This master's thesis concerns the reign of women in Imperial Russia in the 18th century. Following the death of the Russian emperor Peter the Great in 1725, four empresses and one female regent ascended the throne of Imperial Russia until 1796. The reign of women as a characteristic of the 18th century in Russia was connected to several specific occurrences. Namely, with the first Russian empress Catherine I’s ascension of the throne, Imperial Russia entered an era of court upheavals. The majority of both male and female Russian sovereigns of the 18th century seized the throne of Imperial Russia with the support of an influential group of statesmen, as well as with the military aid of the Imperial Guard. Female Russian sovereigns cultivated the practice of favoritism; certain favorites, often foreigners by origin, have wielded such influence that they were often the ones who exercised actual power rather than the official sovereign herself. Moreover, the reign of women in Imperial Russia was marked by the cultural ascent which occurred around the middle of the 18th century, during the reign of the empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1762). The Russian Empire underwent significant domestic politics reforms, as well as social changes, during the reign of the greatest Russian empress Catherine the Great (1762-1796). The image of the greatest rise of the Russian Empire, experienced during the second half of the 18th century, was completed by the successful expansionist policy of the empress Catherine the Great, westward and southward territorial expansion and the growth of the military power and international reputation.