The most unpredictable Russian Emperor, Paul I, reigned from November 7, 1796 to March 11, 1801. He believed that the previous government had destroyed the state and that it was his duty to restore order in the country. He took decisive measures to combat corruption, inflation, and the impoverishment of the people, but with his actions he alienated the government elite and a significant part of the guards generals... In this book, along with the story of the life of the fatal emperor, many plots of the political history of the 18th century are presented. Among the main characters are Paul's parents Catherine II and Peter III, his wives Natalya Alekseevna and Maria Feodorovna, empresses Anna Ioannovna and Elisaveta Petrovna, court ladies E.I. Nelidova and A.P. Lopukhina, famous government officials: A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, N. I. Panin, G. G. Orlov, G. A. Potemkin, F. V. Rostopchin.