This paper studies the nature and nurture of the Russian Monarchy under the
upbringing of Catherine the Great and her Stoic
/ Enlightenment based moral values. Focusing on the developmental complexities of the social and family unit which brought around the four most well known of the Russian Royals, Alexander I, Constantine, Nicholas I and Michael, this paper follows up the effects of a family unit oriented
upbringing with strong liberal and republican beliefs that gripped the Russian Royal family in it's later years through Catherine as a matriarchal influence to these four, and Paul as a patriarchal leader. The psychological scarring left upon Nicholas on seeing his fathers demise at the hands of his own courtiers
demonstrated a manipulative effect on his reign. Also demonstrated in this paper is the fact that regardless of liberal beliefs, the people's agenda quite often defies what intellectually could be classified as the best system of government for them as demonstrated through the coup de etat against Paul and the Decembrist rebellion.