HBO published the first official trailer for the Catherine the Great mini-series, the last joint project of the TV channel with the British company Sky.

The four-episode film is expected to be available this fall on HBO (USA), Sky Atlantic and Now TV (UK, Ireland and Italy). Sky Atlantic is also responsible for distribution in Italy, Austria, Germany and Spain, the release in Canada is in the area of ​​responsibility of Bell Media.

Production Catherine "engaged in the British company Origin Pictures (" Hidden ") and New Pictures (" Spanish Princess "). The director's chair of the project was taken by Philip Martin, known for his work on the TV series “Poirot” and “Crown” (about Queen Elizabeth II).

In "Catherine the Great," as the name implies, it will be about the reign of Catherine Alexeevna. Judging by the trailer, the themes of palace intrigues, state policy, including wars, as well as uprisings, occupy an important place in the film. Apparently, the creators of the series paid a lot of attention to the relations of Catherine and her favorite Grigory Potemkin. At the same time, it is not yet known how close the footage is to historical reality. It is noteworthy that the audience will see only the end of the reign of the Empress.

Cinematographers show Catherine II a strong-willed, wise woman - but at the same time authoritarian and probably unprincipled.

“In my youth I dreamed of freedom. Dreamed of breaking the shackles. But with age, the options become less. And instead, I bestowed an empire on us. But I knew exactly what I was doing, ”says the main character in the trailer.

Also, the screen Ekaterina asks an invisible interlocutor: “Do you know what I hold in my hand?” And immediately replies: “Absolute power”. Finally, the Empress remarks with a convincing tone: "I will not share my throne with anyone."

Partially the video repeats the video published by Sky Atlantic in the spring of 2019.

The role of Catherine was performed by British actress Helen Mirren, who in 2007 received an Oscar for her work on the image of Elizabeth II in the drama of Stephen Frear's The Queen (about the relationship between the British Queen and Prime Minister Tony Blair). In the 1994 King George Madness film, she performed the role of Queen Charlotte, and a little more than ten years later tried on the role of Elizabeth I in the same mini-series of the same HBO. Potemkin played Jason Clark ("Terminator: Genesis", "Everest").

Century Catherine

Catherine the Great ruled the Russian Empire from 1762 to 1796. The future empress was born in Prussia in the city of Stettin (now the Polish city of Szczecin) on May 2, 1729, and died in St. Petersburg on November 17, 1796. German by birth, she moved to Russia in 1744, adopted Orthodoxy, and was married to the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich - the future emperor Peter III. The Empress ascended the throne as a result of a palace coup, which was organized with the support of the Orlov brothers, Ekaterina Dashkova, Grigory Potemkin and her close associates.

The era of the reign of Catherine the Great is often called the “golden age” of the Russian nobility. The Empress ruled the country in accordance with the ideas of the Enlightenment, in foreign and domestic policy, continuing the line of Peter I.

Catherine II carried out many reforms aimed at Europeanization of the country - weakened the influence of the church, contributed to the promotion of tolerance, the development of industry and commerce.

The time of Catherine was marked by the prosperity of the humanities. Under her rule, Denis Fonvizin, Gavriil Derzhavin, Alexander Radishchev, the historian Nikolay Karamzin and other figures who had a great influence on the development of Russian historiography and literature lived and worked in Russia. The Empress made a great contribution to education - among other things, she opened the first university for women in Russia - the Educational Society of Noble Maidens, which later became the Smolny Institute.

Under Catherine the Great, the Russian Empire strengthened prestige among the European powers. The territory of the country during its reign was greatly expanded — the Empire participated in the division of the Commonwealth, the lands of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in the Northern Black Sea region, as well as the territories in the North Caucasus were attached to it. In addition, under Catherine II, there was an active process of developing Chukotka, Alaska and the lands adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.