Russian philology
reason and theory, considered masculine attributes. His works were thus not universally well
received; however, they did reflect in some areas of society a growing respect for, or at least
ambivalence toward, a female ruler in Catherine the Great. This concept heralded an era of
regarding female characteristics in writing as an abstract concept linked with attributes of
frivolity, vanity and pathos.
Some writers, on the other hand, were more direct in their praise for Catherine II. Gavrila
Romanovich Derzhavin, famous for his odes, often dedicated his poems to Empress Catherine
II. In contrast to most of his contemporaries, Derzhavin was highly devoted to his state; he
served in the military, before rising to various roles in Catherine II's government, including
secretary to the Empress and Minister of Justice. Unlike those who took after the grand style
of Mikhail Lomonosov and Alexander Sumarokov, Derzhavin was concerned with the minute
details of his subjects.
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