Russian history? Well no, not exactly.

When the young Princess Catherine of France is taken to marry the half-wit Grant Duke Peter, she is transformed from sweet innocent abroad to the very apogee of Russian demagoguery.

As she learns the ways of the world, she survives her disastrous marriage to become Catherine the Great.
A wild satire on power, The Great is a comedy on love and punishment, how to grab power and keep it while raising children, dragging Russia into enlightenment and trying to get laid.