Original subtitles

SUPPORTED BY THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

RUSSIA 1

The attack front is narrow.

It's not possible to carry out a maneuver.

The cavalry can't force their way from flanks - swamps and gullies all around.

Your Excellency, we have to launch a frontal attack.

And if we're going to attack, we should do it without delay.

Until the Turks don't move their main body.

Good idea if it were not for the cannons.

The village is two miles from here.

The Turks will fire one or even two volleys. We'll lose half of our cavalry.

But we'll enter the village and destroy the battery.

People die in a war and that is what a war means.

Right judgment, Premier Major.

We'll knock down the enemy through a sudden advance.

This is our moment of triumph, gentlemen. Let's show what we're capable of.

The Turks have made a mistake.

And we've noticed it, Grigory Alexandrovich.

They've placed the battery at the village exit,

but should have left the road for sallies.

And it means we now should do what?

Make the battery fire on friendly positions.

Gentlemen, we've the Field Marshall's order to conduct reconnaissance.

I propose destroying the enemy's vanguard,

cross the Danube, and storm the fortress.

We've 800 sabers and bayonets, while the Turks have 5000,

and the fortress has three-thousand garrison.

That doesn't look like reconnaissance.

We'll win by skill, not by number.

We'll seize the village by evening, and the fortress - at night.

We'll break the order.

We will succeed. Success is never blamed.

And enough of it.

Grigory Alexandrovich, what's your plan?

I'd rather take ten hussars and rush towards the battery.

It's a suicide.

- The Turks will not open a fire. - They won't.

They'll be glad to have information. And they'll try to take you prisoner.

I'll lure them to follow me, and you'll attack with the main body. They'll run back.

They'll run homeward and the battery won't risk firing on their own people.

And we, by following them, will assault that river bank.

Command to stand by for an attack.

Ekaterina II, by sending Suvorov to the Danube,

hoped he will stir those generals up who got stuck in the opposition war,

and she was right.

In response to complaints of Field Marshal Rumyantsev

about the shortage Suvorov exclaimed his famous

«Even weak forces can make great deeds».

The Russian command planned combat reconnaissance of the Turtukai fortress

in order to draw the enemy's attention away

from the Russian troops that attack in other directions.

Suvorov was not used to being content with a mute role,

and when he identified a vulnerable spot in the Turks' defense,

he decided to mount a sudden attack.

The fortress garrison, which was several times larger than the Russian unit,

turned out to be unprepared for a daring attack and was defeated.

By Suvorov's order, Russian units had mercy on civilians and Muslim clergy,

and after that destroyed the enemy's fortress

and crossed the river with captured artillery.

After he suffered battle concussion, Suvorov sent a message

to the Commander-In-Chief about a successful sally of his troops.

“Thank God, and thank you! Turtukai is seized, and I am there”.

For firmness and courage, for suffering in the Ottoman captivity,

endured with dignity, for loyalty to the Russian Empire, Her Imperial Majesty,

the Sole Ruler of Russia, Ekaterina the Great

awards Aleksey Mikhailovich Obreskov the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky,

and appoints him member of the Foreign Affairs Board

and grants two hundred thousand rubles.

I congratulate you on your liberation, Aleksey Mikhailovich.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I'm so glad you came back.

I'm ready to serve my country until my last breath.

For service and excellent bravery against the enemy,

in recognition of the outstanding service Her Imperial Majesty,

the Sole Ruler of Russia Ekaterina the Great grants

the gift is brought to Ekaterina Count Grigory Grigorievich Orlov

the Gatchina Palace and surrounding lands and villages

with all buildings and inhabitants.

Great Empress, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude.

My service is to your good and prosperity of all Russia.

It's a truly royal gift.

But a greater gift to me is the opportunity to see you and speak with you.

Grigory Grigoryevich, Gatchina is fitted to the smallest details.

I request that you should clear rooms within three days and move to your new place.

Your Majesty...

What remains is a memory of that joy that was once between us.

Let the final word be mine.

Dear Grigory Alexandrovich,

today I've had a dream that I walked in a strange place.

I met a nice man.

We talked about anything and everything.

And I felt as cheerful and free as never before. As never before.

But nothing lasts forever.

I woke up. And I had a feeling as if I lost something very precious.

And suddenly I realized that it were you, Grigory Alexandrovich.

You were that nice man and I should look for you awake, not in my dreams.

Now you are far away fighting with the Turks.

I know your bravery and prowess.

I know your bravery and prowess.

You are not used to hiding and being cautious that is why

I am extremely worrying about you. Come over.

Beloved far away. Come over. I am begging you.

I love you with all my heart. So, here is my confession at last.

I cannot live without you. I believe you are not surprised,

because it is not all of a sudden, Grigory Alexandrovich.

Love has been growing for a long time.

But now I am standing on the edge.

Will I fly or fall?

Now I am saying: my heart is yours.

By military rank, I am a colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment.

I appoint you Lieutenant Colonel and order that you should be attached to me.

Accept my order without any arguments and fulfill it immediately.

Your Highness, Count Andrei and Count Pyotr.

My friends!

What are you looking at! Still alive. Safe and sound.

What do you have here?

Oh, Pavel Petrovich, you'd sooner die of boredom.

Glad to see you.

I invite you to have dinner with me, and after we'll think.

We'll get back soon, Pavel Petrovich.

I'll like to invite you to the wedding as a special guest.

Pyotr Kirillovich, I'm touched.

It's an honor for me and not a burden at all, but I can't.

I don't want to give the Empress a reason to blame me of something and...

I understand.

The Empress has invited three princesses and I have to choose my fiancee.

Of course, it's up to her to choose.

We've upset our relations, she is finding fault with me.

Everyone has abandoned me...

Father says that he breaks with me and doesn't want to see me.

And Andrei won't be able to come.

Her Majesty is sending a frigate for your Princesses, and I am going to command it.

It looks like a promotion.

And I am pleased with it. And even happy.

I don't want to be back to war.

Take this away. It's too faint. Put this pink one aside.

The silk is good. Put this pink one aside.

Just don't confuse measures. For Amalia, for Wilhelmina...

When I came to Russia, I had only two dresses. My mother had one...

Ladies at the court despised us for this German poverty.

I beg your pardon, Your Majesty.

Count Razumovsky.

Unheralded. He is feeling âown.

We need to buy more fabric duchess satin of light and dark colors,

three times five archines...

Excuse my intrusion, Your Majesty... I have come to beg you...

Have your seat.

Your Majesty, cancel the wedding of my son,

Pyotr Kirillovich Razumovsky with Sofya Stepanovna Chertoryzhskaya.

For what reason?

Sofya Stepanovna is the most dissolute woman, besides she is much older.

And only you can help me get my son back.

I have the power to cancel the wedding,

but I have no power over feelings, even over the ones of my own.

Your Majesty. You encourage vice.

You gave her a property with an income of one hundred thousand rubles.

I dismissed her as my lady-in-waiting. She is getting an allowance.

You dismiss your other ladies-in-waiting with modest gifts.

She was lucky.

Your Majesty, but the cause is known to everyone.

You have happened to become a grandmother.

Kirill Grigoryevich, your son is going to marry and be rich.

It's better than to be poor, isn't it?

You have an honorary post, good allowance, a house at the waterfront,

I think it's better than poverty and life in exile, in a village,

with a restriction to visit the capitals...

I've been the President of the Academy of Sciences for thirty years, but now...

Can you hear Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, laughing in heaven?

Were it you who discovered the Law of Perdurability

or maybe you studied Venus's atmosphere,

discovered the origins of color and light?

What have you done for science?

- I've been administering, Your Majesty. - Nothing.

Your sons are better than you. Thank you for them.

This is the worst day of my life.

I haven't let you go yet.

Your Majesty.

You became the President of the Academy of Sciences at your 18.

Who else was luckier than you?

Elizaveta Petrovna granted you, a handsome and merry fellow, a title of Count,

found a rich bride for you. You've had a pleasant life.

You have the best cook from France. You are well-known for your banquets.

Every day you consume one beef, a dozen of sheep and one hundred chickens.

Don't you?

Your Majesty, my house is always ready to welcome guests.

It's time to do something more.

And the dinner you will give will be as follows.

You will build a University — it's the beef,

a dozen of colleges — these are your sheep,

and a hundred of schools — these are your chickens.

It's easy to keep in mind.

You'll do this in three years and will spend at least one million from your fortune.

But... Your Majesty!

From this day forth your dinner will be meatless. You may go now.

- Your Mightiness. - Your Excellency.

Count Razumovsky Andrey Kirillovich.

Princess Wilhelmina Louisa, daughter of Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Princess Amalia, daughter of Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Princess Luiza, daughter of Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Welcome on board, Princesses.

I swear to take you to St. Petersburg

and will do my best to make your voyage pleasant.

I hope so. Count, I'd like to take my Nanny with me.

I beg your pardon, Princess. Empress Ekaterina established a rule:

the princesses must leave all their things on the shore.

Your Excellency, you are so young and you are already a General.

There must be something that set you apart

from numerous young ambitious officers. What?

I've never thought about it. A lot of things, I guess.

To become a General at your age one must be able to break rules.

It sounds compelling, Princess.

I don't think your Nanny can be considered as a thing.

Welcome.

My jewelry is more expensive.

But the emeralds are...

no, it's cloudy, cheapie.

You need to get dressed.

I should have asked the Capitan for all my belongings.

It's against the rules, Your Mightiness.

Is General married?

No, he's not, Your Mightiness.

Leave my classes for three months! I'll never forgive myself.

Oh, my goodness, I'll be behind with my studies!

If three months is enough for you to become a fool,

it means that you have a hole in your head now.

Simpleton, simpleton!

Careful, my dress!

There are a lot of dresses. They'll change it.

But it doesn't mean my dress should be wrinkled.

They'll dress, undress, take, bring.

Why can't they choose based on a portrait?

This bride viewing is for virginity testing.

They don't usually speak much of it, but the procedure is clear...

By the way, they are very meticulous about virginity in Russia.

Why are you staring at me?

I just know who's travelling to Russia in vain.

We can keep the new clothes and jewelry,

and who knows when else Devil will bring to Russia.

I look forward to having a good time.

Because you have no chance to marry the Crown Prince.

If I wanted to marry the Russian monster, I would have gone to medico

and everything would be as before just for 10 marks.

Raise the sails!

Thank you for having taken me with you, Your Mightiness.

I need someone to trust.

Unfortunately I cannot rely on my sisters, the traitresses.

Good night.

Good night, sleep well, Your Excellency.

Sure.

I can't believe this. The servant- maid has her eyes out for the General.

With whom, Nanny?

With your servant-maid.

Looks like a prude, but looks at General and wiggles her bottom.

Shall I scold her?

They don't let us sleep, but will it be good enough...

The Empress has sent the servant-maid to you.

You can order her to leave the cabin and do something:

wash, iron, if she can't sleep.

Shall I knock with a shoe?

The wild lion calm down.

The wild lion!

- Your Mightiness. - Your Excellency.

How do you like the room, how did you sleep?

This is my first sea voyage.

Are you satisfied?

I guessed before that life on ships

was different from ours, as people live closer there.

But I couldn't even suppose that the walls between sea travelers are so... thin.

You're being cruel, General.

Do you mind if l go inside?

Please come in.

I forgot to ask you how long the voyage would last.

Two weeks.

I'm bored already.

What shall I do these two weeks? I can't chatter with sisters any more...

Cesarevich Pavel Petrovich is my best friend.

We say, “a woman is not a soap, and she won't melt and disappear”.

Both you and Cesarevich will get enough of me.

- Open! I'm in a hurry. - Open!

I am so happy.

Andrei, why do you keep silent?

What's wrong, Andrei?

I did a bad thing.

Better than at night. I could hardly recover my breath.

That's not what I'm talking about.

Pavel Petrovich is my friend, and I am deceiving him.

But do you enjoy being with me?

Cesarevich is going to choose from three sisters.

He can't marry all of us. And he won't choose me.

And if he will?

I shall fail the test.

Are they going to test?

We can't stay in bed like a married couple.

No need to pretend.

They will report either way. I will be retired.

They will send dispatches to all the Courts in Europe, describing your behaviour.

Gertrude is devoted to me.

I'll bring you some boiling water.

And she will report.

She won't.

We've spent a lot of nights together, and she liked it.

Let's throw her overboard.

We can do something better... give her some money, an expensive gift.

But it's easier to throw her overboard.

I knew you would come.

You... You smell of gunpowder.

Your Majesty, please excuse me.

There is no war without shooting.

The smoke gets under your skin, you can't get rid of it even with a horse scrubber.

It took me long to think over our conversation.

I talked to a mirror, and now I'm lost for words.

There's so much I want to tell you too.

I don't know

whether I will get an absolution, but I can't conceal it.

You've heard the rumors about me. Don't argue.

Lord knows that I have never wanted to debauch.

I can't speak straight now, but don't interrupt me until I have finished.

Had I got a husband whom I could love at my early age,

I would have never cheated on him.

But seven years passed after my marriage I was still a virgin.

Seven painful years next to a cold fish, nasty and fearful person.

I kept on waiting... for a long time, but failed. Wanted to love...

Wanted to love, wanted to love and be loved.

Don't argue...

The trouble is that my heart can't stay calm and dry a single hour.

Count Saltykov, then Stanislav, today's King of Poland,

then... Count Orlov.

I 've fallen out of love with him

and keep thinking of you, but I wasn't able to distance him,

and you went off to war.

Grigory Alexandrovich, don't be formal.

That's a bit too much...

Too much?

I can't do it so fast.

Is it fast? I've been with you in my thoughts for many years.

Your Majesty.

I won't press you.

No pressure. Honey, we were so happy together...

So many happy hours... in my thoughts! But you didn't know about it...

Did I scare you?

No.

I love you. I love you.

I can't breathe without you.

I've never given my soul to anybody, but I will give it to you.

I won't let you go.

I won't let you go.

I won't let you go. You'll be mine.

Is each of you honest in your desire to become a Crown princess

and adopt Eastern Christianity, change your name and continue the Romanov Dynasty?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Yes, your Imperial Majesty.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, what is my new name going to be?

I haven't thought of it yet, Wilhelmina.

Before your marriage you had been Sophie Auguste Friederike,

then you became Ekaterina the Great, didn't you?

The name “Great” was added much later.

I've chosen the name of “Natalia”.

Natalia.

But the Russians have also patronymic name, that is father's name.

For example, Peter the Great was Peter Alexeevich,

as his father's name was Alexey.

Our father's name is Ludwig.

But there is no name “Lugwig” in the Canon of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

My Father's name was Christian August, but in Russia I am “Ekaterina Alexeevna”.

I will be Natalia Alexeevna. Did I pronounce it correctly?

Yes. Have someone tried to learn Russian?

I have tried to speak Russian.

Wine, tobacco, chicken. Come here!

Who will be the first to go to the Medicus?

- Me! - I shouldn't have asked. Come.

Your Highness, open your mouth.

Close your eyes.

Put your hands in front of you. Sit down.

Stand up.

Let the Medicus assure himself that you are a virgin!

But do I have a choice?

I must know that you deserve to continue the dynasty.

Lift the shirt! Please, spread your legs!

George, take it away.

Are you sure?

Take it away. I remember that humiliation myself!

My mother-in-law wanted to make sure that I was a virgin! And she did.

She took my baby away immediately after his birth,

and I saw him only three years later.

I don't want to be like Elizaveta Petrovna.

No.

Natalia Alexeevna.

All I need is your word. Look into my eyes.

You have my word, Your Majesty.

I am a virgin.

It's beautiful.

There must be a cause for each gift. What's happened, Winnie?

I am Natalia Alexeevna.

But Cesarevich hasn't even seen you!

It's been solved without him.

There he is, my fiance.

Good day, ladies.

Your Highness. - Your Highness

Welcome to Russia? How are you liking it?

He liked Wilhelmina, didn't he?

There is something in her that attracts men.

Amalia is cold, Luiza is a dreamer.

When I was 18,

I wouldn't have minded if my mother had chosen a beautiful princess for me.

And which one would you have chosen?

At my 18? Any one, and the faster the better!

She looks like me in my young days.

She is as curious as I was, and she wants to please others.

I was so eager to get married!

Luiza, I guess you are interested in poetry. And I suppose you write poems.

From all poetic forms I prefer sonnets and stanzas.

She asked Johann von Goethe for his opinion of her poetry and he praised her.

I've never heard of von Goethe.

Maester came to our Palace

and read his new novel «The Sorrows of Young Werther».

We were steeped in tears.

Speak for yourself, my eyes were dry.

Werther enjoyed every minute of her presence.

But Charlotte married Albert.

Yes, and the unhappy love made the fool shoot himself.

Charlotte and Albert buried him.

A silly meaningless novel. And is written for some reason in the form of letters.

I think I understand the young Werther. I'll certainly read this novel.

Recite some of your works.

Recite your stanzas.

Devoted to my violin teacher Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

“When words go silent, and lights go out,

the violin weeping will lead me to you.”

“Bravo!” Can you play the violin?

I've been playing the piano since four. But yes, I have mastered the violin recently.

I'd like to learn how to... My father used to play the violin.

He composed a military march.

Did he, really?

And the Turks and Swedes know Us!

In the battle to win! The Tsar himself is leading Us!

I like Luiza. But if I marry her I will spoil her life.

I am ready to choose Wilhelmina...

- Natalia Alexeevna... - Whatever you like.

Why don't you like her?

She'll deceive me.

You repeat someone's slander.

No. I remember the lesson about “coming to the point”.

I don't understand. Would you clarify it?

You've chosen the bride. Let us not delay the wedding.

It's your choice, Your Majesty. Let's not delay it.

I'm pleased with my daughter-in-law.

She behaved in an honorable manner, didn't she?

I sensed neither falseness nor irritation.

And now I need grandchildren.

Grisha... Grisha.

Russia is so great. Whatever you do, it's a drop in the ocean!

We just shouldn't give up.

Let's leave these matters of State, it's already night.

Look.

This is a great place for the new capital. Or this one!

What capital?

The capital of Russia.

In a bare place, in a wild field?

At the Black Sea Coast, and the field won't be wild any more,

we'll plough it, we'll build the plants.

We'll build the villages and cities!

Or maybe here?

- You just need to take the Crimea. - We'll take it soon.

Let's take Constantinople, why won't we?

Your Majesty Your Majesty.

I am an officer, I can fight, can destroy, but my true calling is construction!

It was always I who chose a place to set a camp!

When there were not enough huts for accommodation, I was building barracks.

When there was a need in longboats, I was building shipyards.

Entrust me with the roads and cities.

And I'll manage everything. I can't stay in St. Petersburg!

My place is there!

Your place is next to me, I warned you I wouldn't let you go!

Shall I dismiss Count Panin?

Then you'll be involved in the matters of paramount national importance.

If you wish to build, do it!

Build palaces, towers on the Vasilyevsky Island, in Petergof.

Grisha...

Grisha.

I want a baby.

I understand it's too late...

But what if...

Your Excellency, don't wait for Natalia Alexeevna.

Why?

She's gone hunting with Pavel Petrovich.

She didn't want to.

He insisted and she couldn't say no.

It's heartless!

To make you wait, dream, anticipate pleasure any minute.

Did she say anything else, give directions?

No, she didn't, Your Excellency.

Come here.

She must have said that you wanted to give me her apologies.

Your Excellency, I'll scream.

If you scream, they will rush in and see me naked.

They'll think I have a date. With whom?

I'm much older than you! I might have been your nanny, what are you doing?

Great! I was fond of my nanny and tried to win her love when I was twelve.

Natalia Alexeevna, would you visit me tonight, we might have supper together.

- No. - Why?

I have had a long talk with you during hunting.

I am already... I am tired.

Well, I won't insist.

Your Highness, please excuse me, but I have to tell you...

Yes.

Count Andrei has seduced Natalia Alexeevna's nanny.

- Gertrude? - Yes, Your Highness.

Andrei is very fond of sensuous pleasures and does not control emotions.

Now we've found out that he has respect for the seniors.

Your Highness, it happened in Natalia Alexeevna's bathhouse.

There shouldn't be anybody there besides you or her.

Do you think His Excellency came there for the nanny?

For whom then?

Natalia Alexeevna

Pavel Petrovich, I told you that I wanted to be alone.

But I need to be close to you. We have not been together for a long time.

A women has some reasons about which she doesn't speak.

I accept your refusal. But I don't believe in your reason.

Don't believe it. And I can avoid explanation.

Today your nanny gave herself to Andrey Kirillovich in the bathhouse.

Oh, really?

I also think that it doesn't look like her.

Could the Count be waiting for anyone else there?

Who do you mean?

Are you hinting at me?

Don't be ridiculous.

Count is not in my taste, no more than you.

The bathhouse is not for servants' lechery.

Please give her exemplary punishment.

No. I won't punish her. I am happy for her.

Gertrude!

Take away your hands, you maggot.

Get your hands off!

Slut!

Slut!

Slut!

- Should have placed her outside the kitchen. - In the street, she said.

The night's so cold, she'll freeze to death here.

Do as you're told. Or we will be thrown out.

Tell me. Who, what, why?

Aboard the ship...

She seduced Count Andrei aboard the ship.

Who?

Her Highness.

They stayed with each other several times a day.