SUMMARY:

Andrei Skorobogatov addresses the figure of Paul I, one of the most controversial monarch of the Russian eighteenth century. Apart from the psychological drama that forced Paul to denounce his mother's rule, the author argues that the symbolism of the Paul’s “scenario of power” focused on legitimacy and hereditary power, which was characteristic of the Muscovite period rather than imperial. Paul's interest in the Muscovite doctrine of Filofei led to intensified attention to matters of spirituality. The identification of the monarch and the sacred was also reflected in the attempts of Paul to intervene in the spiritual life and to promote spiritual orders in Russia.