原田明絵5.7

【原田明絵】

Plotoftheseries:Intheseries“CatherineSeason4Favorites,”thereignoftheGreatEmpressofRussia,CatherineAlekseevnaII,continues.Theeventstakeplacein1779,whenthequeenhasbeenonthethroneforseventeenyearsandhasreachedthepeakofhergreatness.Herfamespreadnotonlytoneighboringcountries,butthroughoutEurope.Suchanicknameas“Great”wasassignedtoherbythehighsocietyofEurope,thankstotheeffortsoftheinfluentialPrincessDashkova,whowasalwaysdevotedtoCatherineII.Uponreturningfromabroad,CatherineIIishelpedbytheruler’smainassociate,EkaterinaRomanovnaDashkova.Meanwhile,herhusbandmentionedintheseries,PrinceGrigoryAlexandrovichPotemkin,remaininginsecondplaceintheState,isnolongerherfavorite.Newfavoritesappearoneafteranother,buttheyareallundertheclosesupervisionofPotemkin.Noneofthenewfavoritescanmaintaintheirpositionforlong.Catherineplaysatlove,exaltingherselftothepointthatnomandeserveshertruelove.However,theheartdoesnotobeythemind.YounghandsomeAlexanderLanskoywontheheartofthequeen,butultimatelybrokeit.Despitethestormyloveaffairs,CatherinetheSecondisnotdistractedforaminutefromstateaffairs.Thetimecomeswhenyouhavetothinkabouttheheirtothethrone.DespitethefactthattheEmpresshasason,PavelPetrovich,whoisthemainlegalheirtotheRussianthrone,Catherinedoesnotconsiderhimaworthysuccessor.Shedecidestomakehergrandson,Alexander,herheir.PavelisdeterminedandreadytofightforhislegitimaterightstothethroneofRussia.AnewfightfortheRussianthronebegins.Theseventeen-yearreignofCatherineIIwasmarkedbyherpowerfulinfluenceonbothdomesticandforeignpolicyofRussia.Shetookactivestepstomodernizethecountry,absorbingforeignachievementsandpractices.ThereformsofCatherineIIwereaimedatstrengtheningthestateandincreasingitsinfluenceinEurope.Shealsoactivelypursuedforeignpolicy,expandingtheterritoryoftheRussianEmpireandimprovingthearmyandnavy.Atthesametime,intrigueandpoliticalmanipulationoftenaccompaniedthelifeofCatherineII.Shedividedhertimebetweengovernmentaffairsandherpersonallife,inwhichloveaffairsandpassionsplayedasignificantrole.CatherineIIwasknownforheraffairswithvariousmen,includingstatesmenandforeigndiplomats.Thenewfightforthethrone,describedintheseries"CatherineSeason4’sFavorites",representsadramaticturnfortheempire.Theheirtothethrone,PavelPetrovich,isfacedwithachoice-tofightforhislegacyortocometotermswithhisgrandmother’sdecision.Hegathersaroundhimselfsupportersandforcesreadytosupporthisclaims.Russia’sfatelargelydependsontheoutcomeofthispowerstruggle.Thus,theseries“CatherineSeason4Favorites”presentsafascinatinghistoricaldramainwhichloveintrigues,politicalmanipulationsandthestruggleforpowerareintertwined.Itallowsustolookintothelifeofoneofthemostmagnificentwomeninhistoryandseehowherdecisionsandactionsinfluencedthefateofthestateandherownfamily.