Princess Sophia Fredericke Auguste (Sophia Augus Frederika) von Anhalt-Zerbst, or better known as Catherine the Great was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in Stettin, Germany, or what is now Poland, this city was the capitol of one of the German speaking states. Her father, Prince Christian Augustus, of Anhalt-Zerbst, was a minor prince in the middle of the fragmented principalities in Germany. He was also a general in the Prussian Army. He was a loyal, and uninspired soldier; he was goody-goody, reliable, nice, careful, and pretty dull. He married the young Princess Johanna of Holstein-Gottorp. She was an ambitious young woman, whose family was related to the royal houses of Sweden, and Russia. The house of Holstein could have seized
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