
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (
[A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.]) was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman, and
favourite
A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...
of
Catherine the Great
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
. He died during negotiations over the
Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
that he had overseen.
Potemkin was born into a family of middle-income landowners of
Russian nobility
The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...
. He first attracted Catherine's favor for helping in her 1762 coup, then distinguished himself as a military commander in the
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). He became Catherine's lover, favorite and possibly her consort. After their passion cooled, he remained her lifelong friend and favored statesman. Catherine obtained for him the title of
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and gave him the title of
Prince of the Russian Empire among many others: he was both a
Grand Admiral and the head of all of Russia's land and
irregular forces. Potemkin's achievements include the peaceful
annexation
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...
of the
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
(1783) and the successful second
Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), during which the armed forces under his command
besieged Ochakov.
In 1775, Potemkin became the governor-general of Russia's new southern provinces. An absolute ruler, he worked to colonize the wild
steppes, controversially dealing firmly with the
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
who lived there. He founded the towns of
Kherson
Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...
,
Nikolayev,
Sevastopol, and
Yekaterinoslav. Ports in the region became bases for his new
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
.
His rule in the south is associated with the (probably mythical) "
Potemkin village", a ruse involving the construction of painted façades to mimic real villages, full of happy, well-fed people, for visiting officials to see. Potemkin was known for his love of women, gambling and material wealth. He oversaw the construction of many historically significant buildings, including the
Tauride Palace in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
.
Biography
Early life
A distant relative of the Muscovite diplomat
Pyotr Potemkin (1617–1700), Grigory was born in the village of Chizhovo near
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow.
First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
into a family of middle-income noble landowners.
His father,
Alexander Potemkin (1673–1746), was a decorated war veteran. His mother Daria Vasilievna
Kondyreva (1704–1780) was "good-looking, capable and intelligent", though their marriage proved ultimately unhappy.
Potemkin received his first name in honour of his father's cousin Grigory Matveevich Kizlovsky, a civil servant who became his
godfather. Historian
Simon Sebag Montefiore has suggested that Kizlovsky fathered Potemkin, who became the centre of attention, heir to the village and the only son among six children. As the son of an (albeit petty) noble family, he grew up with the expectation that he would serve the Russian Empire.
After Alexander died in 1746, Daria took charge of the family. In order to achieve a career for her son, and aided by Kizlovsky, the family moved to Moscow, where Potemkin enrolled at a
gymnasium school attached to the
University of Moscow. The young Potemkin became adept at languages and interested in the
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
. He enlisted in the army in 1750 at age eleven, in accordance with the custom of noble children. In 1755 a second inspection placed him in the élite
Horse Guards regiment.
Having graduated from the university school, Potemkin became one of the first students to enroll at the university itself. Talented in both Greek and
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
, he won the university's gold medal in 1757 and became part of a twelve-student delegation sent to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
later that year. The trip seems to have affected Potemkin: afterwards he studied little and was soon expelled.
Faced with isolation from his family, he rejoined the Guards, where he excelled.
At this time his net worth amounted to 430 souls (
serfs), equivalent to that of the poorer gentry. His time was taken up with "drinking, gambling, and promiscuous lovemaking", and he fell deep in debt.
Grigory Orlov, one of Catherine's lovers, led a palace coup in June 1762 that ousted the Emperor
Peter III and enthroned Catherine II. Sergeant Potemkin represented his regiment in the revolt. Allegedly, as Catherine reviewed her troops in front of the
Winter Palace before their march to the
Peterhof, she lacked a
sword-knot (or possibly hat plumage), which Potemkin quickly supplied. Potemkin's horse then appeared to refuse to leave her side for several minutes before Potemkin and the horse returned to the ranks.
After the coup, Catherine singled out Potemkin for reward and ensured his promotion to second lieutenant. Though Potemkin was among those guarding the ex-
Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
, it appears that he had no direct involvement in Peter's murder in July. Catherine promoted him again to ''
Kammerjunker'' (gentleman of the bedchamber), though he retained his post in the Guards. Potemkin was soon formally presented to the Empress as a talented mimic; his imitation of her was well received.
Courtier and general
Although Catherine had not yet taken Potemkin as a lover, it seems likely that she passively—if not actively—encouraged his flirtatious behaviour, including his regular practice of kissing her hand and declaring his love for her: without encouragement, Potemkin could have expected trouble from the Orlovs (Catherine's lover Grigory and his four brothers) who dominated court. Potemkin entered Catherine's circle of advisers, and in 1762 took his only foreign assignment, to Sweden, bearing news of the coup. On his return, he was appointed
Procurator, and won a reputation as a lover. Under unclear circumstances, Potemkin then lost his left eye and fell into a depression. According to legend, Grigory and
Alexei Orlov invited Potemkin to a friendly game of
billiards, then attacked him with their cues "for flirting with Catherine",
resulting in Potemkin's eye being damaged during the brawl; the wound then turned septic "after being mistreated by a quack physician".
Other sources claim that Potemkin's eye was struck by a ball "during a tennis match".
According to
Simon Sebag Montefiore, the cause of the damage was most likely just "an infection."
His confidence shattered, Potemkin withdrew from court, becoming something of a
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
.
Eighteen months later, Potemkin reappeared, probably summoned by Catherine. Upon his return, "the man once known as
Alcibiades
Alcibiades (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...
for his wit and beauty was re-nicknamed '
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
'."
He became an army
paymaster and oversaw uniform production. Shortly thereafter, he became a Guardian of Exotic Peoples at the new
All-Russian Legislative Commission, a significant political post. In September 1768, Potemkin became ''
Kammerherr'' (chamberlain). Two months later Catherine had his military commission revoked, fully attaching him to court. In the interval, the Ottoman Empire had started the
Russo-Turkish War of 1768 to 1774 and Potemkin was eager to prove himself, writing to Catherine:
Potemkin served as Major-General of the
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
. He distinguished himself in his first engagement, helping to repulse a band of unruly
Tatar and Turkish horsemen. He fought in Russia's victory at the Battle of Kamenets and the taking of
the town. Potemkin saw action virtually every day, particularly excelling at the Battle of Prashkovsky, after which his commander
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Golitsyn recommended him to Catherine. Potemkin's army, under
Pyotr Rumyantsev, continued its advance. Potemkin fought at the capture of Jurja, a display of courage and skill for which he received the
Order of St. Anna. At the
Battle of Larga, he won the
Order of St. George, third class, and fought well during the rout of the main Turkish force that followed. On leave to St. Petersburg, the Empress invited him to dine with her more than ten times.
Back at the front, Potemkin won more military acclaim, but then fell ill; rejecting medicine, he recovered only slowly. After a lull in hostilities in 1772 his movements are unclear, but it seems that he returned to St. Petersburg where he is recorded, perhaps apocryphally, to have been one of Catherine's closest advisers. Though Orlov was replaced as her favourite, it was not Potemkin who benefited.
Alexander Vasilchikov, another Horse-Guardsman, replaced Orlov as the queen's lover. Potemkin returned to war in 1773 as Lieutenant-General to fight in
Silistria, participating in the
siege of the city. It appears that Catherine missed him, and that Potemkin took a December letter from her as a summons. In any case Potemkin returned to St. Petersburg as a war hero.
Favorite of Catherine II

Potemkin returned to court in January 1774 expecting to walk into Catherine's arms. The political situation, however, had become complex.
Yemelyan Pugachev had just arisen as a pretender to the throne, and commanded a rebel army thirty thousand strong. In addition, Catherine's son
Paul turned eighteen and began to gain his own support. By late January Potemkin had tired of the impasse and effected (perhaps with encouragement from Catherine) a "melodramatic retreat" into the
Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Catherine relented and had Potemkin brought back in early February 1774, when their relationship became intimate.
Several weeks later he had usurped Vasilchikov as Catherine's
favorite,
and was given the title of
Adjutant General.
When Catherine's friend
Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm objected to Vasilchikov's dismissal, she wrote back to him, "Why do you reproach me because I dismiss a well-meaning but extremely boring bourgeois in favour of one of the greatest, the most comical and amusing, characters of this iron century?" His uncouth behavior shocked the court, but Potemkin showed himself capable of suitable formality when necessary.
The frequent letters the pair sent to each other survive, revealing their affair to be one of "laughter, sex, mutually admired intelligence, and power". Many of their trysts seem to have centered around the
''banya'' sauna in the basement of the Winter Palace;
Potemkin soon grew so jealous that Catherine had to detail her prior love-life for him.
Potemkin also rose in political stature, particularly on the strength of his military advice.
In March 1774 he became Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Preobrazhensky Guards, a post previously held by Alexei Orlov. He also became captain of the
Chevaliers-Gardes from 1784.
In quick succession he won appointment as Governor-General of
Novorossiya
Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...
, as a member of the
State Council, as
General-in-Chief, as vice-president of the
College of War and as Commander-in-Chief of the Cossacks. These posts made him rich, and he lived lavishly. To improve his social standing he was awarded the prestigious
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and
Order of St. Andrew, along with the Polish
Order of the White Eagle, the Prussian
Order of the Black Eagle, the Danish
Order of the Elephant
The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...
and the Swedish
Royal Order of the Seraphim.
That Catherine and Potemkin married is "almost certain", according to Simon Sebag Montefiore, although biographer Virginia Rounding has expressed some doubts.
In December 1784 Catherine first explicitly referred to Potemkin as her husband in correspondence, though 1775, 1784 and 1791 have all been suggested as possible
nuptial dates. In all, Catherine's phrasing in 22 letters suggested he had become her
consort __NOTOC__
Consort may refer to:
Music
* "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses''
* Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles
* Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
, at least secretly.
Potemkin's actions and her treatment of him later in life fit with this: the two at least acted as husband and wife.
By late 1775, their relationship was changing, though it is uncertain exactly when Catherine took a secretary,
Pyotr Zavadovsky, as a lover. On 2 January 1776, Zavadovsky became Adjutant-General to the Empress (he became her official favorite in May) and Potemkin moved to command the St. Petersburg troop division. Signs of a potential "golden adieu" for Potemkin include his 1776 appointment, at Catherine's request, to the title of
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.
Though he was "bored" with Catherine, the separation was relatively peaceful. The Prince was sent on a tour to
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
, but, contrary to the expectations of some onlookers (though not Catherine's), he returned a few weeks later. He then snubbed her gift of the
Anichkov Palace, and took new apartments in the
Winter Palace, retaining his posts. Though no longer Catherine's favorite, he remained her favored minister.
Though the love affair appeared to end, Catherine and Potemkin maintained a particularly close friendship, which continued to dominate their lives. Most of the time this meant a love triangle in the court between the pair and Catherine's latest swain. The favorite had a high-pressure position: after Zavadovsky came
Semyon Zorich (May 1777 to May 1778),
Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov (May 1778 to late 1778),
Alexander Lanskoy (1780–1784),
Alexander Yermolov (1785–1786),
Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov (1786–1789) and
Platon Zubov (1789–1796). Potemkin checked candidates for their suitability; it also appears that he tended to the relationships and "filled in" between favorites. Potemkin also arranged for Catherine to walk in on Rimsky-Korsakov in a compromising position with another woman. During Catherine's (comparatively) long relationship with Lanskoy, Potemkin was particularly able to turn his attentions to other matters. He embarked upon a long series of other romances, including with his own nieces, one of whom may have borne him a child.
Diplomat
Potemkin's first task during this period was foreign policy. An
Anglophile, he helped negotiate with the English ambassador,
Sir James Harris, during Catherine's initiative of
Armed Neutrality, though the south remained his passion. His plan, known as the ''
Greek Project'', aspired to build a new
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
around the Turkish capital in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.
Dismembering the Ottoman Empire would require
détente with Austria (technically still the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
), and its ruler
Joseph II. They met in May 1780 in the Russian town of
Mogilev
Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...
.
The ensuing alliance represented the triumph of Potemkin's approach over courtiers such as Catherine's son Paul, who favored alliance with
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. The May 1781 defensive treaty remained secret for almost two years; the Ottomans were said to still have been unaware of it even when they declared war on Russia in 1787.

Elsewhere, Potemkin's scheme to develop a Russian presence in the rapidly disintegrating state of
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
failed. Plans for a full-scale invasion had previously been cut back and a small unit sent to establish a trading post there was quickly turned away. Potemkin focused instead on Russia's southern provinces, where he was busy founding cities (including Sevastopol) and creating his own personal kingdom, including his brand new
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
. That kingdom was about to expand: under the
Treaty of Kuçuk Kainarji, which had ended the previous Russo-Turkish war, the
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...
had become independent, though effectively under Russian control. In June 1782 it was descending again into
anarchy.
By July 1783, Potemkin had engineered the peaceful annexation of Crimea and
Kuban, capitalizing on the fact that Britain and France were fighting elsewhere. The
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti accepted Russian protection a few days later with the
Treaty of Georgievsk searching for protection against Persia's aim to reestablish its suzerainty over Georgia; the
Karabakh Khanate of Persia initially looked as though it might also, but eventually declined Russian help. Exhausted, Potemkin collapsed into a fever he barely survived. Catherine rewarded him with one hundred thousand roubles, which he used to construct the
Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg.
Governor-General and city builder

Potemkin returned to St. Petersburg in November 1783 and was promoted to Field Marshal when Crimea was formally annexed the following February. He also became President of the College of War. The province of
Taurida (Crimea) was added to the state of
Novorossiya
Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...
(lit. ''New Russia''). Potemkin moved south in mid-March, as the "Prince of Taurida" or "Potemkin-Tauricheski". He had been the ''
namestnik
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
'' of Russia's southern provinces (including Novorossiya,
Azov,
Saratov
Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...
,
Astrakhan
Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
and the Caucasus) since 1774, repeatedly expanding the domain via military action. He kept his own court, which rivalled Catherine's: by the 1780s he operated a chancellery with fifty or more clerks and had his own minister,
Vasili Popov, to oversee day-to-day affairs. Another favored associate was Mikhail Faleev.
The "criminal" breaking of the
Cossack hosts, particularly the
Zaporozhian Cossacks in 1775, helped define his rule. However, Montefiore argues that given their location, and in the wake of the
Pugachev rebellion, the Cossacks were likely doomed in any case.
By the time of Potemkin's death, the Cossacks and their threat of anarchic revolt were well controlled. Among the
Zaporizhian Cossacks he was known as ''Hrytsko Nechesa''.
Builder
Potemkin then embarked on a period of city-founding. Construction started at his first effort,
Kherson
Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...
, in 1778, as a base for a new
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
he intended to build.
Potemkin approved every plan himself, but construction was slow, and the city proved costly and vulnerable to
plague. Next was the port of Akhtiar, annexed with Crimea, which became
Sevastopol. Then he built
Simferopol
Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...
as the Crimean capital. His biggest failure, however, was his effort to build the city of Yekaterinoslav (), now the city of
Dnipro
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
.
[A previous town with the same founded in 1775 but in a badly chosen location was duly renamed Novomskovsk.] The second most successful city of Potemkin's rule was Nikolayev (now
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...
), which he founded in 1789.
Potemkin also initiated the redesign of
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
after its capture from the Turks; it was to turn out to be his greatest city planning triumph.
Potemkin's Black Sea Fleet was a massive undertaking for its time. By 1787, the British ambassador reported twenty-seven
ships of the line. It put Russia on a naval footing with Spain, though far behind the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
.
The period represented the peak of Russia's naval power relative to other European states. Potemkin also rewarded hundreds of thousands of settlers who moved into his territories. It is estimated that by 1782 the populations of Novorossiya and Azov had doubled
during a period of "exceptionally rapid" development. Immigrants included Russians, foreigners, British convicts
diverted from Australia, Cossacks and controversially
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
s. Though the immigrants were not always happy in their new surroundings, on at least one occasion Potemkin intervened directly to ensure families received the cattle to which they were entitled. Outside of Novorossiya he drew up the Azov-Mozdok defense line, constructing forts at
Georgievsk,
Stavropol and elsewhere and ensured that the whole of the line was settled.
In 1784 Alexander Lanskoy died and Potemkin was needed at court to console the grieving Catherine. After
Alexander Yermolov was installed as the new favorite in 1785, Catherine, Yermolov and Potemkin cruised the upper
Volga
The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...
. When Yermolov attempted to unseat Potemkin (and attracted support from Potemkin's critics), he found himself replaced by Count
Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov in the summer of 1786. Potemkin returned to the south, having arranged that Catherine would visit in the summer of 1787. She reached
Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
in late January, to travel down the
Dnieper
The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
after the ice had melted (see
Crimean journey of Catherine the Great). Potemkin had other lovers at this time, including a 'Countess' and a Naryshkina. Leaving in April, the royal party arrived in Kherson a month later. On visiting Sevastopol, Austria's Joseph II, who was traveling with them, was moved to note that "The Empress is totally ecstatic... Prince Potemkin is at the moment all-powerful".
"Potemkin village"
The notion of the
Potemkin village, coined in German by critical biographer Georg von Helbig as ', arose from
Catherine's visit to the south. Critics accused Potemkin of using painted
façade
A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face".
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...
s to fool Catherine into thinking that the area was far richer than it was. Thousands of peasants were alleged to have been stage-managed for this purpose. Certainly, Potemkin had arranged for Catherine to see the best he had to offer, organizing numerous exotic excursions, and at least two cities' officials concealed poverty by building false houses. It seems unlikely that the fraud approached the scale alleged. The
Prince of Ligne
Prince of Ligne is a title of Belgian nobility that belongs to the House of Ligne, which goes back to the eleventh century. It owes its name to the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belonged to the en ...
, a member of the Austrian delegation, who had explored on his own during the trip, later proclaimed the allegations to be false.
Commander-in-Chief

Potemkin remained in the south, gradually sinking into depression. His inactivity was problematic, given that he was now Russia's commander-in-chief and, in August 1787, another
Russo-Turkish war broke out, the second of Potemkin's lifetime. His opponents were anxious to reclaim the lands they had lost in the last war, and they were under pressure from Prussia, Britain and Sweden to take a hostile attitude towards Russia. Potemkin's bluster had probably contributed to the hostility, either deliberately or accidentally. Either way, his creation of the new fleet and Catherine's trip to the south had certainly not helped matters. In the center, Potemkin had his own Yekaterinoslav Army, while to the west lay the smaller Ukraine Army under the command of Field-Marshal
Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. On water he had the Black Sea Fleet, and Potemkin was also responsible for coordinating military actions with Russia's Austrian allies.
Potemkin and Catherine agreed on a primarily defensive strategy until the spring. Though the Turks were repelled in early skirmishes against the Russian fortress at
Kinburn, news of the loss of Potemkin's beloved fleet during a storm sent him into a deep depression. A week later, and after kind words from Catherine, he was rallied by the news that the fleet was not destroyed, but only damaged. General
Alexander Suvorov
Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire.
Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...
won an important
victory at Kinburn in early October. With winter now approaching, Potemkin was confident the port would be safe until the spring.
Turning his attention elsewhere, Potemkin established his headquarters in
Elisabethgrad and planned future operations. He assembled an army of forty or fifty thousand, including the newly formed
Kuban Cossacks. He divided his time between military preparation (creating a fleet of a hundred gunboats to fight within the shallow
liman) and chasing the wives of soldiers under his command. Meanwhile, the Austrians remained on the defensive across central Europe, though they did manage to hold their lines. Despite advice to the contrary, Potemkin pursued an equally defensive strategy, though in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
Generals Tekeeli and Pavel Potemkin were making some inroads.
In early summer 1788, fighting intensified as Potemkin's forces won their naval confrontation with the Turks with few losses, and began the
siege of Ochakov, a Turkish stronghold and the main Russian war aim. Less promising was that St. Petersburg, exposed after Russia's best forces departed for Crimea, was now under threat from Sweden in the
Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90. Potemkin refused to write regularly with news of the war in the south, compounding Catherine's anxiety.
Potemkin argued with Suvorov and Catherine herself, who were both anxious to assault Ochakov, which the Turks twice managed to supply by sea. Finally, on 6 December, the assault began and four hours later the city was taken, a coup for Potemkin. Nearly ten thousand Turks had been killed at a cost of (only) two-and-a-half thousand Russians.
Catherine wrote that "you
otemkinhave shut the mouths of everyone...
nd can nowshow magnanimity to your blind and empty-headed critics".
Potemkin then visited the naval yard at Vitovka, founded Nikolayev, and traveled on to St. Petersburg, arriving in February 1789.
In May he left once more for the front, having agreed on contingency plans with Catherine should Russia be forced into war with either Prussia or the upstart Poland, which had recently successfully demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory. (Catherine herself was just about to change favorites for the final time, replacing Dmitriev-Mamonov with
Platon Zubov.) Back on the Turkish front, Potemkin advanced towards the fortress of
Bender on the
Dniester
The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
river.
The summer and autumn of 1789 saw numerous victories against the Turks, including the
Battle of Focşani in July; in early September, the
Battle of Rymnik and the capture of both
Kaushany and
Hadjibey (modern-day Odesa); and finally the surrender of the Turkish fortress at
Akkerman in late September. The massive fortress at Bender surrendered in November without a fight.
[Under the terms of the surrender, the garrison was allowed to leave unharmed, but three hundred guns were captured by the Russians in the process.] Potemkin opened up a lavish court at
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, the capital of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
, to "winter like a sultan, revel in his mistresses, build his towns, create his regiments—and negotiate peace with
he Turks.. he was emperor of all he surveyed". Potemkin even established a newspaper, ''Le Courrier de Moldavie''. His preferred lover at the time—though he had others—was Praskovia Potemkina, an affair which continued into 1790. Potemkin renamed two ships in her honor. As part of the diplomatic machinations, Potemkin was given the new title of "Grand
Hetman of the Black Sea and Yekaterinoslav Cossack Hosts" and in March he assumed personal control of the Black Sea fleet as Grand Admiral.
In July 1790, the Russian Baltic Fleet was defeated by the Swedish at the
Battle of Svensksund. Despite the damage, the silver lining for the Russians was that the Swedes now felt able to negotiate on an even footing and a peace was soon signed (Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790) based on the ''
status quo ante bellum'', thus ending the threat of invasion.
The peace also freed up military resources for the war against the Turks. Potemkin had moved his ever more lavish court to Bender and there were soon more successes against Turkey, including the capture of
Batal-Pasha and, on the second attempt, of
Kiliya on the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. By the end of November, only one major target remained: the Turkish fortress of
Izmail
Izmail (, ; ; , or ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion, one of seven distr ...
. At Potemkin's request, General Suvorov commanded the assault, which proved to be costly but effective. The victory was commemorated by Russia's first, albeit unofficial, national anthem, "
Let the thunder of victory sound!", written by
Gavrila Derzhavin and
Osip Kozlovsky.
After two years, he returned to St. Petersburg to face the threat of war against an Anglo-Prussian coalition in addition to the war with Turkey. His return was widely celebrated with the "Carnival of Prince Potemkin". The Prince came across as polite and charming though his latest mistress, Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, appeared sidelined,
[Dolgorukaya was soon replaced by a new mistress, Sophie (de) Witte (nicknamed "The Beautiful Greek"), who was renowned in the courts of Europe at that time and had an accommodating husband.] and Potemkin found himself embroiled in court intrigue whilst trying to force Zubov out. Catherine and Potemkin fought over military strategy; the Empress wanted no compromise, while Potemkin wanted to buy time by appeasing the Prussians.
Fortunately for the Russians, the Anglo-Prussian alliance collapsed and a British ultimatum that Russia should accept the ''status quo ante bellum'' was withdrawn. In this way, the threat of a wider war receded.
Though Russia was still at war with the Ottomans, Potemkin's focus was now Poland. Potemkin had conservative allies including
Felix Potocki, whose schemes were so diverse that they have yet to be fully untangled. For example, one idea was for Potemkin to declare himself king.
Success on the Turkish front continued, mostly attributable to Potemkin. He now had the opportunity to confront the Turks and dictate a peace, but that would mean leaving Catherine. His procrastination soured Catherine's attitude towards him, a situation compounded by Potemkin's choice of the married Princess Paskovia Adreevna Golitsyna (née Shuvalova) as his latest mistress. In the end, Potemkin was given the requisite authority to negotiate with the Turks (and, afterwards, to pursue his Polish ambitions), and dispatched by Catherine back to the south. She sent a note after him, reading "Goodbye my friend, I kiss you".
Death

Potemkin fell ill in the fever-ridden city of
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
, then often known as Jassy in English, although he kept busy, overseeing peace talks,
[The talks, which were continued by Catherine's secretary and foreign minister Alexander Bezborodko, led to the Treaty of Jassy, in which Russia annexed a significant amount of land from the Ottomans.] planning his assault on Poland, and preparing the army for renewed war in the south. He fasted briefly and recovered some strength, but refused medicine and began to feast once again, consuming a "ham, a salted goose and three or four chickens". On , he felt better and dictated a letter to Catherine before collapsing once more. Later, he awoke and dispatched his entourage to Nikolayev. On Potemkin died in the open
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
, 60 km from Iași. Picking up on contemporary rumor, historians such as the Polish
Jerzy Łojek have suggested that he was
poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
ed because his madness made him a liability,
but this is rejected by Montefiore, who suggests he succumbed to
bronchial pneumonia instead.
Potemkin was embalmed, and a funeral was held for him in Iași. Eight days after his death, he was buried. Catherine was distraught and ordered social life in St. Petersburg be put on hold.
Derzhavin's ode ''Waterfall'' lamented Potemkin's death. Likewise many in the military establishment had looked upon Potemkin as a father figure and were especially saddened by his demise.
Polish contemporary
Stanisław Małachowski claimed that
Aleksandra von Engelhardt, a niece of Potemkin's and the wife of
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki, a magnate and prominent leader of the
Targowica Confederation, worried for the fate of Poland after the death of the man who had planned to revitalise the Polish state with himself as its new head.
Potemkin had used the state treasury as a personal bank, preventing the resolution of his financial affairs to this day. Catherine purchased the
Tauride Palace and his art collection from his estate, and paid off his debts. Consequently, he left a relative fortune.
Catherine's son Paul, who succeeded to the throne in 1796, attempted to undo as many of Potemkin's reforms as possible. The Tauride Palace was turned into a barracks, and the city of
Gregoripol, which had been named in Potemkin's honor, was renamed.
Potemkin's grave survived a destruction order issued by Paul and was eventually displayed by the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
. His remains appeared to lie in his tomb at
St. Catherine's Cathedral in
Kherson
Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...
. The exact whereabouts of some of his internal organs, including his heart and brain first kept at
Golia Monastery in Iași, remain unknown. Pro-Russian officials during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
said that his remains were taken from his tomb and transported to Russia.
This was the ninth time that Potemkin's remains were moved.
Personality and reputation
Potemkin "exuded both menace and welcome"; he was arrogant, demanding of his courtiers, and very changeable in his moods, but also fascinating, warm, and kind. It was generally agreed among his female companions that he was "amply endowed with 'sex appeal'".
Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur described him as "colossal like Russia", "an inconceivable mixture of grandeur and pettiness, laziness and activity, bravery and timidity, ambition and insouciance". The internal contrast was evident throughout his life: he frequented both church and numerous
orgies, for example. In Ségur's view, onlookers had a tendency to unjustly attribute to Catherine alone the successes of the period and to Potemkin the failures. An eccentric workaholic, Potemkin was vain and a great lover of jewelry (a taste he did not always remember to pay for), but he disliked
sycophancy and was sensitive about his appearance, particularly his lost eye. He only agreed to have portraits made of him twice, in 1784 and again in 1791, both times by
Johann Baptist von Lampi and from an angle which disguised his injury.
Potemkin was often noted for his uncouth behavior, most notably his unscrupulous sexual liaisons and biting his nails. Potemkin's nail-biting was so persistent that it was frequently noticed by courtiers and guests, and resulted in
hangnail.
It is possible that Potemkin was affected by
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
. His highs and lows, his inability to follow through on his ideas, his material and sexual excesses, his impulsive whims, his energy and lethargy, and his depressive spells suggest some kind of bipolar disorder. In a time that was not aware of mental illness, Potemkin, and the people in his life such as Catherine, suffered from this lack of understanding.
Potemkin was an intellectual. The
Prince of Ligne
Prince of Ligne is a title of Belgian nobility that belongs to the House of Ligne, which goes back to the eleventh century. It owes its name to the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belonged to the en ...
noted that Potemkin had "natural abilities
ndan excellent memory". He was interested in history, generally knowledgeable, and loved the classical music of the period, as well as opera. He liked all food, both peasant and fine, his favorites included roast beef and potatoes, and his anglophilia meant that English gardens were prepared wherever he went.
A practical politician, his political ideas were "quintessentially Russian", and he believed in the superiority of the
Tsarist autocracy
Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority an ...
. He once described the
French revolutionaries as "a pack of madmen".
One evening, at the height of his power, Potemkin declared to his dinner guests:
Ultimately, Potemkin proved a controversial figure. Criticisms include "laziness,
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
, debauchery, indecision, extravagance, falsification, military incompetence, and disinformation on a vast scale", but supporters hold that "the sybaritism
evotion to luxuryand extravagance... are truly justified", stressing Potemkin's "intelligence, force of personality, spectacular vision, courage, generosity and great achievements".
Although not a military genius, he was "seriously able" in military matters.
Potemkin's contemporary Ségur was quick to criticise, writing that "nobody thought out a plan more swiftly
han Potemkin carried it out more slowly and abandoned it more easily". Another contemporary, the Scotsman
Sir John Sinclair, added that Potemkin had "great abilities" but was ultimately a "worthless and dangerous character".
Russian opponents such as
Semyon Vorontsov
Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow; ; 9 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Vorontsov family. He resided in Britain for the last 47 years of his life, from 1785 until his death in 1832, during which time he was the ...
agreed: the Prince had "lots of intelligence, intrigue and credit", but lacked "knowledge, application and virtue".
Family

Potemkin had no legitimate descendants, though it is probable he had illegitimate issue.
Elizabeth Temkina was the once-alleged daughter of Catherine the Great and Grigory Potemkin.
Four of his five sisters lived long enough to bear children,
[ Appendix: The Inner Family of Prince Potemkin including Favourite Nieces and Nephews] but only the daughters of his sister Marfa Elena (sometimes rendered as 'Helen') received Potemkin's special attention. The five unmarried
Engelhardt sisters arrived in court in 1775 on the direction of their recently widowed father Vassily. Legend suggests Potemkin soon seduced many of the girls, one of whom was twelve or thirteen at the time. An affair with the third eldest, Varvara, can be verified; after that had subsided, Potemkin formed close—and probably amorous—relationships successively with Alexandra, the second eldest, and Ekaterina, the fifth.
Potemkin also had influential relatives. Potemkin's sister Maria, for example, married Russian senator
Nikolay Samoylov: their son
Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
was decorated for his service under Potemkin in the army; their daughter Ekaterina married first into the Raevsky family, and then the wealthy landowner Lev Davydov. She had children with both husbands, including highly decorated General
Nikolay Raevsky, Potemkin's great-nephew.
His wider family included several distant cousins, among them Count
Pavel Potemkin, another decorated military figure, whose brother Mikhail married Potemkin's niece
Tatiana Engelhardt. A distant nephew,
Felix Yusupov, helped murder
Rasputin in 1916.
Legacy
Despite attempts by Paul I to play down Potemkin's role in Russian history, his name found its way into numerous items of common parlance:
*A century after Potemkin's death, the
Battleship ''Potemkin'' was named in his honour. The ship became famous for its involvement in the
Russian Revolution of 1905 and subsequent dramatization in ''
Battleship Potemkin'', a Soviet movie by
Sergey Eisenstein, which at one point was named the greatest film of all time.
*The name of the giant seaside staircase in
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
, featured in ''
The Battleship Potemkin'', eventually became known as the
Potemkin Stairs.
* The phrase ''
Potemkin village'' entered common usage in Russia and globally, despite its fictional origin.
* The Grigory Potemkin Republican Cadet Corps is a specialized institution in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Transnistria that is named after the Russian prince.
Notes
Footnotes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Smith, Douglas (ed. and tr.), ''Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin'' (DeKalb, Northern Illinois University Press, 2004).
*
External links
Douglas Smith, ''Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin''*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potemkin, Grigori Alexandrovich
1739 births
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