether rich or poor. She also supported many artists and scientists. So during her time in power, art and science in Russia thrived.

Furthermore, through a clever mix of diplomacy and war, Catherine greatly increased Russia's lands. By the time she died, Russia controlled large areas of Southeastern Europe and even parts of North America.

Under Catherine, Russia became one of the strongest and most important countries in Europe. As a result, the Russian people now call her Catherine the Great!

凱薩琳二世是俄羅斯最偉大的一位領袖，1762 年掌權，統治俄羅斯達 34 年之久，直到 1796 年去世。

凱薩琳在位期間成就許多大事。儘管她並未生於俄羅斯，仍十分愛國，希望看見俄羅斯變得富強蘊含文化。

凱薩琳深信教育的力量，她認為只有人民的思想進步，俄羅斯才會變得強大。因此她著手推行全俄羅斯教育制度的現代化。1786 年，她在全國建立上百所免費學校，開放不論貧富的男女入學。她亦支持許多藝術家和科學家，因此在位時的俄羅斯藝術與科學均蓬勃發展。

此外，凱薩琳巧妙地並用外交與戰事手腕，大幅擴大俄羅斯領土，直至去世時俄羅斯已掌控了大面積的歐洲東南部，甚至包括部分的北美地區。

俄羅斯在凱薩琳的統治下，成為歐洲最強大且重要的一個國家，因此，羅斯人現在都稱她為「凱 薩琳大帝」！