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) 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 the Russian throne. Nearly 20 years of palace intrigues, conspiracies, the struggle for power and personal dramas. Filming was completed from December 2013 to August 2014 in Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast (including Peter and Paul Fortress, Constantine Palace, Gatchina, and Lenfilm Studios).