This work does not pretend to be an exhaustive history of the reign of Catherine the Great. A full biography of the Empress, doing justice to her as ruler and diplomat, lover and correspondent, would take several volumes. Here, I have been primarily concerned with Catherine as legislator, with an attempt to show the limitations placed upon her domestic policy by the prejudices and desires of the nobility. Even this aim has not been thoroughly carried out. For example, at least twenty members of the nobility found their way to her bed, and these favourites, particularly Orlov and Potemkin, exercised an influence on the Empress much greater than most of their fellows. Rather than examining the views of such individuals, I have tried to show the class attitudes of the nobility, which Orlov, Potemkin and the others would to varying extents share.

The principal source material for this study has been the documents concerning the Legislative Commission of 1767 published by the Imperial Russian Historical Society. The focus of attention has been on the statements of noble opinion in the instructions and by the deputies and has only touched on the participation of other classes in the Commission. The activity of the sub-committees, which remained in session after the closure of the General Assembly of the Commission, has been little investigated.