Catherine - Empress of Russia | Drama Documentary

Catherine - Empress of Russia - She provided the huge kingdom with an administrative framework, reformed the educational system and secured a place for Russia among the great powers of Europe.

Catherine - Empress of Russia (2013)
Director: Michael Löseke, Christian Twente
Writers: Friederike Haedecke, Uwe Kersken
Stars: Alma Leiberg, Natalia Bobyleva, Pavel Gajdos
Genre: Documentary, Biography, Drama
Country: Germany
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2013 (Germany)

Synopsis:
At the age of 14 Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst, a princess from a minor German aristocratic family, journeyed to Russia... because she had been chosen to marry Grand Duke Peter, heir to the Russian throne. For the sake of the marriage she converted to the Russian Orthodox religion and was given the name that has become famous in history: Catherine.

For the next 18 years she lived in the court of the Czar, trapped in a marriage that was a torment. She and Peter were little more than children when they were coupled, and the young Grand Duke was a complex character with childlike passions: his favourite hobbies were playing with wooden soldiers or making music. Catherine was bored in this society. The balls and official receptions struck her as pointless. She discovered the world of novels, ancient histories and especially the writers of the Enlightenment. Catherine and Peter were not attracted to one another, and the son that was so eagerly awaited failed to appear until 1754, when Paul was born… though in her memoirs later Catherine claimed he was result of an affair with the famous ladies’ man Sergei Saltykov.

When Empress Elisabeth died over Christmas 1761, Peter was crowned Czar Peter III, but by now the relationship between him and his wife was in tatters. Catherine had given birth to another child from a different lover, and was pregnant from a third man, Gregory Orlov. Peter also had a mistress, and it became clear that he would soon divorce Catherine. However, she had no intention of surrendering without a fight, and together with Orlov and his brothers she spent months preparing a coup d'état. On 9 July Catherine had herself crowned empress in Petersburg. Peter surrendered without much struggle, abdicated… and died just a few days later. The official version was that he was accidently wounded in a fight involving Gregory's brother Alexei. Today few people doubt that Catherine had him assassinated.

Catherine was crowned Empress of Russia in the Kremlin and ruled the land for 34 years. She provided the huge kingdom with an administrative framework, reformed the educational system and secured a place for Russia among the great powers of Europe. Her wars considerably increased the size of the country. Though seen as "the Light of the North" by the Enlightenment philosophers, over the decades she was not able to impose corresponding reforms on the country she ruled. Her achievements have caused her to be regarded as Catherine the Great – the only Empress to go down in history as "the Great".

She will also be remembered for her varied love life, which she made no secret about at the time – presenting 21 lovers to court as her official "favourites". Most of them remained friends even when their intimate relationship was over. In all probability the wild debauchery associated with her name is an exaggeration. She died at the age of 67 after a stroke.

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