Paul I of Russia

Paul I (1 October [O.S. 20 September] 1754 - 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1801) was the Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination on 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1801. Officially, he was Peter III and Catherine the Great's only son, but Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her lover Sergei Saltykov. For the majority of his life, Paul was overshadowed by his mother. He established the Russian throne succession laws, which lasted until the end of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire. He also intervened in the French Revolutionary Wars and, near the end of his reign, added Kartli and Kakheti in Eastern Georgia to the empire, which his son and successor Alexander I confirmed. .

From 1799 to 1801, he was de facto Grand Master of the Order of Hospitallers and oversaw the construction of several Maltese thrones. Paul's pro-German sympathies and unpredictable behavior made him unpopular among the Russian nobility, and he was assassinated in secret by his own officers.

Even though he was never officially canonized by any of the Orthodox Churches, there is evidence that Paul I was venerated as a saint among the Russian Orthodox population. Now he is among the most important historical figures in Russia.