Catherine IAlekseevna Mikhailova was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1727.
Catherine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with a large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and with the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe.
Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies.
Peter III Fyodorovich was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II. He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, but he was a grandson of Peter the Great and a great-grandson of Charles XI of Sweden.
Count Alexei (Alexey) Grigoryevich Orlov-Chesmensky was a Russian soldier, general-in-chief, general admiral and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great. His joint victory with Grigory Spiridov and Samuel Greig in the Battle of Chesma put him in the ranks of the outstanding Russian military commanders of all time; and although he lacked naval experience, he was the only authority in those circumstances who could ensure proper co-ordination of action.
Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky was a Ukrainian-born Russian Registered Cossack who rose to become the lover, and it was suggested he was the morganatic spouse of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia. A member of the House of Razumovsky, he survived Elizabeth. The matter of any children they may have had together is unresolved.
Princess Yekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (born Countess Vorontsova; was an influential noblewoman, a major figure of the Russian Enlightenment and a close friend of Empress Catherine the Great. She was part of the coup d'état that placed Catherine on the throne, the first woman in the world to head a national academy of sciences, the first woman in Europe to hold a government office and the president of the Russian Academy, which she helped found. She also published prolifically, with original and translated works on many subjects, and was invited by Benjamin Franklin to become the first female member of the American Philosophical Society.
Princess Tarakanova was a pretender to the Russian throne. She styled herself, among other names, Knyazhna Yelizaveta Vladimirskaya, Fräulein Frank, and Madame Trémouille. Tarakanova is a later name, used only in entertainment, apparently on the basis of how she lived her last months and died. In her own time, she was not known by that name.
The Scarlet Empress is a 1934 American historical drama film starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge about the life of Catherine the Great. It was directed and produced by Josef von Sternberg from a screenplay by Eleanor McGeary, loosely based on the diary of Catherine arranged by Manuel Komroff.
The Rise of Catherine the Great is a 1934 British historical film about the rise to power of Catherine the Great. It was directed by Paul Czinner, and stars Elisabeth Bergner as Catherine, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., as Grand Duke Peter, Dorothy Hale as Countess Olga, and Flora Robson as Empress Elizabeth.
Young Catherine is a 1991 British TV miniseries based on the early life of Catherine II of Russia. Directed by Michael Anderson, it stars Julia Ormond as Catherine and Vanessa Redgrave as Empress Elizabeth.
Natalia Alexeievna, Tsarevna of Russia was the first wife of Paul Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia, son of the Empress Catherine II. She was born as Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt as the fifth child of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and his spouse Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken.
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1772), state and military figure, collector, patron of arts, and General-in-Chief.
Grigory Nikolayevich Teplov was a Russian Imperial philosopher, composer, historian and academic administrator of lowly birth who managed the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and wielded influence over Little Russia in his capacity as secretary and advisor to Kirill Razumovsky. He was also an amateur musician and in 1751 printed a collection of his songs entitled Idle Hours Away from Work.
Mary Hamilton, or Maria Danilovna Gamentova, was the lady-in-waiting of Empress Catherine I of Russia and a royal mistress of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia. She was executed for abortion, infanticide, theft and slander of Empress Catherine. She is pointed out as one of the possible inspirations for the song Mary Hamilton.
Great Catherine: Whom Glory Still Adores is a 1913 one-act play by Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw. It was written between two of his other 1913 plays, Pygmalion and The Music Cure. It tells the story of a prim British visitor to the court of the sexually uninhibited Catherine the Great of Russia.
Ekaterina is a 2014 Russia-1 historical television series starring Marina Aleksandrova as the eventual Russian empress Catherine the Great. The first season tells the story of princess Sophie Friederike Auguste, and her rise to power to become Empress of Russia, following a coup d'état and the assassination of her husband, Peter III. The second season portrays the challenges she faces at home and abroad during the early years of her rule, as she tries to revitalise Russia to become one of the great powers of Europe, and becomes titled "the Great".
Catherine The Great is a 2015 Russian television series starring Yuliya Snigir as Catherine the Great. It was released in November 2015 on Channel One Russia.
Catherine the Great is a British-American miniseries in four parts written by Nigel Williams and directed by Philip Martin for Sky Atlantic and HBO Miniseries. It stars Helen Mirren as the titular Catherine the Great.
Countess Ekaterina Ivanovna Razumovskaya was a Russian lady of state, cavalier lady, and the wife of the last hetman of the Zaporizhian Host, Kirill Razumovsky.
