Catherine's son, Paul I, assumed the throne in 1796.
Like Peter III, Paul exhibited a manic love of all
things military, drilling his troops incessantly and
even becoming Grand Poobah of the Knights of Malta.
His unpredictability and paranoia made him both
feared and hated by the court, and in 1801 he was
deposed by guard officers and disaffected courtiers
with the tacit agreement of his eldest son,
Alexander. During the coup Paul was accidently killed
by the intoxicated conspirators.
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