The era of palace coups in Russia ended with the coronation of a prominent historical figure: Catherine the Great. She could have settled for the role of Emperor’s wife, but her persistence and determination eventually proved that her rightful place was on the throne. She was still a child when she learned that she was to marry Peter III and produce an heir. Catherine, however, wanted to rule Russia herself. She saw the potential of the Russian Empire, and she wanted to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment. Will Russia experience a renaissance of culture and sciences under Catherine? Will her ideas eventually play to her detriment?

How to take the throne when you are the fourteenth child in the family? How to win access to the sea when there is no professional army and navy in the country? How in a few decades to bring a country to the world leaders that no one had considered before? These and many other questions are answered by Andrey Kravchuk's documentary-art blockbuster about the formation and reign of Emperor Peter the Great, whose figure still excites the minds of people all over the world.