Original subtitles

TV CHANNEL RUSSIA

COSMOS STUDIO

TV CHANNEL RUSSIA

PRESENTS

A COSMOS STUDIO PRODUCTION

WRITTEN BY ARIF ALIEV

DIRECTED BY DMITRIY IOSIFOV

CAMERA DIRECTOR MAXIM SHINKORENKO

ART DIRECTOR SERGEY VOROBIEV

MAKEUP ARTIST - ARTEM DEMIDOV, COSTUME DESIGNER - SVETLANA MOSKVINA

MUSIC BY NIKOLAY ROSTOV CASTING DIRECTOR - VALERIA GANKINA

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - SERGEY KOZIN POST-PRODUCTION BY NONNA ARISTARKHOVA

SOUND PRODUCERS VLADIMIR LITROVNIK, ANNA IVANTSOVA

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS - LILIA CHEKSTER ASSOCIATE PRODUCER - ANASTASIA KORETSKAYA

LEAD PRODUCER - DMITRIY GOLUBICHNY

PRODUCERS - ALEXANDER AKOPOV ANTON ZLATOPOLSKY, NATALIA SHEIDOROVA

IN REMEMBRANCE OF EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ALEXEI KUBLITSKY

PAVEL PETROVICH - PAVEL TABAKOV NIKITA PANIN - SERGEY KOLTAKOV

YEMELYAN PUGACHEV - ARTHUR IVANOV PRINCESS TARAKANOVA - ANGELINA STRECHINA

STEPAN SHESHKOVSKY - MIKHAIL GOREVOY ALEXEI ORLOV - ARTEM ALEXEEV

ANDREY RAZUMOVSKY - ALEXANDER TKACHIOV NATALIA ALEXEIEVNA - ALINA TOMNIKOV

GRIGORY POTEMKIN - VLADIMIR YAGLICH GAVRIIL DERZHAVIN - DANILA DUNAEV

EKATERINA NELIDOVA - DIANA MILYUTINA LEFEBVRE - IGOR GRABUZOV

KAZIMIERZ OGIŃSKI - ARTEM KRETOV MICHAŁ OGIŃSKI - DANIIL SLUTSKI

MARIA KAROLINA - OLGA MAKEEVA FERDINAND - SERGEY TESSLER

DENIS FONVIZIN - KUZMA SAPRYKIN ADAM OLSUFIEV - STANISLAV STRELKOV

EKATERINA THE GREAT MARINA ALEKSANDROVA

EKATERINA: PRETENDERS

THE BAY OF NAPLES SEPTEMBER 1774

Would you like some juniper vodka?

The Englishmen call it gin.

Good morning to you, Count.

It has been a week since our Polish friends left us.

And it was thanks to me.

I've convinced them that the false heir is still not on the ship.

Your old song again.

I think you forgot our mission.

How long are we going to wait?

Andrey Kirillovich...

We've got a secret mission there.

It's a very delicate affair.

We are speaking about evoking the trust of a woman.

And any haste can ruin it all.

Alexei Grigoryevich...

What trust are you talking about?

You are Orlov-Chesmensky...

Any girl will go with you if you just call for her.

She is not just a girl.

Well, well, Alexei Grigoryevich...

Did she charm you as well?

Yes?

Did she really do it?

Give this note to Captain Greig.

And don't drink too much.

He's jusy buying time.

It is funny indeed.

Serious scientists are digging the ground.

Have you seen their faces?

When they find something they are happy as kids.

Liza, it is Pompeii.

Everything is important for the history.

With the help of discoveries, you see how people lived in the past.

What for?

I think it is useless.

People are butterflies.

Our life is so short. You'd better realize how to live right now.

Not in the past.

Look at me my angel.

I've suddenly thought about Pompeii.

Maybe when Vesuvius started to erupt...

Two lovers embraced each other in the olive alley.

And a huge cloud of dust covered them.

And they are lying under our feet, embracing each other.

Where is the imposter now?

What do the spies say?

They have captured him, Your Grace.

Him and his accomplices.

General Suvorov is questioning them.

I knew it.

They have beaten me.

I didn't get it your Grace.

You didn't get it?

Tell General Suvorov that...

Here he is...

- Alexander Vasilyevich! - Chief!

Welcome!

My congratulations! You've caught that bandit.

Thank you, Pyotr Ivanovich. Follow me.

- The table is served. - I had the Empress order.

About my authority.

We can have a talk as well.

How do they call you at your parents' house?

Alehan. My brother invented it.

And you?

I don't remember.

If I were the Empress,

I would make you the most powerful man in the country.

But I am not the Empress.

And I can't give you any power.

But I can make you happy.

Listen...

I command the best of the Russian navy.

- What a big person! - I am serious.

I was able to get her to the throne, so I can do it for you.

How?

She doesn't have Romanov's blood.

She got the throne illegally.

Let's attack Petersburg with all our ships.

Five hundred guns is a serious argument.

She will have to give her power to us.

I will escort you to the great hall of the Winter Palace.

Do you hear me?

Of course I do, Alyosha.

But I don't need anything from you.

All I need is you!

Let's stay here, in Naples.

We will love each other.

Kiss each other, have long walks, have some feasts!

I will give birth to a son!

And then we will stay here forever.

Like the lovers in Pompeii.

They've roasted it badly.

Do you want something else?

Thank you!

I like it with blood.

Have you read the order?

Yes, I have.

Very well.

So, please let me have Pugachev and his accomplices.

To transfer them to the capital.

Well, Pyotr Ivanovich...

There is nothing about transferring the imposter in the order.

We've captured Pugachev.

And we started the investigation.

We are going to transfer him.

It was you who has caught him?

So the victory laurels for his defeat belong to you.

But who will be responsible for the chasing...

Of his accomplices who are hiding nearby.

Whom do you mean?

Yulaev, Degtyaryov, Ovchinnikov. I can't count all of them.

One more thing.

I am sure that in every village, countryside or town

there are Pugachev's men.

Who provided his army with food and drinks?

We need to find all these traitors.

And to punish them severely.

And do it in public.

As a threat to the others.

Well, practically everybody provided food for his army.

So we need to hang all the peasants?

And who will work on the farms?

Does the Empress expect this from you?

You are right. We must punish those who helped him with their deeds.

But those ones we must punish with no mercy.

Well... Send your troops immediately to all the villages.

The order will be ready by evening.

Place some gallows in all the rebellious towns.

And some other torturing machines.

Those who like the imposter must be punished severely.

Gather people in one place and show them punishment.

And if the whole village liked him.

Should we punish the whole village?

Do you have another plan?

If you find someone who himself helped the imposter...

Build a raft with the gallows.

Hang that villain and send the raft down to the river.

For everybody to see and be frightened.

And if we don't find any evil men?

It means you haven’t done your job properly!

Do as you are told.

Follow the nature!

And you will never be poor!

And if you follow people's opinion...

You will never be rich!

Oh dear uncle!

You are absolutely right.

I have gained a great fortune.

That when you get married...

We won't reject a proposal of a good, but poor gentleman.

Your words will be law my whole life.

But after her marriage

You must keep some money for the grandchildren!

Wait! Wait! Stop here!

Wait! Stop it!

What's this? What?

Katya, please, understand...

You are going to marry a man whom you don't love.

Even worse two men!

And they both are fools!

You are separated with your beloved.

And your uncle...

And your uncle is your only hope.

His presence for you is like...

It is like a gift from heaven, and you need to express yourself, okay?

Let's calm down.

And discuss it once again.

All the major scenes. Let's go.

- Don't you want to say anything to me? - And to me as well?

Your roles are secondary.

I don't care much about your feelings.

Why are they secondary roles?

I'm higher than Sofia in the list of characters.

If you start to argue I will play this role instead of you.

Nobody can play it worse than you do!

The rehearsal is over.

I am sorry.

But why? Why?

When you've invited me to a rehearsal I thought I would be bored to death.

But passions are still alive.

But I didn't understand that scene.

Neither did I.

What's happened?

- I proposed to her. - To Nelidova?

Yes.

She refused me.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Pavel Petrovich, look at me!

And tell me the truth.

What is behind her refusal?

Well... I see no reasons.

- If I were Nelidova... - Stop teasing, me Pavel Petrovich!

My heart is broken.

Of course it's good for a playwright, but it's painful for an ordinary man.

What did she tell you?

Denis Ivanovich it is impossible.

Then she said that she was sorry.

Pavel Petrovich, if you think that I am your friend,

I want you to ask her.

Well, I...

I don't have anyone else to ask for help in such a situation!

Last time I helped with an engagement it ended up in a disaster.

I feel awful now, Pavel Petrovich!

I will die if I don't know the truth.

Please, help me!

Alright then.

I promise you.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty! I have good news!

Yemelyan Pugachev has been captured!

He will be in Petersburg soon for the final investigation.

I've been waiting for so long!

When will he be there?

The journey will take about a month.

They can transfer him only in the daylight.

And I gave an order...

To check every outpost they cross.

It's too long.

We need to find a shorter way.

The investigation will be in Moscow.

A prison will be built near Butyrskaya station.

The tower and some walls have already been built.

We will open it.

This makes the way shorter.

And the imposter won't spoil the capital with his presence.

Your Majesty, are you afraid of a rebellion in Moscow?

You know the situation. They are waiting for him.

So they will finally get him!

They will see his head falling down to the ground!

What did the military union decide to do for his arrival?

Some military troops are going towards him from Moscow.

In every single outpost guards were changed to the military men.

Moreover, the imposter is escorted by General Suvorov himself.

I can't praise him for that.

Your Majesty, I think he doesn't trust his men.

He is afraid of bribery.

Where does Pugachev come from?

His home village is Zimoveyskaya. He is from the Danube.

It's a cursed place.

This station has already proved it.

It was a home station for one bandit - Stepan Razin.

I will tell Potemkin to burn Zimoveyskaya village to the ground

and then dig it all up to destroy any roads or paths!

What about people from the station my Empress?

They can't take their things from home.

Let them go in their underwear away from that place!

And the name of the station...

It must be deleted from every document!

Name it Potemkin's lesson!

To remind them who has destroyed and punished them!

I am going to prepare myself for my trip to Moscow.

I want to listen to this man.

That awful bastard.

Well, well. Eat it, man.

Why won't you eat the soup?

Bread is the best food on a journey.

One likes a watermelon, another a pig's tail.

I am interested how could you make a trap for an experienced general.

What does a military man need?

A medal on his uniform.

So we deceived him as a kid.

And tricked him with a toy.

We sent a small squad.

When he found them, we started to run away.

We made him fall into the trap.

And attacked him there all together.

I've done this with the Turks.

I've never had enough time to make them feel tired.

Do you have other tricks?

I can't remember all of them at once.

If you were in military service, you would be decorated with medals.

It's a pity that you've wasted your talent

on this hopeless criminal affair.

Listen, Count!

I have never asked for myself and I will never do.

But please let my wife and kids live.

And don't kill Ustinya, whom I made the Empress.

It is not their fault.

How many families have you destroyed?

How many wives, mothers and kids were killed by your criminals?

So what do you expect from me, Yemelyan?

Mercy?

Mercy is a slippery way.

I've shown mercy to some people.

But I'd better have hung them.

So don't expect another answer from me.

Keep an eye on him!

Ekaterina Ivanovna!

- Are you chasing me? - I am indeed.

My friend Denis Ivanovich sent me to you.

Denis Ivanovich?

I didn't accept his proposal.

Yes, I know that.

But can you please tell me the reason for it?

I am in love with another man.

I am in love with you.

But I am a married man.

Please tell me, don't you like me just a bit?

There can't be any relationship between us.

I understand that.

Denis Ivanovich is good and kind.

He is a gifted and loyal man.

He can be a good husband for you.

Do you agree that I am a person as well?

And I have a right to choose my destiny.

Of course.

So I won't marry Fonvizin or any other man.

I am sorry, Your Majesty.

SAINT PETERSBURG OCTOBER 1774

You told me that my destiny is to serve Russia and our God.

So I do it as best I can.

But I find it harder day by day.

To divide the truth from a lie.

All power is given by God.

His grace is with you my Empress.

And he makes you doubt for some purpose.

He tests every person in his own way.

I know he doesn't leave me alone.

The main criminal has been captured.

But what should I do?

I can't decide it.

Some people say

that severe punishment for the criminal is good.

It will show the strength of the throne.

But the others pray for mercy

because it is the main virtue of a leader.

Listen to yourself, my Empress.

Not any of those other people.

But listen just to your soul.

All these people are led by Satan himself. He can seduce them.

It's in his nature to go against God's will.

But God has already shown you the way.

Not with my help, but by speaking of his son.

Thus as it is written in the gospel.

"Love your enemies".

"Praise those who curse you".

Come in!

Alexei Grigoryevich!

I am glad that we can talk.

I haven't seen you on the ship for the last two months.

You know where to find me.

Yes, I do.

In the criminal's house.

You are wasting money of the estate on her wishes.

I think you've forgotten the purpose of our arrival in Naples.

Do you want to teach me?

Not at all.

I just want to remind you of the Empress's will.

And that it will be nice to go back home.

I will ask the Empress to leave Liza alone.

She doesn't want the throne anymore, so she isn't dangerous.

Liza?

You don't call her the false empress anymore?

Only the secret council can say whether she is dangerous or not.

- We were given an order. - The conversation is over.

I saw the King yesterday.

I convinced him that the union with France isn't good for Naples.

But Russia is a good ally.

The presence of the imposter is a real problem for the union.

She must leave Naples.

Or she'd better be dead.

What are you going to do?

To kill me?

Please do it.

You will set me free from the exile and any shame.

They say Lefebvre will be here soon.

If he takes that woman with him, we will be executed.

We can't lose any more time.

Only death is waiting for her in Naples.

Ferdinand's people will kill her.

Or I will do it.

With my bare hands.

Have you ever loved anyone?

It's an inappropriate question.

Please be so kind and answer it.

You have the reputation of a seducer.

I can tell you for sure that love is a disease.

It doesn't let your brain function properly.

You know nothing.

What a day it is today! Everything is falling down.

What do people call such days, Matrona?

Your Majesty, they say: "The day is over and the sins are away".

So we just need to be patient.

Matrona, please put two blankets in my suitcase.

- Yes, Your Majesty. - Or better three of them.

Of course, Your Majesty.

The weather is bad.

Are you going to stay in the palace all day long?

Your Majesty.

I ask you to take me with you to Moscow.

It's impossible. Drink your tea.

I insist, Your Majesty.

I want to see that criminal with my own eyes.

The one who seemed more dangerous for you than the Sultan.

Do you want the wild Cossack to be your father?

I am not so stupid as you think.

I want to see him at the gallows.

I want to understand why such an evil criminal has appeared in Russia.

Maybe your policy created him.

My Empress.

Stop talking about things you can't understand.

I don't need to be very smart.

I understand that we must change things, even at the court.

We need to reduce the peasants' taxes or just get rid of serfdom forever.

All men must be free.

A human being is the most important treasure of the country.

But serfdom turns people into rebels.

It's utopia.

If you became the Emperor

you would understand that your ideas are far from real life.

We will see.

Mother.

Fine, come to Moscow with me.

You can see that imposter.

Matrona!

Pavel Petrovich is coming with us.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I am tired of pretending.

I'm tired of pretending that I knew who my mom was.

I don't remember my parents.

All my life is someone's silly joke.

It doesn't matter whom your parents were.

What rights did Ekaterina have? Not a single one.

My brother and I made her the Empress. She is an impostor!

Do you love me?

Do you doubt it my angel?

All this politics around us is of no importance.

- Listen, Liza! - No, you listen to me!

I don't need the throne.

Will you marry me?

I want to be your husband, Liza.

In front of people and in front of God.

Let's get married.

On my ship.

It's a part of Russian territory.

As all the Orthodox do. I have a priest as well.

What will we do then?

Then we will stay here forever.

Yes, Alehan!

The answer is 'yes".

MOSCOW DECEMBER 1774

BUTYRSKAYA PRISON

Well, Pavel Petrovich...

Do you recognize your relative?

Stand up, creature.

How do you like it here?

Was it a warm greeting?

Do you need anything?

Do you want a whip?

No, I've have enough beatings.

Those were no beatings at all.

When I beat a man with a whip he dies after the eighth hit.

You are not doing it properly.

The purpose of beating is not to kill.

The tortured man must confess everything.

So, you continue your fairy tale.

That calling yourself the real Emperor was some accident.

It is true.

It's written in the documents.

I get the information from Stepan Obolyayev.

That I used it.

I imagined where tsar Pyotr can go after the rescue.

That nobody could find him.

Do you have many friends?

What friends?

Those who made you to start the rebellion!

The Turks and the Poles!

Or the French?

Who?

There weren't any.

As if I don't know the expanses of such an army!

The food!

The gunpowder, the clothes! Who helped you?

At first it was difficult.

We found some supplies and we were happy with them.

But when news about me spread all around.

From every corner of Russia people started to join me.

They brought me different things.

I have only one ally.

They are the Russian people.

They are my people!

Yours?

I seriously doubt it.

For me it's easier for them to believe in a miraculous rescue of the tsar

than to see a German woman on the throne!

Why did the people believe in me?

Because they saw it in me.

They saw a real Emperor!

I gave freedom to the peasants!

How did the bacon of the general of Tatishevskay tower

help the liberation of the Russian people?

What bacon?

With your friends!

First you took his skin from him

and then you put his bacon to your wounds!

While he was dying in pain.

And what about General Tseplyatyev's wife?

First you raped her

and then you gave her to your scoundrels!

You hung her on the apple tree with her children!

And for the General...

You cut his body until he died.

And when he was bleeding you put a stick in his throat!

This was your new method!

You made Russia to be free this way!

And captured officer Labozin!

You got very drunk!

Put gunpowder in his mouth and blew his head off!

Just for fun!

It was last spring.

Dead bodies were carried three days by the river.

They were carried from the Tatischevskaya fortress!

Mothers went to look for their children!

So what do you call it?

You've shown the Russian people mercy indeed!

And if your children were carried by a river?

Or they were hung on an apple tree?

See!

Pavel Petrovich...

See what people who suddenly get freedom do with it!

For greeting our guests!

Hooray! Hooray!

Hooray!

Let me introduce myself - rear admiral Samuil Karlovich Greig.

I am the Captain. Me and my crew are at your service!

Elizaveta, nice to meet you, admiral.

I am sorry that it is raining.

It's so strange. I am on board her ship.

It is not just a ship. It's the flagship of the squadron.

It's a good vessel, it won't sink!

With you Alehan...

I am afraid of nothing.

I've prepared something for you.

Close your eyes!

Be careful!

Please don't open your eyes!

And if you trick me?

But I do believe you.

So what have you prepared?

Dangerous man?

Be patient, my angel.

Now, you can open them.

I bought it for you at Giuseppe's. I think it is suitable for the wedding.

What do you think? Do you like it?

Why do I have this happiness?

Now, you must go away.

I want to try it on.

Call for Francesca!

Francesca!

Francesca!

Maybe you won't put God in this masquerade!

If you don't agree...

I will replace you!

I will put your clothes on any man!

It's my duty to warn you.

If you deceive a woman who trusted you.

You will do a great sin.

Only one sin is worse than this - speaking badly of God.

What do I need for the ceremony?

A cross, some candles?

A stole, a white towel and two crowns.

I don't have any crowns.

- Whom do I marry at the sea? - I'll send a boat to the city for them.

Yes, give your orders. But you won't find anyone to replace me.

The man who will put my clothes on and then perform a ceremony.

The crew is devoted to me.

They've never missed it.

They always confess only to me.

I am not tricking her, father! I am saving her from certain death.

If I don't take her away they will kill her.

A white lie?

The father of every lie is the devil. It's written in the Bible.

Of every lie...

Ask yourself, why do you save this woman?

Do you have a decent answer?

So you will find the right solution.

I love her.

Help me!

Nikita Ivanovich, what news does your brother send us?

Your Majesty!

Somehow he was able to find

everybody who took part in the rebellion.

A large part has been destroyed.

Because they wanted to escape.

He arrested all the others and kept them in prison.

He is waiting your orders for execution.

Well, this rebellion is an evil.

It looks like a hydra on our Russian land.

That's the main problem.

It appeared on the native Cossack's land.

This one hundred headed hydra.

We must destroy it!

Or it may grow new heads just like in the fairy tales.

But the whip won't help us.

Well, they can become angrier that's all.

Pavel Petrovich...

Do you want to suggest something? You are here on purpose.

I've seen enough in Moscow, Your Majesty. So I've changed my mind.

But if you want my suggestion.

We must suppress the rebellion severely.

We may have false dreams of the peasants who were deceived by a false tsar.

But they obeyed his orders...

They are poisoned with hatred and their children too.

If they have a chance

they'll start to make the estate bleed.

We can't let it happen.

What does the tutor say?

In this case I am on the side of Pavel Petrovich.

Those peasants...

They won't find a better thing than to teach their kids to start a riot.

So it means...

We are going to face new rebellions.

So, only severe executions!

Only punishment!

Is the only right choice.

It is right and fair.

But I don't want to be remembered as Bloody Ekaterina.

Pugachev and his closest men are to be executed.

But I will show mercy to the others.

Is the project is ready, Adam Vasilyevich?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty!

It is very merciful.

But all the European countries would think of it as your weakness.

Send the order Nikita Ivanovich.

To your brother.

Before he kills every man in every village.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I beg your pardon, Gentlemen.

Stepan Ivanovich...

Well.

It's about Zimoveyskaya village. I've changed my mind.

Let Potemkin burn the imposter's house.

Don't do any harm to the others.

Don't offend them. make them move.

And all people whose surname is Pugachev,

make them change it to Sychev.

And one more thing.

When the executioner quarters Pugachev...

Let him start with his head.

You are so merciful, my Empress.

Yemelyan Pugachev was executed on January 10, 1775.

On Bolotnaya square in Moscow.

That peasant's war led by him

was the last numerous rebellion in the Russian Empire.

Until the beginning of the twentieth century.

I am ready to sacrifice everything for Elizaveta and help her all my life.

I am ready to get help from Alexei.

I will live with him in love and devotion.

Let God send us a guardian angel.

In the eyes of God Alexei is marrying Elizaveta now.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

- Amen. - Amen.

In the eyes of God Elizaveta is marrying Alexei now.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

- Amen. - Amen.

Our dear Lord!

We praise you!

We will sleep on the ship today.

And tomorrow we will return to Naples.

We will live like a husband and a wife.

As you wish.

We praise you!

I finish this ceremony!

Samuil Karlovich.

Has something happened?

I beg your pardon my lady.

You are under arrest.

In the name of Ekaterina the Great.

I ask you to get up, to dress up and then follow me.

What?

There must be a mistake.

Where is Lyosha?

I beg you my lady. I don't want to use my force.

I don't want to do that very much.

I don't understand anything at all.

I am Count Orlov's wife.

You obey his orders.

Call for my husband at once!

Call for him immediately!

Alyosha!

Alyosha! Alyosha!

Alyosha!

Alyosha! Alyosha!