Catherine the Great - was she as magnificent as her moniker suggests? Was she a reforming pioneer of a burgeoning empire, or an expansionist who reneged on promises to free the serfs? A radical empowerer of women, or a husband murderer with a proclivity for the equine? Rajiv Karia, Amy Matthews and Ray Badran join Russell Kane in the Russian palace of Evil Genius to find out.

Additional Material: Eve Delaney
Researcher: Christina Riggs
Sound Editor: Kate Mac
Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Executive Producer: Paul Smith

The Producer was Gwyn Rhys Davies. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.