Overview: Catherine the Great's reign marked Russia's cultural and territorial expansion, including annexing Crimea and partitioning Poland. She settled Novorossiya and welcomed European migrants, but distanced herself from liberalism after the French Revolution. Her son Paul's rule, though marked by military successes against France, ended in his assassination. Alexander I introduced reforms and faced Napoleon's invasion in 1812, which ended disastrously for the French. Alexander also expanded into Finland, the Caucasus, and the Balkans, and became King of Poland.