n.
Russian Pavel Petrovich
born Oct. 1, 1754, St. Petersburg, Russia
died March 23, 1801, St. Petersburg
Tsar of Russia (17961801).
He was the son of Peter III and Catherine II , whom he succeeded as emperor in 1796. He reversed many of Catherine's policies, strengthened the autocracy, and established the law of succession within the male line of the Romanov dynasty . He provoked the hostility of the nobles and the army with his tyrannical rule and capricious foreign policy, which drew Russia into war with France. In a plot by the nobles to depose him and place his son Alexander (later Alexander I ) on the throne, Paul was assassinated.