Image from saint-petersburg.com . Engraving by Jean-Jaques Outhwaite. On March 11, 1801, Czar Paul I was assassinated. The son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, Paul I ruled Russia from 1796 until his death in 1801. From a young age, Paul was fascinated with the military and enjoyed drilling troops. When he ascended to the throne in 1796, Czar Paul I issued a Prussian style military drill manual that incorporated strict discipline and the use of violence to enforce correct behaviors. He also introduced several strict and outrageous rules, such as a 10 p.m. curfew in major cities, the banning of sideburns, as well as all things French, and the prohibition of the waltz, among several others. All in all, Paul I was a reactionary ruler who enforced strict rulings and...