The Great is loosely based on Catherine the Great who was Empress of Russia from 1762-1796.  Elle Fanning who you might know her as Aurora in Maleficent, plays Catherine. This show would always say "An Occasional True Story," so I like the honestly that they are not completely factura and because of that when there is something weird, I didn't know I would look it up to see if it's true or not. Because of this show I learned a lot about Catherine the Great and I think Russia was better than when she was ruling then how Russia is now. It is true that Catherine and Peter hated each other and in real life Catherine had her husband kidnapped and then murdered. They had a son together name Paul, but we don't know if he is really Peter's son or a son that came out of an affair that Catherine had. It is true that, Peter for whatever reason didn't like beards and ordered men to shave. It is true that she is the reason we have a vaccine for Smallpox. She actually injected herself with the virus that was very risky since she was an Empress, but she succeeded, and it showed how brave she was. It was true that when she was pregnant, she had peca and would eat dirt and other things people don't eat. It was because we didn't know any better back then and we were often low in important nutrients we needed. 

Catherine the Great was the only ruler that wasn't just an Empress by marriage, but she was also an Empress in her own right and her people loved her.  She did live up to the title of great. She was also German, not Russian. 

https://youtu.be/r1-OC_4cx_o