In 1762 as a result of another palace revolution, the Emperor Peter III was dethroned and his wife Catherine II became the Empress. During her rule, as a result of three partitions of Poland, Russia acquired territory in Byelorussia and Ukraine, and the biggest Jewish community in Europe became subjects of the Russian Empire.
The Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791) finally strengthened the position of Russia on the Black Sea. The vast territories of Novorossia and Crimea joined the Empire. The area of the country expanded to 17 million square kilometers, with a population of twenty eight million people. Many new cities such as Odessa, Ekaterinburg, Novorossiysk, Ekaterinoslav, and others were founded. The size of the urban population grew considerably, as industry and trade were rapidly developing.
Catherine's epoch was marked by increased exploitation of serfs, which resulted in numerous peasant revolts. The uprisings were severely repressed. The biggest of these uprisings was the peasant war led by Yemelian Pugachov (1773-1775). The Pugachov Rebellion became a turning point in Catherine's reign. Her policy became openly reactionary with extreme suppression of civil liberties.
After the death of Catherine II, her son Paul I ascended to the throne on November 6, 1796. Paul, following the advice of his favorites Arakcheev and Kutaisov, changed many of Catherine's policies. He began his reign by reestablishing the rights declared by his father Peter III, dethroned as a result of a conspiracy more than 30 years ago. In 1797 Paul put into place a law on succession to the throne, which stated the order of ascension for the first time in Russian history. From this moment on, only direct male descendants of the Emperor could be crowned, and the Empresses could only be regents while the heir was underage.
Paul signed a decree on reducing the "corvee" (head tax) in order to make the life of peasants a little bit easier, and avoid new peasant uprisings.
The European war against the French revolution gave Paul I the possibility to consolidate his position on the world scene. In coalition with England and Austria he participated in the war against the French Republic. In 1799 the Russian Army led by Alexander Suvorov carried out victorious campaigns against the Italian Principalities and Switzerland. Later, because of disagreements with the allies, Paul changed Russian foreign policy, broke commercial links with England and started negotiations with France. From the very beginning of his rule Paul was afraid of conspiracies, hoping to avoid a repetition of what had happened to his father. But Paul's domestic policy caused resentment among the nobility, and on March 11, 1801 he was strangled by his own officers in St. Michael's Castle.
The reign of Paul I ended with the last palace revolution in Russian history.