I drank coffee and fell in the corridor": How Catherine II really died Catherine II died on November 6, 1796 in the Winter Palace. Contrary to myths about death on the throne or in the bathroom, everything was different: on the morning of November 5, the empress drank coffee and fell down a narrow corridor, losing consciousness. The cause is a massive stroke. The agony lasted about 36 hours, she never regained consciousness. An autopsy confirmed apoplexy. The version about the rupture of the bladder refers to Anna Yovanovna and only later "sneaked" to Catherine. Myths were spread by bad people. What else did the autopsy show and where did the legends come from is told in AiF.

I drank coffee and fell in the corridor": How Catherine II really died Catherine II died on November 6, 1796 in the Winter Palace. Contrary to myths about death on the throne or in the bathroom, everything was different: on the morning of November 5, the empress drank coffee and fell down a narrow corridor, losing consciousness. The cause is a massive stroke. The agony lasted about 36 hours, she never regained consciousness. An autopsy confirmed apoplexy. The version about the rupture of the bladder refers to Anna Yovanovna and only later "sneaked" to Catherine. Myths were spread by bad people. What else did the autopsy show and where did the legends come from is told in AiF.