Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №6. The Death of the Young Emperor

Watch "Secrets of Palace Coups: The Death of the Young Emperor" (2003) online on iFILM — the sixth chapter in Svetlana Druzhinina's historical cycle about 18th-century Russia. Moscow is preparing for the betrothal of Peter II and Catherine Dolgorukaya. Before the celebrations begin, their secret plan to flee Russia has already been discovered and crushed.

Millesimo is beaten; Catherine is locked away. At the engagement ceremony she drops the ring, and the court reads it as a fatal omen. They are right. Peter II, worn thin by relentless hunting and repeated nervous shocks, falls gravely ill — while the Dolgoruky clan keeps the news buried for as long as possible. The darkest instalment in the series, it traces the unravelling of a reign that never had a real chance. Stream the full film on iFILM.