Watch Movies2Watch. Catherine II always knew that her successor would not be her son Pavel, but her beloved grandson Aleksandr. From his earliest years, he was brought up as a future ruler - in strict discipline and with a brilliant education. Having finally become emperor, Aleksandr intended to continue the reforms of his predecessors - to abolish serfdom and introduce a constitution. But at the beginning of the 19th century, a war broke out between two great empires - France and Russia. Aleksandr had to go through a thorny path from brilliant reforms to the Patriotic War.