Heritage Album

wut r ideas for a 20 page scrapbook for catherine the great?

any page ideas or artifacts or journal entries i can do for it? or any creative picture ideas?

Public Comments

1. Wow, what a creative project! I assume the scrapbook is to give information about Catherine. Ok, if I were doing it, this is how I would handle it: 1. Maps. I'd start with a map of Denmark at the time, because I believe she was a Danish princess (I'm winging this, so I may be wrong--but I do know she wasn't Russian). I'd include a map of Russia and parts of Poland and other lands that Russia invaded during her reign. It would be neat to photoshop the maps to show the movements of armies, etc. 2. Pictures. Get a photograph of the castle where she was born, and portraits of her parents. Photos of her as a child, young woman, old woman, etc, would be good. Also get photos of her husband, son, and her various members of court, especially her-ahem-gentlemen friends. 3. Journals--I am assuming that you are to fake some journal entries-perhaps pages of diaries? Here's some ideas: Catherine writing about leaving her home and going to Russia-how this will help her rise in the world, what she thinks she will see, her hopes, her fears. The Tsar's diary of his hopes and dreams--is he afraid of intrigue, or only wishing for an heir when Catherine comes? Members of the court, especially her men friends--how do the native Russians react to this foreigner and her ideas? To be different, these thoughts could be put in a letter from one courtier to another. Finally, just to add interest, you could include orders to the soldiers or even imperial decrees-I believe they were called ukases-referring to military events. These could be photoshopped to look really fancy, with the imperial seal, etc. Hope these ideas help!
2. You might find a cool painting of Catherine and do a two-page spread using lots of pictures from GQ or Esquire magazine, because she was renowned for her sexual appetites -- she had dozens and dozens of lovers whom she rewarded with money and titles and land. One of her most famous lovers was Gregory Potemkin, whose claim to fame was that he created elaborate fake scenery in the towns Catherine traveled through on her "progresses" around Russia, to see how the common people lived. These "Potemkin villages" were just builiding-sized props, though, and were moved from place to place, concealing the poverty and decay behind their facades. You could do a really cool page with pictures of mansions and grand estates, but have them peel back to reveal hovels and slums. Catherine's other claims to fame are more illustrious ones: she expanded Russia's borders, which you can show by having "before and after" maps of her reign, and she was instrumental in modernizing Russia, in terms of culture, art, diplomacy and politics. In addition to starting the art collection that formed the base of what is now the Hermitage Collection (which you can find pictures of online and use to create a "display"), she greatly increased the presence of literature and music in her court -- mostly French literature, but also Russian, and Russian music, particularly symphonies and nationalistic themes. You can look up authors and composers of her era on the Internet, and include excerpts of their work or pieces of sheet music from period pieces. Have fun!!