After being crowned Empress of Russia in September of 1762, Catherine sets about ruling Russia through the principles of reason and enlightenment.

After being crowned Empress of Russia in September of 1762, Catherine sets about ruling Russia - long considered an impoverished and uncivil country - through the principles of reason and enlightenment. Determined to make Russia the equal of any European power, she begins amassing a world-class collection of art and literature for the Hermitage and establishes schools and hospitals throughout the country. During an outbreak of smallpox, she has herself inoculated to prove the efficacy and safety of this new science. Though she intends to improve the conditions of Russia's serfs, she never achieves this goal. At the same time, Catherine seeks to continue Peter the Great's legacy of empire-building and collaborates with her longtime lover (and perhaps secret husband) Grigory Potemkin to expand Russia's borders south to the Black Sea and westward into Poland. When she dies of a stroke, she leaves behind a reputation as the greatest ruler Russia has ever known.