Two carriages strain against the muck
and mud of the Eastern European plains. Inside, a girl
and her mother sit, traveling incognito, under assumed names. Each day takes them
closer to Russia. Each day takes them
closer to destiny. For the first time
in her life, Sophia was celebrated
as someone special. Upon her arrival
in Russia, The local fort fired
its guns in her honor. People whispered
of her presence as her sleighs
chased the court from the Winter Palace
to Moscow. When they caught up
with Elizabeth's court, they were greeted
by ministers, and then,
to Sophia's delight, Peter himself. His fishlike appearance, nervous disposition,
and his tendency to babble had not abated at all
since they met when she was ten, but he was enthusiastic
to see her, and her heart soared at the prospect
of such a regal match. Then, they were led
into see the Empress. Sophia was overwhelmed
by the dazzling splendor. Never in her life had
she seen such majesty. And so the ensuing days passed
with her at Peter's side, and with each passing day,
she learned a little bit more about how boorish, and unconcerned
with his position Peter was. He told her about how much
he loathed Russia. He barely even spoke
the language, instead preferring
German in all things. He hated the culture,
and the religion, planned to remain
a Lutheran. He even told her
that he did not love her, and rather was in love
with someone else, but was resigned to marry her
because his aunt wished it. Meanwhile,
Sophia began to realize, that it wasn't Peter
she had to please, but rather the Empress,
Elizabeth. She took rapidly to her study of Russian
and the Russian Orthodox faith. This pleased Elizabeth, but Sophia took
to her studies almost too much, staying up late at night in the harsh Russian cold
to continue her practice. Soon, she fell ill. Elizabeth herself
rushed to nurse her, but, it was pneumonia. Not many survived
that disease in those days, and her recovery was made all the more difficult
by the doctor's insistence on bloodletting. For weeks,
she lay at death's door. But as the sickness
burned through her, rumor of how she contracted
the disease spread. Her love of Russia (for that's how everybody
perceived her ardent studies) was made known, and she became beloved, even as she slipped in
and out of consciousness, Then came a moment,
where everyone thought it was the end. Her mother requested
a Lutheran priest, but Sophia,
with what little strength was in her, asked
for an Orthdox priest instead. And rumor of this
washed throughout the land. But even as Sophia's esteem
was rising, her mother's came crashing down. Shortly after Sophia recovered, As series of letters
that Johanna, Sophia's mother, had sent,
were intercepted. The king of Prussia
had asked her to help him displace the Russian diplomat,
Bestuzhev, at Elizabeth's court, and at this,
she failed spectacularly. Vastly underestimating
her opponent, she got caught sloppily speaking ill of him,
the Queen, and Russia. Elizabeth's ire
was intense, and Sophia sat
within the blast radius. A courier burst in on Sophia
and Peter while they were playing, and told Sophia
that she was to pack, that she was
to be sent away immediately. Luckily, before her exile, she managed to get a moment with Elizabeth,
and humble herself before her. Elizabeth's fury abated, and she decided
that the child could still marry her nephew. She even allowed
Sophia's mother to stay, although her standing
at court was greatly diminished. Elizabeth even accelerated things, pushing forward Sophia's conversion
to Russian Orthodoxy, so that the official betrothal
could take place. But, at the dinner
after the betrothal, Johanna exploded in an outburst when she was not seated
at the table reserved for royalty, saying that she would not be seated
with mere ladies of the court. Elizabeth obliged her and sat her
in a totally separate room... ...by herself. With Sophia's conversion
to Orthodoxy came a new name, She was rechristened,
Ekaterina, or, as we know her in English, Catherine. After this, Catherine spent
her days in the royal life, dancing, attending court,
going to balls, simply counting down the days
until the wedding. But then, tragedy struck. Peter was laid low
with smallpox. Catherine waited nervously
for news. Eventually, Peter recovered,
but he was disfigured. His already batrachian features
now marred by the scars of the disease. The first time Catherine looked upon him,
she was horrified. But, the illness also stirred a resolve
in the Empress Elizabeth. The realm need an heir. There was no time to wait, no time
to risk some other horrible malady. And so, Catherine
and Peter were married. The affair was grand,
full of splendor. Catherine's dress was of the finest make,
and she was decked out with jewels. All of the highest and most notable members
of the court were there. There was dancing and revelry,
and then, at last, the ladies of the court escorted her
to her bedchamber. There, not knowing
what to do, she waited, alone. And, she waited. And, waited. Two hours later, Peter showed up,
reeking of alcohol, and crashed onto the bed, passing out in an instant. At last, her marriage had freed her
from her mother, but now, Catherine
had a new humiliation and torment. Her husband showed
no affection for her, and spent all of his days
playing buffoonish children's games, making his servants dress up like soldiers
and march around his room. Even when Peter was eventually made to give up
such things and sleep in the same room as his wife, rather than be with her, he would wait
until dark and their governess was gone, and then take out his toy soldiers, and have one of the maids move them
across the bed as he ordered them about. This continued for seven years. Then, Catherine met
a rakish young nobleman, far more knowledgeable in the ways
of love than she. At first she resisted his advances, but, eventually, she gave in. Soon after, she was pregnant. She suffered through
two horrible miscarriages, and then, finally, a son was born. Whispers abounded as
to the son's actual parentage, and though in both looks
and temperament he seemed Peter's son, and, not any of the young lovers'
Catherine had taken, the matter would never
be settled conclusively. But, that didn't really matter, for,
as far as anyone official was concerned, Russia now had an heir. And so, life moved apace, with Peter and Catherine living separate lives
with separate loves, with their little court
outside the halls of power. Then, Elizabeth died. All of a sudden,
Peter was made Emperor, and life changed. In 1762, he took the throne, and one of his first orders was
to reverse his aunt's military policies. For years, Russia had struggled
in the Seven Years War, that same war that kicked off
the American revolution, and, through doing so,
eventually led to Bolívar. Russia had exhausted
innumerable men and material trying to break the might
of Prussian arms. After so many years of fighting,
they were on the verge of success. Prussia was nearing utter collapse, Berlin itself was
on the verge of falling. But then, Peter offered Prussia peace, giving back everything that had been won by Russian sacrifice and strength of arms. It was the second miracle
of the House of Brandenburg, it saved Prussia and Frederick the Great, but, it sat ill with the Russian people. It sat even worse
with the Russian military and nobility. Catherine was horrified. Peter was more concerned with his title as Duke of Holstein than being Tsar of Russia! He had just given up
on the most important war in the world, in order to turn all of Russia's might
against Denmark, so that he might restore some small claim of the House of Holstein that they'd lost years before. And, though some of his domestic policies were progressive, and hailed as necessary reforms, For the most part, Catherine watched him blunder
from one alienating act to another. Even during the funeral
of his own aunt, while Catherine showed herself to be the model of Orthodox humility and respect, Peter didn't even make an effort
to appear to care about Orthodox customs, and made a mockery
or Elizabeth's funeral. He would go even further
with his contempt for the Church, trying to secularize
all Church property, and even demanding
that all clergy shave their beards. But, it really was the campaign
in Denmark that doomed him. Such an act, so completely disconnected
from the interests of Russia, showing such complete disregard for the honor
of the army, or even the wellbeing of its men, was one step too far. And more foolishly still,
against the direct counsel of Frederick the Great, the very man who he so admired, and whose peer he now considered himself to be, Peter let this little war
pull him away from Moscow, to remove him
from the center of power, and the court. Soon, a plot began to form
to replace Peter, and at the center of that plot,
was his replacement: his wife. Join us next time for a coup, a coronation, and a Queen, as Russia moves from its bumbling Tsar, to its resplendent new Tsarina. Subtitles by TheFlaminFist
