History of Russia (1721–96) mounting financial difficulties and Elizabeth's death in 1762. Her nephew and successor, Peter III (grandson of Peter I), took Russia out of the war. Peter III reigned for a mere six months before his wife, Catherine II, led a coup against him. He was born and raised in Germany in the court of his father, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and did not come to live in Russia until he was fourteen. It is difficult to ascertain his character because there exist many contradictory accounts. Catherine's journals describe him as incompetent bordering on retarded, yet his acts as emperor illustrate a
Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia except on Easter day. She died in the Novodevichy Convent six years later. She was fictionally portrayed in Chinese novelist Jin Yong's novel "The Deer and the Cauldron" in which the young protagonist Wei Xiaobao went to Russia and helped her lead the coup against her half-brother Peter I. It was suggested that this event led to the peace between the Qing Empire and Russia in the Nerchinsk Treaty. Vanessa Redgrave portrayed the character of Sophia Alekseyevna in the 1986 miniseries "Peter the Great". Her performance received an Emmy award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries. Sophia Alekseyevna