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Catherine the Great
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Catherine the Great Article

What was the Instruction of Catherine the Great?

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The Instruction of Catherine the Great was a Russian political document prepared by the empress as a guide for a legislative commission considering internal reforms. In it Catherine “instructed” the commission to create a new legal code and recommended a series of government reforms based on liberal humanitarian political theories. According to the Instruction:

  • All men should be considered equal before the law.
  • The law should protect, not oppress, the people.
  • The law should only forbid harmful acts.
  • Serfdom should be abolished.
  • Capital punishment and torture should cease.
  • The principle of absolutism should be upheld.

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