In the whole of Russian history, there have been a mere handful of men to earn the nickname "the great".
But there has only ever been one woman.
Catherine the Great was an empress who defied both her circumstances and the opinions of those around her to shape an entire era.
Born into a minor German family in the first half of the 18th Century, she found herself thrust into the spotlight when she married Peter III of Russia aged only 16.
But rather than being a pushover, Catherine used her position to grab the imperial crown for herself.
Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, Catherine's reign spanned global conflicts in revolutions, uprisings, and royal assassinations.
But she never lost sight of her goal: to forge a modern Russia from the ideals of the Enlightenment.
A philosopher empress to some, an amoral, sex-obsessed harlot to others, this is the life of one of Russia's greatest rulers.
To say Catherine the Great's path to the throne was an unlikely one is a little bit like saying Siberia gets a touch chilly in winter.
At the moment she was born Sophie Friederike Auguste on May 2, 1729, the likelihood of Catherine becoming ruler of Russia was up there with me one-day becoming emperor of Japan.
