Elizabeth and Catherine: empresses of all the Russias, 1974

What makes Robert Coughlan's "Elizabeth & Catherine" stand out from the extensive literature on Catherine the Great is its elevation of the much less well-known Czarina Elizabeth to nearly equal status. Typically, Elizabeth is treated in tandem not with Catherine but rather with Anna Ivanovna (reigned 1730-1740). Together they are considered transitional figures between Peter the Great (died 1725) and Catherine (reigned 1762-1796). Elizabeth, Peter's daughter, has long been regarded as a pleasure-seeking and rather limited ruler whose achievements, such as the founding of the University of Moscow, are credited to the initiative of her advisers. Coughlan passes over this accomplishment in silence, which is rather strange considering his goal is to ensure that she takes "her rightful place in the pantheon of Russian and world history" (pg. xiii).