History of Russia (1721–96) mounting financial difficulties and Elizabeth's death in 1762. Her nephew and successor, Peter III (grandson of Peter I), took Russia out of the war. Peter III reigned for a mere six months before his wife, Catherine II, led a coup against him. He was born and raised in Germany in the court of his father, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and did not come to live in Russia until he was fourteen. It is difficult to ascertain his character because there exist many contradictory accounts. Catherine's journals describe him as incompetent bordering on retarded, yet his acts as emperor illustrate a
Order of Saint Catherine Order of Saint Catherine The Order of Saint Catherine () was an award of Imperial Russia. Instituted on 24 November 1714 by Peter the Great on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine I of Russia. For the majority of the time of Imperial Russia, it was the only award for women; the Order of Saint Olga existed briefly from 1916 to 1917, but ceased with the fall of the Romanov dynasty. The statutes of the Order were first published in 1713, and the order was under the patronage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the Empress.