Social and spiritual life of Russian society before and during the reign of Catherine II?

Under Catherine II, time is devoted to the development of education: primary education becomes free, which makes it accessible to the poor. As a result, people become literate, education begins. The elite begins to form in the social sphere. Catherine II gave the nobility letters of gratitude, endowed them with privileges, for example, the service became optional. This made the nobility the upper class, on which power relied. The peasants, on the contrary, were practically deprived of their rights, they were dependent on the nobles.