Creating the Empress: Politics and Poetry in the Age of Catherine II

In Creating the Empress, Vera Proskurina examines the interaction between power and poetry in creating the imperial image of Catherine the Great, providing a detailed analysis of a wide range of Russian literary works from this period, particularly the main Classical myths associated with Catherine (Amazon, Astraea, Pallas Athena, Felicitas, Fortune, etc.), as well as how these Classical subjects affirmed imperial ideology and the monarch’s power. Each chapter of the book revolves around the major events of Catherine’s reign (and some major literary works) that give a broad framework to discuss the evolution of important recurring motifs and images.

Reviews of Creating the Empress: Politics and Poetry in the Age of Catherine II

"Vera Proskurina's Creating the Empress: Politics and Poetry in the Age of Catherine II is an erudite and imaginative examination of Catherine the Great's reign through the double lens of politics and poetry. The author, who is known for her expert and graceful interpretation of cultural symbols, brings this approach to perfection in the new volume. She traces different aspects of Catherine's age symbolic representation beginning with a brilliant deconstruction of the gender dynamic in the 1762 coup d'�tat and ending with a masterful analysis of the Empress's dubious reputation as an ageing coquette in the last years of her reign. Theoretically sound and well-written, the book will be a welcome addition to the library of every Catherine scholar. The book's handsome appearance makes it a pleasure to read."–Irina Reyfman, Department of Slavic Languages, Columbia University Proskurina prefers to present her exploration of cultural production of the Catherine era in a discourse that has a distinctly Foucauldian flavor: symbolism of power, translatio imperii, self-fashioning, or self-presentation…it is an ambitious project, both in its scope and its theoretical claims.–Vladimir Golstein, Brown University "The volume includes careful analyses of contemporary sources as well as of the poetry, prose, and journalism of the 18th century. Highly recommended."–A. J. DeBlasio, Dickinson College "CHOICE (July 2011) " "The strength of Proskurina's work lies in its detailed analysis of a wide range of Russian literary works from this period, particularly in highlighting the frequent use of Classical subjects or genres by authors to discuss the symbolic or analogous content of their writings. Similarly, she draws on an impressive range of English- and Russian-language scholarship to emphasize the need to view these Classical themes and motifs in the context of wider European symbolic traditions, as well as the immediate historical context of Catherine II's reign."–Paul Keenan, Department of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science "Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, 179-182 "