Made herself Empress of Russia.
· She extended the borders of Russia, acquiring the lands of Southern Ukraine and the Crimea.
· Won several wars, namely against the Ottoman Empire.
· She slowly went about reforming the government.
· Westernized Russia.
· Took away all rights of Serfs after a couple brutal rebellions.
· She directed the building of the Hermitage Museum.
· Founded the Smolny Institute for Noble Girls, the first of its kind.
· 1776 she created a major cultural institution, the Great Theater in Moscow.
· She established the Free Economic Society (1765) to encourage the modernization of agriculture and industry.
· She promoted trade and the development of underpopulated regions by inviting foreign settlers, and founding new towns.
· University of Moscow and Academy of Science became an internationally recognized learning center under her sponsorship.
· She also increased the number of state and private schools.
· She commissioned an impressive monument to Peter the Great - the Bronze Horseman.