Catherine presented herself successfully as a Russian ruler despite her Prussian background. Her political skill also gives reason for caution with the accounts she left behind. Even documents described as private appear, in this interpretation, to have been written with later readers in mind. The distinction between public, private, and closely guarded personal identities limits how confidently those papers reveal her own motives.
Notable Point · 2:30:33-2:32:51
Reading Catherine II's private papers as political self-presentation
Catherine's skill in managing her image gives reason to read even her private papers critically.