Original subtitles

TV Channel Russia

Written by Arif Aliev Art director Vladimir Menshov

Directed by Alexandr Baranov, Ramil Sabitov Camera - Maxim Shinkorenko

Production Designers Sergey Vorobjev, Sergey Onipenko

Music by Nikolai Rostov

Make-up Artists Marina Dedova, Ilona Levitskaya

Leading Editor Nadezhda Tarnovskaya

Leading Producer Alexei Kublitsky

Producers - Alexandr Akopov Ekaterina Efanova, Natalia Shneiderova

Empress Elizaveta I - Yulia Aug

Grand Duke Pyotr Fyodorovich, Emperor Peter III - Alexandr Yatsenko

Count Bestuzhev - Vladimir Menshov Count Lestocq - Konstantin Lavronenko Count Razumovsky - Alexandr Lazarev (Jr.)

Prince Saltykov - Rinal Mukhametov Captain Orlov - Sergey Strelnikov

Princess Johanna - Isabel Schosnig Count Shuvalov - Nikolai Kozak General Apraksin -Vitaly Kravchenko

Jemma - Elena Shamova Pimen - Ivan Dobronravov Matrena - Svetlana Korchagina

Prince Ponyatovsky - Aleksei Vorobyev Brekdorf - Maxim Kerin Betskoy - Kirill Rubtsov

Frederick II - Hartmut Krug Mardefelt - Vitus Eisenach Chetardie - Patrick Roullier Rollin

Nanny of Tsar Ivan VI - Valentina Talyzina

With Marina Alexandrova as Ekaterina II

EKATERINA

Mother, everything has been resolved at last.

No less than thousands of thalers. She could make me a present too.

The Empress has given us enough.

Yes, yes, she's generous.

She's ready to give away anything, even her mother's name.

Do you like your new name?

If I become an empress, I'll be Ekaterina (Catherine) II,

for there had already been one Ekaterina in this country.

But Ekaterina II sounds better than Louis XV.

The French call their kings by nicknames, not by numbers. The Sun King, the Father of the People.

Well, the Russians also have nicknames.

Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great.

And I'll be called...I will be Ekaterina the Wise.

Or Ekaterina the Faithful.

You will be called Ekaterina the Naive Girl.

I allow you, Mother, to call me Figchen. For one last time.

O God Almighty, our Creator and Helper.

For You said with Your pure lips that without You I can do nothing.

O my Lord, I believe in You with all my soul

and all my heart, I prostrate myself before Your goodness:

help me the sinner that I am to accomplish the thing I begin

to the glory of Your name. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember how the rite of christening is done?

God's servant Ekaterina is being christened.

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

Welcome to St. Petersburg.

Her Imperial Majesty is looking forward to seeing you. You'll be showed to your quarters, Mr. Caramaldi.

Before that, we have to discuss the amount of my pay.

The former sum doesn't suit me. -Of course.

I came to give the Empress treatments for a delicate problem.

I was sure I was going to a modern European city.

Get rid of these burrow dogs immediately, and shut up all the burrows.They are the hotbed of diseases.

Mr. Caramaldi, please, take a rest and have dinner.

You think I'll be more compliant after dinner? Don't even hope so.

After dinner I'll sleep for exactly 2 hours.

And if upon waking up I'll see the dogs with rats in their mouths, I'll get angry again.

Don't worry. I'll give orders. Please.

As soon as she gives birth, she must be taken to a convent.

Doctor, I’m not a common lass for you to paw.

With all due respect, Your Majesty.

But I don't see any difference between a common lass and you.

Doctor!

You can give birth just like a strong common lass.

Not like noble ladies who often have difficulties with childbearing.

Do you mean I can have a child?

Physically, you're disposed to it.

It seems your female organs are just lazy. But it can be helped.

Medicinal leeches, morels, physical exercise.

Doctor, when I give birth to the heir, you'll get loaded with money.

So do your best. And you too.

And I want to fence, hunt and sail.

Really? What are you going to sail on?

Oh, I thought, on a boat.

On a boat too.

We will sail and catch fish with a net.

I'm afraid my Aunt may not like this willfulness.

Will you like it?

What would you want?

It's nothing.

Tell me anyway?

I don't know. For example, to fly a kite.

Do you think she won't allow it?

No she won't; I want the kite to be burned in the sky.

Why won’t we fly it?

So easy?

But you want it.

I don't know anymore… No.

Why did you do that?

I wanted to…

Without permission from your Aunt.

Bravo!

Ekaterina, bravissimo! C'est exellent!

Now the greeting!

You can't curtsey in a wedding dress. You have to do your greetings differently.

A slight bow with your head. Your arms along... your hands outward,

and a smile out of the corners of your lips.

Her Majesty asks you to spare some time to the Doctor. Caramaldi.

He will examine you.

Why? I’m not ill.

Hasn't she been examined before, Your Majesty?

She has been examined by a previous doctor, but it doesn't matter anymore.

I want to be sure that Ekaterina can get pregnant and bear a healthy child.

And I also want to be sure of her virginity.

Virginity has nothing to dowith the ability of child-bearing, Your Majesty.

As if I don't know it myself.

Mi scusi...

Your Highness, make haste, they’re waiting for you.

Where did that doctor come from?

He was recommended by Count Razumovsky.

Thank God, not by the French Ambassador.

Tense your belly, Your Highness.

More. The physical form of Ekaterina Alekseyevna is perfect for child-birth.

Perfect for child-birth… Anything can happen in this world.

The abdominal wall muscle is strong and well developed;

the joints are flexible.

The sacrum, the coccyx, the size and form of the pelvis are perfect for child-birth.

I need the confirmation.

I am a virgin. Ask your man who spies on me.

For a delicate examination,

I ask Your Highness to spread your legs up to the width of your shoulders.

Please.

She is a virgin.

Shit!

Greetings, Your Highness.

You look upset. But sadness doesn't suit young brides.

I'm just a little tired, Mr. Mardefelt.

I am your friend, like King Frederick.

You can tell your friends about all your sorrows

I have no sorrows I would like to share with King Frederick.

You are a subject of King Frederick.

So don't forget where your real homeland is. You're a German, Friederike.

There is no Friederike.

There is Ekaterina Alekseyevna, a maiden of Russian Orthodox faith,

a betrothed bride of the heir to the Russian throne.

Do you remember how the rite of wedding goes?

Yes, we do.

Let's repeat it.

What do the lit candles in the hands of the groom and bride signify?

The candles signify love.

Our love, as pure and flaming as fire.

What else? Pyotr Fyodorovich.

The lit candles signify...

Chastity,

mine and Ekaterina's. And something else…

God's grace.

Read the prayer to the Guarding Angel and the Sequel to Holy Communion thrice.

Aren't you happy?

Sorry, but I am not.

We've been waiting for it for so long.

If I could, I would’ve sailed far, far away and never returned.

To India or China… And I would have lived there in obscurity and peace.

Pyotr Fyodorovich, I'm trying to understand you, but I cannot.

Today I'm beginning medical experiments.

Perhaps, one can understand people by cutting them open. by cutting rats open.

What are you talking about, Pyotr Fyodorovich?

Excuse me, I need to be alone.

Did you see something awful in your sleep?

Something awful? I saw you.

About face!

March! 1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4.

Attention! About face!

1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4,

1, 2...

If I had 200 fine fellows like these and landed in Denmark,

I would’ve showed you a blitz-krieg.

You shouldn't laugh.

I'm glad you don't have them.

Forward! March!

1, 2, 3, 4! 1, 2, 3, 4!

1, 2, 3, 4! 1, 2, 3, 4!

Halt! 1, 2. Dress! Greetings, Your Highness!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Thank you for your service!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Oh, you…

Ugly Face! Thank you!

You, my Eagle Eye! Thank you.

Brave lad! Let me kiss you!

Thank you! Well, you dog!

Thank you for your service, Corporal.

Execution!

Traitor! Deserter!

Rat, rat, you rat! You traitor!

Come here!

Stop it! Pyotr Fyodorovich, your joke has come too far!

The offender will be subjected to a horrible torture and cut up.

For treachery and betrayal. Is that clear?

It's clear.

I will love you for who you are. I'll get used to you.

So do it.

Start with Russia.

The new Turkish ambassador arrived to Petersburg in March.

He brought a ruby from the Sultan's turban as a present.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna thanked him for the gift and expressed her confidence in the friendship of the two great powers.

The new French ambassador did not arrive. It has been two months since Marquis Chetardie's banishment.

Is that all? I want the details.

Mardefelt will shortly receive important information from your secret well-wisher.

In two weeks we'll start the offensive on Paris. Is Russia going to strike us in the back?

Or not? Can you tell me: yes or no?!

You're silent? Your work is no good yours and that of your Secret Office!

I need the information now, not in the nearest future!

Tell this to your "secret well-wisher"...

Good evening, Your Highness.

Arina, is the Princess in?

Yes, Your Highness.

Here and here, there will be bridges and castles, all in stone.

The columns will be made of marble, as well as ceilings and walls.

We'll build the bridges with huge arches and flowers all around the city.

I'll build you a castle, and we'll live there together.

Which color do you prefer?

Count Lestocq has been stripped of his title, imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress and branded a traitor.

Why did you stop, Ivan Ivanovich? Read on.

The former Emperor Ioann Antonovich

heartlessly reduced to the state of a primitive savage, has been languishing in prison since his childhood years.

He cannot even speak.

How does she know that?

Who told her?

Alexandr Ivanovich, help him remember.

It was your order, Your Majesty.

So you liked it?

Did you succumb to your emotions and go into collusion?

She’s an experienced madam greedy for money and pleasures.

She’s envious – and stupid, since she got caught.

Tell me, what's her secret?

There is no secret. She declared her love for me.

But I remained indifferent. -You’re lying.

Your Majesty, why do you treat me like that? - What for?

Please, don't destroy the drawings. Pass them on to the Academy.

Is this yours?

No, but I can explain.

I'm listening.

What's going on, Mother?

Forgive me, Your Majesty, I wanted...

I don't speak Russian well. I wanted to...

You cannot explain it.

I am scared.

Before you die, you'll be tortured.

We must know what you managed to pass on.

Did you know?

Know what?

Answer me! Did you know?

Can you explain what happened?

I will, though I don't have to.

Your mother is spying on us; she writes letters to King Frederick.

Were you helping her?

I don't understand what you're talking about.

I'm talking about truely spying for Prussia.

Yes, I’ve been writing to the King. I was flattered by the attention of a great man.

It's a lie. You wrote to him for money. How much have you been paid?

4,000.

Alexandr Ivanovich.

I'm talking to the Princess, not to you.

I'm sorry, Your Majesty.

How did you know about the secret prisoner?

Who told you about the torturing of Lestocq?

Was it that fool, Betskoy?

Or Pyotr Fyodorovich?

Or maybe Saltykov?

I don't remember. I overheard it.

Who gave you the money? Baron Mardefelt?

Baron Mardefelt gave me 2,000 and promised 2,000 more.

In roubles, I hope?

In thalers.

In thalers… Poverty is in your blood.

Didn't you understand you were ruining your daughter's future?

Your Majesty, forgive my mother. We'll go home immediately.

And neither with a thought nor with a word we'll ever reproach Your Imperial Majesty.

I will thank the Lord and pray for your health. I…

Home?

Now tell me the truth about you and your mother,

or you both will go to the fortress.

Friederike knew nothing. Nothing!

Friederike?!

There is no Friederike anymore!

There is Ekaterina Alekseyevna, a maiden of Russian Orthodox faith,

a betrothed bride of the heir to the Russian throne.

I’ve made a mistake.

About you, everything is clear.

What shall we do with the girl?

You can say goodbye to your mother.

Your Imperial Highness, are you aware that wild animals and rats

are the causes of many diseases?

I will agree to your hunter's whims

only on the condition that all the rats will be destroyed,

along with the other wild animals won't be used for training dogs.

Foxes can be replaced by domestic rabbits.

I shall head the force fighting the rats and destroy all the enemies.

All of them!

I still hope for your good sense, Your Highness.

Out! Get out! Aunt, I demand to be received!

Leave him alone.

For your sake, I've chosen the Russian Orthodox faith, I learned the Russian language and I speak Russian.

You've chosen the name for me. Though I liked my former name Karl Peter,

I got used to being Pyotr Fyodorovich.

You've chosen a bride for me, you've even chosen the name for my bride.

Auntie, I am doing my best, but I ask you;

no, I demand to leave me my dogs.

You're behaving like a little boy.

It's time to grow up, Pyotr Fyodorovich.

You like hunting?

Give orders to harness the Tsar's equipage. We'll go together.

For deer, for ducks – what do you prefer?

You are not a huntsman.

You are the heir to the throne.

And you should behave according to your status and predestination.

All right...

we'll leave you your dogs.

How can I train dogs without a burrow?

I'm busy, and you're disturbing me. Go now.

Go!

Damn.

It's modest, but not without taste.

It's wonderful here, Your Majesty.

Well, enough of that. Learn to keep a royal bearing.

Open it.

Thank you.

The bride of the heir to the throne should have many dresses.

How many dresses do you think I have?

1,000?

32,000.

This mirror was brought by the Venetian ambassador.

87 years…

87 years what?

If you, Your Majesty, wear a different dress every day, you will live for another 87 years, 7 months and 4 days.

Really? You're good at counting.

I know a system of fast count.

Make yourself comfortable, my dear.

Your Majesty.

Do you want to ask me about your mother?

Why didn't you ask right away?

Though it's good that you didn't.

She is not being tortured.

She will tell everything on her own. And as soon as she does, we'll send her home.

I think you're smarter than she is.

Mommy!

It’s a good room. This is the real palace.

I'm happy for you, my girl.

Mother, why did you do it?

Don't shout, dear. The servants might hear you.

Yes, I behaved thoughtlessly. But I didn't expect it to end this way.

We were lucky it ended this way.

If it were not for the Empress's mercy, we both would have been in the fortress.

And no one would have done a thing to get us out of there including your King Frederick.

"Your" King Frederick?

You’ve forgotten your homeland so quickly.

You were so hasty to shed Prussia off of you like a worn jacket.

And I knew that one day I would have to go back.

You've always thought only of yourself.

And who did I think of when I set out on that reckless journey

enduring the cold, adversity and humiliation? Have I deserved that?

I am still beautiful and young. I too have always dreamt of shining at the Court.

Your dreams could have brought you to the torture rack. Go away!

I can't bear the sight of you!

Mommy! Mommy!

Forgive me.

You forgive me, my girl. when I think that I could be hanging from the rack...

Mother, I love you.

I love you too.

Are you spying on me?! You scum!

Wedded is God's servant Pyotr to God's servant Ekaterina

in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wedded is God's servant Ekaterina

to God's servant Pyotr in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wedded...

Minuet.

Dancing are Pyotr Fyodorovich and Elizaveta Petrovna.

Your Highness, may I introduce to you Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov

the only Russian scientist in the Academy of Sciences, poet and dramatist.

I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the scientists and invite

Pyotr Fyodorovich and you to visit the Academy of Sciences in case you are interested.

Thank you, Mikhail Vasilyevich.

The Grand Duke and I will be glad to take advantage of your invitation.

Please, give your blessing, Your Grace.

They are a fine couple – Ekaterina and Pyotr – aren't they?

What were those unfit affectations?

There were no such dances even under Peter the Great.

Yes, today is a happy day for them.

Not every woman is so lucky as at 17 to go to the altar with the beloved husband.

Some are not wed even at 35.

Would you like to shift the conversation to your person, Your Majesty?

I'm taking advantage of your kindness.

You are the Empress given to Russia by Lord God and anointed to reign.

It's not good for the Church to sanctify your vain sin.