Paul I (Russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич; Pavel Petrovich) (1 October [O.S. 20 September] 1754 – 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1801) reigned as Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III (reigned January to July 1762) (whom he resembled physically and by character) and of Catherine the Great (reigned 1762–96), though Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her lover Sergei Saltykov, who also had Romanov blood, being a descendant of the first Romanov Tsar's sister, Tatiana Feodorovna Romanova.

Paul remained overshadowed by his mother for much of his life. His reign lasted five years, ending with his assassination by conspirators. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne - rules that lasted until the end of the Romanov dynasty and of the Russian Empire.

He became de facto Grand Master of the Order of Hospitallers, and ordered the construction of a number of Maltese thrones (as of 2016^[update] on display in the State Hermitage Museum, Gatchina Palace and the Kremlin Armoury).

Paul was born in the Palace of Empress Elizabeth in Saint Petersburg. He was the son of the Grand Duchess Catherine, later Empress Catherine the Great, who was the wife of Elizabeth's heir and nephew, the Grand Duke Peter, later Emperor Peter III.

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