This “Foreign Policy Speech” by Lisa Stapper can be accessed here.
It was originally written for the ATHENA Jean Monnet Chair MSc Course “The EU and the Post-Soviet Space” taught by Dr. Olga Burlyuk. It is published as part of our mission to showcase peer-leading papers written by students during their studies. This work can be used for background reading and research, but should not be cited as an expert source or used in place of scholarly articles/books.
Context
Catherine the Great, also Catherine the second, was the longest reigning empress of the Russian Empire. Her reign lasted for 34 years, from 1762 until she died in 1796. Catherine was known to be eccentric and had a fierce opinion often not shying away from discussing and arguing with her counsellors about state affairs. We are in the here and now. Putin’s rule is overthrown by Catherine the Great, because she feels that Putin made a huge mess of the war in Ukraine and of Russia. She came back from the dead to take matters into her own hands. She gives this speech to the Council of Ministers and the important people that are left behind now that Putin is gone. The audience is stunned that Catherine the Great walks into the meeting instead of Putin, whom they had expected.
