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Instruction of Catherine the Great

Russian political doctrine
Alternative Title: “Nakaz Yekateriny Velikoy”

Instruction of Catherine the Great, Russian Nakaz Yekateriny Velikoy, (Aug. 10 [July 30, old style], 1767), in Russian history, document prepared by Empress Catherine II that recommended liberal, humanitarian political theories for use as the basis of government reform and the formulation of a new legal code. The Instruction was written as a guide for a legislative commission that was intended to consider internal reforms and to devise a new code of laws.

The Instruction generally favoured the creation of a society of free individuals acting in accordance with the law. It maintained that all men should be considered equal before the law; that law should protect the populace, not oppress it; and that law should forbid only acts directly harmful to an individual or the community, leaving the people free to do anything not forbidden. It disapproved of capital punishment, torture, and the perpetuation of serfdom. But it also upheld the principle of absolutism in government, insisting that all political power was derived from the autocrat, who was subject to no law.

The Instruction had little impact within Russia. When the legislative commission adjourned (December 1768), it had neither prepared a legal code nor agreed upon measures for restructuring the government; and Catherine made no further efforts to create legislation to implement her principles. The Instruction did serve, however, as a major stimulus to Russian political thought.

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Catherine  II, oil on canvas by Richard Brompton, 1782; in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. 83 × 69 cm.
April 21 [May 2, New Style], 1729 Stettin, Prussia [now Szczecin, Poland] November 6 [November 17], 1796 Tsarskoye Selo [now Pushkin], near St. Petersburg, Russia German-born empress of Russia (1762–96) who led her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe,...
...tried to tackle the job again, but in a different manner. In 1767 she convoked a commission of representatives elected by all classes except private serfs. For their guidance she drafted an instruction largely inspired by Western political thinkers, but, far from providing a blueprint for a liberal code, it emphasized the need for autocracy. In its civil part the instruction owed much...
...provinces and from all social classes (except the serfs) for the purpose of ascertaining the true wishes of her people and framing a constitution. The debates went on for months and came to nothing. Catherine’s Instruction to the commission was a draft of a constitution and a code of laws. It was considered too liberal for publication in France and remained a dead letter in Russia.
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