Catherine's era attracted and continues to attract the attention of historians, novelists, and artists. It especially vividly and intricately intertwined the characteristic features of the eighteenth century - broad state plans and favoritism, the flowering of sciences and arts and court intrigues. This was the time of Saltychikha’s fanaticism and the exploits of Rumyantsev and Suvorov, the time of the violent elements of the Pugachev era...