"There is no place more boring and magnificent than the court of the Russian emperor." This is how foreign ambassadors wrote about the imperial court at the beginning of the 19th century. Luxurious and brilliant, living according to strict laws, the whole world inside the royal palace was accessible only to a select few. Here everything went according to the ceremonial: the order of greetings and serving dishes, smiles and small talk. But, as you know, nothing human is alien to the powers that be.