L'Impératrice rouge

Young Princess Sophia of Germany is taken to Russia to marry the half-wit Grand Duke Peter, son of the Empress, whose domineering will seeks to strengthen the royal bloodline. Though she dislikes her husband, Sophia grows fond of Russia and its soldiers and dutifully produces a son of questionable fatherhood that draws no concern. After the old empress dies, Sophia engineers a coup d'etat with military aid, does away with Peter, and becomes Catherine the Great.