The Great: 10 Biggest Historical Inaccuracies

One of the best new shows of 2020 (so far) is The Great, a comedic drama somewhat loosely based on the events of the life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Her rise to power is a source of intrigue, as she became the sole ruler of Russia by staging a coup against her husband.

The series isn’t meant to be a super-accurate historical drama. Instead, it plays out more like a satire about the events of a real person. It’s entertaining, well-written, and well-acted, and it’s inspired an increased interest in the life of the real Catherine the Great. Here are ten historical inaccuracies from The Great.

10 Peter The Great

The Great‘s Emperor Peter is often tormented by his inability to live up to his father, Peter the Great. The show shuffles around much of the royal family’s lineage. Instead of being the father of Catherine’s husband, Peter the Great was, in reality, the young Peter’s grandfather. The choice to make the relationship closer highlights Peter’s issues with inadequacy, and his childlike bouts of rebellious belligerency.

9 Catherine’s Relationship To Peter

The Great portrays Catherine as an outsider, which she was in many ways, but neglects to mention her familial connection to Peter. Peter was her second cousin on her mother’s side, and came from a well-connected family. This information added to the advantageous aspect of the match. The two actually met when Catherine was 10 years old, and she strongly disliked Peter right away. In the show, Catherine knows nothing of the man she is going to marry, and is naively excited for an epic romance.

8 Aunt Elizabeth

In the show, Catherine meets Peter’s Aunt Elizabeth on their wedding night. She introduces herself as the younger sister of Peter’s deceased mother, the former Empress of Russia. In real life, Elizabeth was the reigning Empress at the time of Catherine’s arrival in Russia and subsequent marriage to Peter. The show chooses to make Peter’s mother the last Empress, in order to play up Peter’s mommy-issues for humor.

7 Catherine’s Mother

Catherine’s mother was more involved in her life, at least when she initially came to Russia, than the show would suggest. In fact, Catherine’s mother had such a supposedly overbearing influence that she made an enemy of Empress Elizabeth, who liked Catherine but not her mother. The Great omits Catherine’s mother altogether. Instead, it has Catherine completely on her own, emphasizing her resourcefulness and outsider status.

6 Marriage To Peter

Catherine’s marriage to Peter did not take place as quickly as the show would suggest. In real life, it was nearly a year from the time she arrived in Russia until the two were married. On the show, their wedding takes place the night of Catherine’s arrival at the palace. This keeps the plot moving along more quickly.

5 Leo Voronsky

When it’s clear that Catherine and Peter are not destined to have any sort of real love between them, Peter arranges for Catherine to take a lover. He brings in Leo Voronsky, with whom she enters into an affair.

The real Catherine’s first extramarital lover was Sergei Saltykov, who was already a married man when the affair began. The real Peter was not so cavalier about his wife’s infidelity; it’s said that he punished Sergei’s family when he discovered his relationship to his wife. Catherine went on to have at least two more notable affairs after Sergei, but never remarried after Peter’s death.

4 Orlov

In both the series and real life, Orlov is one of the masterminds of the coup that replaced Peter with Catherine. The similarities seem to end there. The real Catherine and Orlov had an affair after her relationship with Sergei ended. There seems to be nothing romantic between Catherine and Orlov in the show, but since her relationship with Leo seems to have ended as of the season 1 finale, anything could happen in season 2.

3 Pregnancy

One of the main storylines in season 1 of The Great is the relationship struggles between Catherine and Peter. The two have a difficult time conceiving (due in part to Catherine’s efforts not to become pregnant with Peter’s child). The real Catherine and Peter had a son and a daughter before the coup was carried out, although Catherine often suggested that Sergei was the real father of her first born.

2 Emperor Peter

The first episode of The Great gets the story moving right along, having the marriage between Catherine and Peter occur instantly, and having Peter already be the Emperor of Russia when she arrives. In reality, Peter didn’t become Emperor until the death of his Aunt Elizabeth in 1762, 18 years after Catherine’s arrival and marriage to Peter. The accelerated events of the show prevent concerns about actor’s being the wrong age to play certain roles, and move the plot along much more effectively.

1 The Coup

Since Peter hadn’t become Emperor until nearly 20 years after their wedding, the coup did not take place the same year Catherine came to live in Russia, as the show suggests. When the coup was carried out, Peter and Catherine were living separately. The choice to have them living in the same palace when the coup was carried out ramps up the tension for the audience, as the concealment of the plan becomes more tenuous.

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