I could never figure out how is it possible that an epic production like this with such stellar cast and seemingly unlimited funding can fail so miserably. It's astounding, really. I'm not going to complain about the well-known historical facts that have been omitted or neglected altogether,...
Many legends have grown up about the sexual rapacity of Catherine the Great. While it is true that she shocked the Russian court with the number and age of her lovers, there is no truth in the rumour of her death by stallion. Unhappily married to the Grand Duke Peter, a man who ...
Madariaga wrote that Catherine's opportunity came when her husband ascended to the throne as Peter III at the end of 1761. The two of them hated each other, and he ruled ineptly. “Though not stupid, he was totally lacking in common sense, and he quickly set about alienating all the ...
Catherine II, often called Catherine the Great, became empress consort of Russia when her husband, Peter III, ascended to the throne following the death of his aunt, Elizabeth of Russia, on December 25, 1761. Catherine soon orchestrated a coup that forced Peter to step down after just six ...
Once the upstart foreigner stole Russia’s throne, there was no stopping her enlightened reforms, her empire's expansion, and her pursuit of love and legacy.
Russian borders spread as far as the Black Sea and Central Europe. Catherine the Great strongly supported both modernization and westernization, an endeavor started by her husband prior to his death. Catherine was also a great proponent of the Enlightenment in Europe, and she promoted the education...
When Peter marries Catherine in a Russian Orthodox service, they respond to the the lines "Do you take this man/woman to be your lawful wedded husband/wife... until death do you part?" These lines are not part of a traditional Orthodox service. The bride and groom usually do not say ...
Catherine II is termed the only eighteenth-century ruler not to have a Russian parent, but the significance of Catherine I's foreign parentage is forgotten. Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy, vol 1, From Peter the Great to the Death of Nicholas I More results ► ...
Catherine the Great's first marriage was a mismatch. Her arranged marriage with her husband, the future CzarPeter III, was a mismatch from the beginning. By 1752, nine years into her marriage, Catherine had already found an alternative lover, Sergei Saltykov. Shortly after that she met Stanisl...
As the season wrapped up, Catherine learned that Peter was responsible for her mother's death, reigniting her disgust towards him. She eventually chose to forgive him in order to stop another brewing battle between her and Peter's batches of nobles. Despite the seemingly peaceful resolution, V...