If you chose option 3, you have the kind of commonsense that could make you Catherine the Great.
Commonsense is matching the newness of your plan to the newness of the situation.
While Catherine’s husband downed vodka and played soldier, she read the classic guru of political commonsense, the ancient Roman Tacitus, and learned that to be a successful ruler, you must take into account not only how you want the world to be--but how it actually is.
You have to acknowledge the reality of people's selfish interests and craven fears.
Catherine then joined forces with the church, the aristocracy, and the military to overthrow her husband, making herself Empress and restoring political stability.
But here’s the part that’s often missed.
Once stability returned, Catherine maintained many of her husband's policies--enriching them with your own optimistic ideals--to usher Russia into an age of Enlightenment.
Supporting education and the arts and allowing for spiritual freedom, Catherine uplifted the Russian people without destabilizing the government, improving the lives of ordinary folk while strengthening her personal grip on the crown.
