History of Russia deficit required borrowing, primarily from Amsterdam; five percent of the budget was allocated to debt payments. Paper money was issued to pay for expensive wars, thus causing inflation. For its spending, Russia obtained a large and glorious army, a very large and complex bureaucracy, and a splendid court that rivaled Paris and London. However, the government was living far beyond its means, and 18th-century Russia remained "a poor, backward, overwhelmingly agricultural, and illiterate country." Peter I was succeeded by his second wife, Catherine I (1725–1727), who was merely a figurehead for a powerful group of high officials, then by his
Catherine the Great (TV series) At the moment the crew is working on scenarios of the second and third season. They will tell the life of the Empress from 1762 to 1775 and from 1775 to 1796, respectively. The second season was expected to be finished in 2016. Catherine the Great (TV series) Catherine The Great is a 2015 Russian television series starring Yuliya Snigir as Catherine the Great. It was scheduled to premiere in late 2015 on Channel One Russia. The history of Catherine the Great from the moment she arrived in Russia as the new bride of Peter III and her ascent to