Academy Potemkin Grigory Alexandrovich. Potemkin Grigory Alexandrovich

Source - Wikipedia

His Serene Highness Prince (c 1776) Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky (September 13 (24), 1739, the village of Chizhovo, Smolensk province - October 5 (16), 1791, on the way from Iasi near the village of Radeniy Veki, Principality of Moldova) - Russian statesman, creator Black Sea Military Fleet and its first commander-in-chief, Field Marshal General. He led the annexation to the Russian Empire and the initial structure of Novorossiya and Crimea, where he owned colossal land plots. He founded a number of cities, including the modern regional centers of Dnepropetrovsk (1776), Kherson (1778), Sevastopol (1783), Nikolaev (1789). He rose to prominence as a favorite (rumored to be even the morganatic spouse) of Catherine II. The first owner of the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. In 1784 he was awarded the rank of Field Marshal.

Born into the family of an average Smolensk nobleman from the Potemkin family, on the Chizhevo estate (now Dukhovshchinsky district, Smolensk region) and his second wife Daria Vasilievna (1704-1780), née Kondyreva, in his first marriage to the landowner Skuratov, after the rise of his son, from January 1776 year, state lady). He lost his father early, Alexander Vasilyevich Potemkin (1673-1746), who retired as a major, and was raised by his mother in Moscow, where he attended the educational institution of Johann-Philipp Litke in the German settlement.
Potemkin showed curiosity and ambition from childhood. Having entered Moscow University in 1755, a year later he was awarded a gold medal for success in science, and in July 1757, among the best 12 students sent to St. Petersburg at the invitation of I. I. Shuvalov, he was introduced to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 1760 he was expelled from Moscow University, at the same time as Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov, formally for “laziness and not going to class.”
Potemkin's military service began in absentia. On May 30 (June 10), 1755, he was enrolled simultaneously in Moscow University and in the Horse Guards as a reiter with permission not to appear in the regiment until he graduated. On August 15 (26), 1757, he was promoted to corporal of the horse guards according to Shuvalov’s report, due to his knowledge of the Hellenic-Greek language and theology, and remained at Moscow University until he graduated from science. On December 31, 1758 (January 11, 1759), he was promoted to corporal and remained at the university. On July 19 (30), 1759, he was promoted to captain and remained at the university (the regiment received Potemkin’s oath to the rank of captain, sent from the university).
In 1761, Potemkin was promoted to sergeant of the Horse Guards and finally reported to the regiment for service. In March 1762, under Emperor Peter III, he was taken as an orderly to the Colonel of the Horse Guards, Field Marshal General, His Highness Prince Georg Ludwig, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.

While participating in the palace coup on June 28 (July 9), 1762, Potemkin attracted the attention of Empress Catherine II. He was nominated from the regiment, along with others, to be promoted from sergeant to cornet, but the Empress deigned to sign with her own hand, next to his name: “to be a second lieutenant.” On November 30 (December 11), 1762, he was appointed to the Court as a chamber cadet with retention in the regiment, with a chamber cadet's salary in addition to the regimental one, and received ownership of 400 souls of peasants. Biographical facts of subsequent years are known only in general terms. Anecdotes dating back to this time about Potemkin’s relationship with the empress and the Orlov brothers, as well as about his desire to become a monk, are unreliable. On August 13 (24), 1763, Potemkin became an assistant to the chief prosecutor of the synod, without leaving military service. On April 19 (30), 1765, he was promoted to lieutenant of the Horse Guards. In 1765, he performed the treasury position and was assigned to the regiment to supervise the sewing of newly built daily uniforms. On June 19 (30), 1766, after Captain Melgunov was sent on leave, he commanded the 9th company. In 1767, with two companies of his regiment, he was sent to Moscow during the commission on the “Code”. On September 22 (October 3), 1768, he was granted full-time chamberlains to His Imperial Majesty and remained in the regiment. November 11 (22), 1768, he was expelled from the regiment by the will of the Empress as being at the Court (he had the title of His Imperial Majesty full-time chamberlain and the rank of army general - major). In the commission of 1767, he was the guardian of the deputies from other faiths, being at the same time a member of the spiritual and civil commission, but he did not declare himself here, and in 1769 he volunteered for the Turkish war. He distinguished himself at Khotyn, successfully participated in the battles of Focsani, Larga and Cahul, defeated the Turks at Olta, burned Tsybry, and captured many Turkish ships. On July 27 (August 7), 1770, Major General Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class.
In 1770-1771 he was in St. Petersburg, where he asked permission to write to the Empress, but did not achieve much success. In 1774 he became lieutenant general. The Empress was already corresponding with him at that time and, in a handwritten letter, insisted that he should not risk his life in vain. A month after receiving this letter, Potemkin was already in St. Petersburg, where he was soon made adjutant general, lieutenant colonel of the Life Guards. Preobrazhensky Regiment and, according to reviews of foreign ambassadors, became “the most influential person in Russia.” According to some reports, in 1775 Potemkin and Catherine even entered into a secret morganatic marriage.
His participation in affairs at this time was expressed in the sending of reinforcements to Count Rumyantsev, in less restriction of the latter’s actions, in measures against Pugachev and in the destruction of the Zaporozhye Sich. Somewhat later, Potemkin was appointed “chief commander”, governor-general of the Novorossiysk region. By personal Highest decree, dated July 10 (21), 1775, General-in-Chief, Lieutenant Colonel of the Lieutenant-Guards. Preobrazhensky Regiment, Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was elevated, with his descendants, to the dignity of count of the Russian Empire and received a number of distinctions from abroad, where his influence very soon became known. The Danish minister, for example, asked him to help maintain Russia's friendship with Denmark. On November 26 (December 7), 1775, Chief General Count Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd class.

In December 1775, Zavadovsky was introduced to the empress by the favorite himself, after which her relationship with Potemkin cooled a little, but continued to be friendly. The rise of Alexander Ermolov in 1785 had little impact on Potemkin's position.
During all this time, there are a lot of facts testifying to the power that was in the hands of Potemkin. His correspondence with the Empress does not stop, the most important state papers pass through his hands, his travels are accompanied by “extraordinary honors,” and the Empress often gives him valuable gifts. As can be seen from Potemkin’s reports, he was especially interested in the issue of Russia’s southern borders and, in connection with this, the fate of Turkey. In a special note submitted to the empress, he outlined a whole plan for how to take possession of Crimea. This program, starting in 1776, was actually implemented. Potemkin was very interested in events in the Ottoman Empire and had his agents in many places on the Balkan Peninsula. Back in the 1770s, according to Gerris, he developed a “Greek project” that proposed destroying Turkey and placing the crown of the new Byzantine kingdom on one of the grandsons of Empress Catherine II.
In military affairs, Potemkin carried out some rational reforms, especially when, after the annexation of Crimea, he became a field marshal on February 2 (13), 1784. He destroyed the powder, braids and curls, and introduced light boots. There are, however, reviews that Potemkin’s negligence led the affairs of the military department to a chaotic state. Potemkin's extremely important task was the construction of a fleet on the Black Sea. The fleet was built very hastily, partly from unsuitable materials, but in the ensuing war with Turkey it provided significant services.

Potemkin's colonial activities were subject to many criticisms. Despite the enormous costs, she did not achieve even a remote semblance of what Potemkin painted in his letters to the empress. Nevertheless, impartial witnesses like Kirill Razumovsky, who visited Novorossiya in 1782, could not help but be surprised at what had been achieved. Kherson, founded in 1778, was already a significant city at that time; Ekaterinoslav was described as “built in stucco.” On the site of the former desert, which served as a path for Crimean raids, there were villages every 20 - 30 miles. The idea of ​​a university, a conservatory and dozens of factories in Yekaterinoslav remained unfulfilled. Potemkin failed to immediately create something significant from Nikolaev.
From the huge number of business papers and letters of the Potemkin office, which was in charge of Vasily Stepanovich Popov (his “right hand”), it is clear how multifaceted his activities in governing southern Russia were. But at the same time, there is a sense of feverish haste, self-delusion, boasting and the desire for overly difficult goals in everything. Inviting colonists, founding cities, planting forests and vineyards, encouraging sericulture, establishing schools, factories, printing houses, shipyards - all this was undertaken on an extremely large scale, on a large scale, and Potemkin did not spare money, labor, people, or himself. Much was started and abandoned, others remained on paper from the very beginning, only the most insignificant part of bold projects was realized.
In 1787, the famous journey of Catherine II to Crimea was undertaken, which turned into a triumph for Potemkin. The Amazon company, created by order of the prince, brought considerable pleasure to the empress; Kherson, with its fortress, surprised even foreigners, and the sight of the Sevastopol raid with a squadron of 15 large and 20 small ships was the most spectacular sight of the entire journey. When bidding farewell to the Empress in Kharkov, Potemkin received the honorary title of Tauride.

Many believe that during this trip Potemkin, who had not achieved much success in the administrative field, decided to present himself in a better light and staged the results of his activities - the so-called. "Potemkin villages" Leningrad scientist A.M. Panchenko proved that this is a myth. But a myth of a special kind. The fact is that at that time it was customary to decorate all court events lavishly. But the decorations were so luxurious that they even raised doubts about the reality of existence. And this could not only be Potemkin’s whim - after all, Catherine was accompanied by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II.

In 1787, a war began with Turkey, caused in part by the activities of Potemkin. The organizer of Novorossiya had to take on the role of commander. The lack of readiness of the troops was evident from the very beginning. Potemkin, on whom hopes were pinned that he would destroy Turkey, lost heart greatly and even thought about concessions, in particular, he proposed to withdraw all Russian troops from the recently conquered Crimea, which would inevitably lead to the capture of Crimea by Turkish troops. The Empress, in letters, had to repeatedly support his cheerfulness. Only after the capture of Khotin by Count Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, who was at that time in rivalry with him, Potemkin began to act more decisively and besieged Ochakov, which, however, was taken only a year later. The siege was not carried out vigorously; many soldiers died from disease, cold and lack of necessities.
After the capture of Ochakov, Potemkin returned to St. Petersburg, being honored in every possible way along the way. On December 16 (27), 1788, Field Marshal Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky was awarded the Order of St. George, 1st class. In St. Petersburg, he received generous awards and often had conversations with the empress about foreign policy. At this time he stood for compliance with Sweden and Prussia. Returning to the theater of war, he took care of replenishing the number of troops and slowly moved with the main mass of troops towards the Dniester, without participating in the operations of Repnin and Suvorov. Bendery, besieged by him, surrendered to him without bloodshed. In 1790, Potemkin received the title of Great Hetman of the Cossack Ekaterinoslav and Black Sea troops. He lived in Iasi, surrounded by Asian luxury and a crowd of servile servants, but did not stop corresponding with St. Petersburg and with his numerous agents abroad. He took the best possible care of food and staffing the army.
After Suvorov's new successes, in January 1791, Potemkin again asked permission to appear in St. Petersburg and arrived in the capital for the last time, where he considered his presence necessary in view of the rapid rise of the young favorite Zubov. Catherine wrote in the spring to Prince de Ligne:

Judging by the appearance of the field marshal, one might think that victories and successes are adornments. He returned from the army as beautiful as day, cheerful as a bird, brilliant as a luminary, wittier than ever; does not bite his nails and gives feasts one more brilliant than the other.

Three thousand dressed-up courtiers came to the Tauride Palace for a grand celebration on April 28 (May 9), 1791. In an allegorical form, the biblical story of Haman and Mordecai was unfolded before the empress, designed to warn her against the mistake of being carried away by the young helipad. Derzhavin composed in verse a detailed “Description of the celebration that took place on the occasion of the capture of the city of Izmail in the house of Field Marshal Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky 1791 on April 28.”
Despite all his efforts, the field marshal failed to achieve his goal - the removal of Zubov. Although the Empress still gave him the same share of participation in state affairs, her personal relationship with Potemkin changed for the worse. At her request, Potemkin had to leave the capital, where in four months he spent 850 thousand rubles on feasts, later paid from his office.

Upon returning to Iasi, Potemkin actively conducted peace negotiations, but illness prevented him from completing them. On October 5 (16), 1791, heading from Iasi to Nikolaev, Potemkin died of intermittent fever near the Moldavian village of Radeniy Veki. “That’s all,” he said, “there’s nowhere to go, I’m dying!” Take me out of the carriage: I want to die on the field!”
Catherine’s grief was very great: according to the testimony of the French commissioner Genet, “at this news she lost consciousness, blood rushed to her head, and they were forced to open the vein.” “Who can replace such a person? - she repeated to her secretary Khrapovitsky. “I and all of us are now like snails that are afraid to stick their heads out of their shells.” She wrote to Grimm: “Yesterday it hit me like a blow to the head... My student, my friend, one might say, an idol, Prince Potemkin of Tauride died... Oh, my God! Now I am truly my own helper. Again I need to train my people!..”

Potemkin's ashes were embalmed and buried in the Cathedral of St. Catherine in the Kherson fortress. Dressed in a ceremonial field marshal's uniform, His Serene Highness was laid in a double coffin: oak and lead. At the head of the prince they placed a miniature portrait of Catherine II, all strewn with diamonds. Soon after the death of the prince, the instructions of Catherine II were announced: “... The body of the late prince should be transferred to Kherson, and buried there with all the honors due to his degree and merit.” General Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin was appointed chief funeral director. On November 22, 1791, the funeral cortege arrived in Kherson.
On November 23, 1791, in the Kherson fortress, on Palace Square, in front of the cathedral, on a raised platform covered with brocade, the coffin of the Most Serene One, covered in pink velvet with sparkling gold braiding, was placed. To the right of the coffin there was a black marble board on which Potemkin’s merits were listed, to the left was the prince’s coat of arms. Generals, colonels and staff officers were on honorary duty at the coffin. On guard were soldiers of the Ekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment, the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and the Cuirassier Regiment of Prince Potemkin. At the moment the prince’s body was carried out, the troops formed a front on both sides of the procession. An 11-shot salvo of guns thundered, accompanied by the ringing of bells from all the temples of Kherson. At the beginning of the procession was a squadron of hussars and the cuirassier regiment of Prince Potemkin. Behind them, under the mournful beating of drums, one hundred and twenty soldiers with torches in black epanchas (cloaks) and hats with a black flair (black silk fabric that hides the face) came out into the square. Next came twenty-four chief officers in white uniforms, local nobles, generals, and clergy. Next came the officers carrying the field marshal's regalia: an icon donated by the empress, orders, the chamberlain's key, the hetman's mace and saber, a crown (a gift from Catherine II), a field marshal's baton, the Keyser flag and banners. The officers carried the coffin with the prince's body all the way to Catherine's Cathedral. Next came the drogs, covered with black velvet, drawn by eight horses, and Potemkin's ceremonial carriage, covered with black cloth. The procession was completed by a squadron of escort hussars. After the funeral service, artillery salvoes and three shots from rifles were heard. The coffin with the body of His Serene Highness was lowered into the crypt: “... on the 23rd day of this month, the body of the late His Serene Highness Prince in the Kherson Cathedral Church was interred with a proper ceremony, a decent burial place was chosen...”
The body of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky rested under the church floor on the right side of the pulpit. A lifting door was made in the floor through which they descended into the vault, where a lead coffin stood on a raised platform, and in front of it was an icon with a lamp burning in front of it. In 1798, by order of Emperor Paul, the embalmed body of G. A. Potemkin was, according to Orthodox custom, interred: “the whole body, without further publicity, in the same cellar was buried in a specially dug hole, and the cellar was covered with earth and smoothed out as if it had never happened.” The entrance to the crypt was closed in later years. The marble tombstone is in the same place, on the right side of the cathedral, in front of the pulpit; Every year, on Potemkin’s memorial day, a memorial service is held at his grave.

The Empress was greatly affected by Potemkin's death. Reviews about him, after death, as during life, were very different. Some called him the evil genius of Empress Catherine, the “prince of darkness” (German pamphlet novel of 1794 “Pansalvin, Fürst der Finsternis und seine Geliebte”), others - including Empress Catherine herself - a great and brilliant man. In any case, he was the most remarkable of Catherine’s contemporaries, undoubtedly a capable administrator, an active and energetic person, spoiled, however, by the side circumstances that gave him a high position, and therefore deprived of balance and the ability to balance his desires with reality. His undertakings in the south of Russia constitute his undoubted merit to his posterity. The cities he created still belong to the most important settlements in the south of Ukraine.
Potemkin showed a progressive view on national issues that was rare for that time. “Almost unique among Russian military and government officials, Potemkin was more than just tolerant of Jews: he studied their culture, enjoyed the company of their rabbis, and became their patron.” This conclusion was reached by the modern Cambridge historian Sebag-Montefiore, as well as a number of other historians (Dm. Feldman, F. Kandel, S. Dudakov).

Personal life
As is considered by some historians, the secret wedding of Catherine and Potemkin took place in 1774 (according to some sources, on June 8) in the no longer preserved Moscow Church of the Ascension at the Nikitsky Gate. However, few people believe that it was the empress who was the mother of the favorite’s illegitimate daughter, Elizaveta Grigorievna, who received the surname Tyomkin - with the first syllable dropped, as was customary.
After the cooling of feelings between him and Catherine Potemkin, as shocked contemporaries and foreign diplomats noted, he arranged his personal life as follows: inviting his nieces, the daughters of his sister Elena Engelhardt, to live in his palace, he “enlightened” them as they grew up, and then after some time he got married.
“The way in which Prince Potemkin patronizes his nieces,” the French envoy Corberon wrote to his homeland, “will give you an idea of ​​the state of morals in Russia.” (For more details, see Engelhardt, Ekaterina Vasilievna). Of his 6 nieces, 3 underwent such initiation:
Branitskaya, Alexandra Vasilievna
Varvara, married to Sergei Fedorovich Golitsyn
Engelhardt, Ekaterina Vasilievna
as well as Samoilova, Ekaterina Sergeevna, the wife of his nephew Alexander Samoilov

Heirs
The Empress granted Potemkin colossal land holdings in Novorossiya, which made him the richest man in Russia. His possessions were not inferior in size to the famous “Vishnevechina” of the 17th century. Since Potemkin had no legitimate children, after his death they were distributed among the numerous children of his sisters Samoilova, Vysotskaya and Engelhardt:
Alexander Nikolaevich Samoilov, biographer of his uncle, married to Ekaterina Sergeevna Trubetskoy
Nikolai Alexandrovich Samoilov, married to Yulia Pavlovna Palen (see below)
Sofya Aleksandrovna Samoilova, wife of Count Alexei Alekseevich Bobrinsky (grandson of Catherine II)
Ekaterina Nikolaevna Samoilova, 1st husband - Nikolai Semenovich Raevsky, 2nd husband - Lev Denisovich Davydov
Pyotr Lvovich Davydov, chamberlain, ancestor of the Orlov-Davydov counts
Alexander Lvovich Davydov, married to the daughter of the Duke de Gramont
Vasily Lvovich Davydov, Decembrist
Sofya Lvovna Davydova, wife of Andrei Mikhailovich Borozdin, Tauride governor
Maria Andreevna Borozdina, 1st husband - Decembrist Joseph Poggio, 2nd husband - General Alexander Gagarin
Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky, general, hero of the War of 1812
Nikolai Petrovich Vysotsky, one of Catherine II’s favorites, builder of the Sviblovo estate
Vasily Vasilievich Engelhardt
Ekaterina Vasilievna Engelhardt, wife of General Nikanor Mikhailovich Svechin
Pavel Vasilievich Engelhardt
Sergei Pavlovich Engelhardt, Mogilev governor
Pyotr Vasilievich Engelhardt
Alexandra Vasilievna Engelhardt, wife of Crown Hetman Xavier Branitsky
Vladislav Grigorievich Branitsky, Major General
Elizaveta Ksaverevna Branitskaya, wife of Prince M. S. Vorontsov
Ekaterina Ksaverevna Branitskaya, wife of Count Stanislav Pototsky
Varvara Vasilievna Engelhardt, wife of Prince Sergei Fedorovich Golitsyn
Grigory Sergeevich Golitsyn, Penza governor
Sergei Sergeevich Golitsyn, Major General
Alexander Sergeevich Golitsyn, Major General
Vasily Sergeevich Golitsyn, chamberlain, married to Elena Alexandrovna Suvorova
Vladimir Sergeevich Golitsyn, famous music lover, Major General
Ekaterina Vasilievna Engelhardt, 1st husband - Pavel Martynovich Skavronsky, 2nd husband - Count Julius Litta
Maria Pavlovna Skavronskaya, 1st husband - Pavel Petrovich Palen, 2nd husband - Count Adam Ozharovsky
Yulia Pavlovna Palen, married to Samoilov (see above)
Ekaterina Pavlovna Skavronskaya, wife of General Pyotr Bagration
Tatyana Vasilievna Engelhardt, 1st husband - Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin, 2nd husband - Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov
Alexander Mikhailovich Potemkin, St. Petersburg provincial leader of the nobility
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Potemkina, wife of Count Alexander Ivanovich Ribopierre
Prince Boris Nikolaevich Yusupov
Anna Vasilievna Engelhardt, wife of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zhukov, Astrakhan governor
Varvara Mikhailovna Zhukova, married to Olenina
Nadezhda Vasilievna Engelgardt, 1st husband - Colonel Pavel Alekseevich Izmailov, 2nd husband - General Pyotr Amplievich Shepelev

Positions, ranks, titles
Field Marshal General (from 1784); senator (since 1776); president of the State Military College (from 1784, vice-president in 1774-1784); commander-in-chief of the Russian armies in the south (from 1789), commander-in-chief of the Yekaterinoslav army (1787-1789); commander-in-chief of all regular and irregular light cavalry (from 1774) and the Don Army (from 1780); Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet and head of the Black Sea Admiralty Board (since 1785); Ekaterinoslav (from 1783), Tauride (from 1784) and Kharkov (from 1787) governor-general; Great Hetman of the Ekaterinoslav and Black Sea Cossack troops (since 1790); Adjutant General of Her Imperial Majesty (since 1774); actual chamberlain (since 1768); inspector general of troops (since 1780); Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment (from 1774); chief: Cavalry Corps (since 1784), Cuirassier own name (since 1776), St. Petersburg Dragoon (since 1790) and Ekaterinoslav Grenadier (since 1790) regiments; Supreme Head of the Armory Workshop (since 1778).
In the early 1780s, Potemkin’s full title was as follows: “Her Imperial Majesty the Autocrat of the All-Russian, My Most Gracious Empress General-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief of Her Imperial Majesty’s Land Forces in the Crimea and the Southern Russian Empire provinces located, fleets sailing in the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, all light cavalry, Don Army and all irregulars, State Military Collegium Vice-President, Ekaterinoslav, Astrakhan, Saratov Governor-General, Her Majesty Adjutant General, Acting Chamberlain, Cavalry Corps lieutenant, Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment lieutenant colonel, Novotroitsky Cuirassier Regiment Chief, inspector general over the troops, and the Russian orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, Military St. Great Martyr George and St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir - large crosses, Royal Prussian - Black Eagle, Danish - Elephant, Swedish - Seraphim, Polish - White Eagle and St. Stanislav and Grand Duke of Holstinsky - St. Anne - cavalier.”
At the request of the Russian Empress, by a charter from the Roman Emperor Joseph II, dated February 16 (27), 1776, General-in-Chief, Governor of the Astrakhan, Azov and Novorossiysk provinces, Lieutenant-Guards. Preobrazhensky regiment lieutenant colonel, actual chamberlain, Count Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was elevated, with his descendants, to the princely dignity of the Roman Empire, with the title of lordship. By the highest decree of April 20 (May 1), 1776, he was allowed to accept the said title and use it in Russia.
After Empress Catherine visited Kherson and Taurida in 1787, for the annexation of Taurida to the Russian Empire in 1783, by a personal Highest decree dated July 8 (19), 1787, His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin was granted the title of Tauride and was ordered to henceforth be called His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin-Tauride.

Awards
Russian:
Order of Saint Anne (1770)
Order of St. George, III degree (27.7.1770)
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1774)
Golden sword sprinkled with diamonds (07/10/1774)
Portrait of the Empress to be worn on the chest (07/10/1774)
Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (12/25/1774)
Order of St. George, 2nd class (11/26/1775)
Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree (09/22/1782)
Order of St. George, 1st class (12/16/1788)
foreign:
Order of the White Eagle (Rzeczpospolita)
Order of St. Stanislaus (Rzeczpospolita)
Order of the Black Eagle (Prussia)
Order of the Elephant (Denmark)
Order of the Seraphim with chain (Sweden, 04/29/1776)

Potemkin Grigory Alexandrovich (1739-1791), Russian statesman and military leader, His Serene Highness Prince of Tauride (1783), morganatic husband of Catherine II.

Born on September 24, 1739 in the village of Chizhov, Smolensk province, in the family of an army officer. After studying at the Moscow University gymnasium, he was enrolled in the Horse Guards; participated in the palace coup in June 1762, as a result of which Catherine II ascended the throne.

In need of reliable assistants, Catherine appreciated Potemkin’s energy and organizational skills. Immediately after the coup, she sent him on a diplomatic mission to Sweden. Then Grigory Alexandrovich took part in the secularization of church lands (1764); as a trustee of deputies from non-Russian nationalities, he worked in the Legislative Commission (1767).

After the start of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. Potemkin went to the theater of military operations as a volunteer - a volunteer. Commanding the cavalry, he distinguished himself in all major battles of the campaign and earned praise from Field Marshal P. A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky.

In 1774, Potemkin, summoned from the front by Catherine, became the empress's favorite. He was showered with favors and took the post of vice-president of the Military College. According to some reports, the Empress and Potemkin were secretly married in early 1775.

Over the next 17 years, Potemkin was the most powerful man in Russia. He carried out a number of reforms in the army: he introduced a new uniform, changed manning, achieved more humane treatment of officers with soldiers, and actually abolished corporal punishment (restored by Paul I).

Potemkin achieved the annexation of Crimea to Russia (1783), for which he received the title of His Serene Highness Prince of Tauride. Started building the Black Sea Fleet. Having been the governor-general of the Northern Black Sea region lands newly annexed to the state since 1775, Potemkin achieved noticeable success in their economic development. Under him, the cities of Sevastopol, Kherson, Yekaterinoslav, Nikolaev were built, and many other settlements, shipyards, plants and factories were founded. There was a massive migration of people to the southern lands.

As Governor General, Potemkin prohibited the extradition of fugitives from the territory of his governorship, where all settlers had the status of free state peasants. After the start of the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1791. commanded the Russian army, besieged and took the Ochakov fortress.

Potemkin's opponents at court spread rumors about his slowness and timidity as a commander. Later, military historians appreciated the innovations that His Serene Highness brought to the command and control of troops - in particular, he was the first Russian commander who led military operations on several fronts at once.

As a commander, Potemkin patronized A.V. Suvorov and F.F. Ushakov.

Portrait of Prince G.A. Potemkin.
Artist Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder.

Field Marshal General Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin is one of the major military and government figures in Russia. For a long time, the name of this man was the subject of debate among historians. There were a lot of lies and fables about him in the literature, the main emphasis was on his role as the favorite of Catherine II. Meanwhile, G.A. Potemkin was not only a commander, but also a skilled administrator and subtle politician. Not everyone knows that many of the progressive reforms carried out by Catherine II, aimed at strengthening the army and navy of the borders and raising the power of the Russian state, became possible only thanks to the will and energy of Potemkin, who stood at their origins.

He was one of the initiators and organizer of the annexation of Crimea, the founder of the cities: Ekaterinoslav (modern Dnepropetrovsk), Kherson, Sevastopol, Nikolaev. Thanks to him, the Black Sea Fleet was created.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was born on September 13 (24), 1739 in the village of Chizhovo, Smolensk province. His father died when the boy was 5 years old, and his mother took him to Moscow, where he was raised in the house of a relative G. M. Kislovsky, who was at that time the president of the Chamber College.

The extraordinary abilities of the future statesman appeared already during his studies at Moscow University. In 1756, he was awarded a gold medal for his success in science, and a year later he was elected one of the 12 most worthy students invited to St. Petersburg by Count I. I. Shuvalov to present to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

All this time, Potemkin, as was customary for young nobles, was considered to be in military service. Back in 1755, he was enrolled in the Horse Guards. After being expelled from Moscow University, Grigory Alexandrovich decided to devote himself to military service. He served in the Horse Guards, then as aide-de-camp to the Duke of Holstein. A short time later he was promoted to sergeant.

Participation in the coup d'etat on June 28 (July 9), 1762, as a result of which Catherine II ascended the throne, drew the attention of the Empress to Potemkin. He was granted 400 souls of peasants and the rank of guards second lieutenant. In 1768, Potemkin became a chamberlain and was expelled from the Horse Guards, “as if he were at court.”

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774. Potemkin participated in hostilities as a “volunteer”, where he distinguished himself in a number of major battles. Commanding a cavalry detachment operating in the vanguard of the corps of General A. A. Prozorovsky, Grigory Aleksandrovich on June 19 (30), 1769, participated in the defeat of the 20,000-strong Turkish corps advancing on Kamenets-Podolsk.

On July 2 (13) of the same year, “for his courage and experience in military affairs” near Khotyn, Potemkin received the rank of major general. The Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Army, Chief General A. M. Golitsyn, in a report addressed to the Empress, wrote: “I directly recommend to Your Majesty the courage and skill that Major General Potemkin showed in the matter, for our cavalry until now has not acted with such harmony and courage, as this time under the command of the above-mentioned major general.” Then, on August 29 (September 9), commanding a detachment of cavalry, he took part in the defeat of the vizier Moldovanzhi Pasha and the Crimean Khan.

Potemkin's military abilities were most clearly revealed in the campaign of 1770. A detachment under his command on January 3-4 (14-15) defeated a 10,000-strong Turkish corps at Focsani. At the same time, the losses of the Russian detachment amounted to 7 people killed and 37 wounded.

Potemkin also acted successfully in the battles of Brailov on January 18 (29), at Zhurzhi on February 4 (15), took part in the pursuit of the Turks who fled after their defeat at Ryabaya Mogila on June 17 (28), distinguished himself in the battles of Larga 7 (July 18), Kaluga on July 21 (August 1), covering the rear of P. A. Rumyantsev’s army from the 80,000-strong cavalry, participated in the occupation of Izmail.

P. A. Rumyantsev, in his report dated September 9 (20), 1770, reported about Potemkin to the Empress: “Your Majesty deigned to see how much Major General Potemkin participated in the actions with his zealous exploits. Not knowing what it was like to be motivated to do something, he himself sought out of his good will to be used everywhere. As much as this reason as another, that in all the places where we are waging war, he spoke with the notice and is able to give an explanation regarding our situation and the circumstances of this region, inclined me at the present end of the campaign to let him go to St. Petersburg for pleasure his requests to fall at the illuminated feet of Your Imperial Majesty."

In 1771 Potemkin was promoted to lieutenant general, and at the beginning of 1774 he was called up from the army to St. Petersburg. A new page opened in his life - an ascent to fame and power. The awards followed one after another. He was promoted to general-in-chief, granted adjutant general, appointed vice-president of the Military Collegium, became a member of the State Council, and was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Andrew the First-Called. Catherine II's personal favor and high position at court and in the state apparatus made Potemkin the most influential person in Russia.

In fact, directing the activities of the Military Collegium, Grigory Alexandrovich soon came to the conclusion about the need for military reforms in the army, both in the field of its organization, tactics, education and training of troops, and in its uniforms and weapons.

Since 1775, he began reforms in the infantry. He introduced a unified staff structure of units. The rangers began to be formed into separate battalions (since 1777) without artillery: the number of grenadiers was increased, and four-battalion musketeer regiments were formed. Moreover, the basis was based on the Rumyantsev principles of infantry design: the ability to carry out independent operations, the ability to make enhanced transitions, speed, stealth of movement, actions on rough terrain, accuracy of single fire.

In 1776, Potemkin was appointed Novorossiysk, Azov and Astrakhan, and from 1781, Saratov governor-general. He was in charge of all the fortifications of the Dnieper line. At the same time, he became the commander of all light cavalry and all irregular troops, as well as the commander of all troops located in the Astrakhan, Novorossiysk and Azov provinces.

Potemkin made a great contribution to the humanization of relationships within the army. His orders, instructions and other documents repeatedly pointed out to commanders and superiors the need for greater humanity towards their subordinates. “Gr. It was publicly announced to the officers,” said one of the orders, “that people should be treated with the utmost moderation, that they should try to ensure their benefits, that they should not exceed the prescribed limits in punishments, that they should treat them the way I do, for I love them like children.”

Potemkin demanded that the soldier be treated as a person, and not as an object “provided for by the article.” Thus, in one of his reports to Catherine II, he wrote: “Most Gracious Empress! I, being in all cases guided by the philanthropy glorified in the light of Your Imperial Majesty, made it an insurmountable rule for myself to conclude this review with the instructions of Messrs. regimental commanders, so that when training soldiers in everything before service ... that belongs, they avoid completely inhuman and customary beatings resulting from this, creating disgusting service, but with affection and ... having received from their subordinates full power of attorney, love and respect, they turned the service into a respectable and a pleasant exercise for them, thereby fulfilling both the direct benefit of the service and your philanthropic intention”...

However, Potemkin’s demands regarding a humane attitude towards soldiers and the suppression of assault in the army did not exclude compliance with military discipline. One of his orders said: “I ordered that the punishments be lighter, but if anyone dared to be disobeyed in front of the commander, I will punish him with the same punishment as death. Soldier is an honest name, by which even the first ranks are called. It is vile and vile for them to fall into sins.”

It was forbidden for commanders to use soldiers in private work under penalty of severe punishment. Potemkin monitored the correct supply of soldiers and demanded compliance with sanitary and hygienic rules.

In matters of training and education, he paid the main attention not to external brilliance, but to the combat readiness of the troops. In one of his directives, he wrote that all regiments should march smoothly, at ease, but not sluggishly, so that the march should not be feigned, but the most natural; people should be taught to close together and know the “divisions of parts”, such as platoons, divisions and other things, the ranks so that they are somewhat denser, they enter as quickly as possible, with a gun, so that they do it smoothly and evenly. Standing under a gun is more cheerful, not stiff, as was previously in fashion.

Potemkin sought to restore order and economy in the army. So, in 1786, his decree was issued, which determined all the expenses necessary for the army: for salaries of personnel, uniforms, repairs of weapons, for convoys, for the maintenance of horses, etc. The same decree indicated what amounts were allocated to various regiments. For example, an infantry regiment consisting of 4 battalions received 186 thousand rubles; cuirassier regiment of six squadrons - 161 thousand, light horse chasseurs - 160 thousand rubles.

Speaking about transformations in the military field, one cannot fail to note their versatility. Potemkin paid special attention to the Cossacks. Thus, he created the Ekaterinoslav and Black Sea Cossack troops, and a closer merger of the Don Army with the army took place. He formed regular regiments from the Cossacks and subjected them to the same laws of discipline that the army had, and taught them to act according to the rules of the regular army. The organization of the Cossack troops also began to take into account the general requirements of the army; the number of soldiers supplied by the Cossacks increased (from 4,000 - 5,000 thousand people to 10,000), and finally, the Cossack troops received a number of military distinctions.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was not only a commander, but also a major statesman and diplomat.

One of the most important tasks of Russian foreign policy in the second half of the 18th century. was the struggle for access to the Black Sea, the absence of which impeded the normal economic and political development of the country and made it difficult to organize its defense from enemy invasions.

Russia could not leave the mouths of the Don, Dnieper, Bug and the Kerch Strait in the hands of the Tatars who were engaged in robbery. The northern Black Sea region with the mouths of the Bug, Dnieper and Don rivers was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. This slowed down the economic development of the southern regions of Russia and disrupted its trade relations with other states. Crimea, although it was recognized as independent according to the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty, was still an obedient instrument in the hands of Turkey.

Potemkin, appointed governor-general of a number of regions, including Novorossiysk and Azov, bordering Crimea, understood the need to annex the peninsula to Russia.

Having taken control of the South of Russia, Potemkin took measures to ensure the security of the southern borders of the empire, strengthening the strength of troops in the newly acquired lands, building fortifications, and taking care of the colonization of the region. As can be seen from Potemkin's reports, he sought to convince the Empress of the need to annex Crimea to Russia. So, he wrote to her in 1782: “Crimea, with its position, is tearing apart our borders... Believe me, that with this acquisition you will receive immortal glory, and such as no sovereign in Russia has ever had. This glory will pave the way for dominion in the Black Sea; will block the Turks from us and feed them or starve them.”

As a result of complex military-diplomatic preparations, on April 8 (19), 1783, a manifesto was signed on the annexation of Crimea and Kuban to Russia. At the end of 1783, Türkiye was forced to recognize these changes. In June 1783, the population of Crimea took the oath to the Russian Empress. In 1784, Crimea became part of the Tauride region (since 1787 a province). On February 2 (13), 1784, Prince G. A. Potemkin, for his tireless work, was appointed president of the Military Collegium and promoted to field marshal general.

On February 10 (21), at the suggestion of Potemkin, an imperial decree was issued on the construction of new fortifications on the southern borders, among which the “great fortress of Sevastopol, where Akhtiyar is now and where there should be an Admiralty, a shipyard for first-rank ships, a port and a military village,” was to be built " Thus, Sevastopol officially became the main location of the Black Sea Fleet under construction, a commercial port and a fortress. The ships that left the stocks of Kherson were preparing to move to Sevastopol.

After the annexation of Crimea, Potemkin began administrative activities on the peninsula. The Tauride region was divided into seven districts, all Tatar princes and Murzas received the rights and benefits of the Russian nobility, the “Tauride National Army” was formed, which then successfully took part in the wars with Turkey.

Potemkin paid great attention to the development of the economic and cultural life of the newly annexed lands. Under his leadership, cities were built in the Crimea and near Azov, including Sevastopol, Yekaterinoslav, Mariupol, Nikolaev, etc.

Under the leadership of G. A. Potemkin, since 1779, intensive construction of the fleet on the Black Sea was carried out. On August 13 (24), 1785, the staff of the Black Sea Admiralty and Fleet were approved, directly subordinate to Potemkin, who received the Kaiser flag from the Empress. Just 2 years later, during the famous journey of Catherine II to Novorossiya (1787), a squadron of 15 large and 20 small ships stationed in the Sevastopol roadstead appeared before the eyes of the empress and her retinue. On June 8 (19), Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin received an honorary prefix to his surname, becoming Prince of Tauride.

Catherine II's trip to Crimea. Engraving by G. Probst

G. A. Potemkin was not only a talented administrator, but also a subtle politician. He understood perfectly well that the annexation of Crimea to Russia would inevitably lead to aggravation of relations with Turkey. Considerable merit belongs to him in concluding a military alliance with Austria, according to which the latter pledged to provide assistance to Russia in the event of a war with Turkey.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1787 - 1791. G. A. Potemkin first commanded the Yekaterinoslav Army, and then all the armed forces of the South of Russia. For the capture of Ochakov he received the Order of St. George 1st class, and in 1789 a field marshal's baton.

During the war, Potemkin had to not only command an army, but also manage a vast region. His duties included taking care of the food supply of the troops, arranging the passage of grain transports through the Polish lands, providing means of communication, being responsible for supplying the army, one wing of which was stationed on the Danube, the other in the foothills of the Caucasus, managing the actions of the newly created Black Sea Fleet, conducting diplomatic negotiations and much more.

In his letter to Catherine II dated May 19 (30), 1788, Potemkin rebuffs those who criticized his actions during this period: “Let someone else have the courage to repair a fleet completely broken by the weather, set up rowing ships that can go to sea, such many and completely re-form 16 battalions of infantry and 10 thousand completely new cavalry, create a large mobile store, supply the artillery with a terrible number of oxen, dodge otherwise - and all this in four months in the steppes, without sufficient apartments, and even more so on the Kinburn side, where it was too much to build houses for 10,000 people a week.”

In the campaign of 1789, both Russian armies were united into one under the overall command of G. A. Potemkin. Russian troops won one victory after another. They captured Akkerman, Bendery, won brilliant victories at Focsani, Rymnik, etc.

The Black Sea Fleet, created through the efforts of Potemkin, under the command of F. F. Ushakov, won resounding victories at Kerch, Tendra and Kaliakria, gaining complete dominance in the Black Sea.

Russian military historians rightly called this war, victorious for Russia, “Potemkin”. For the first time in Russian military history, he exercised strategic leadership of all armed forces and planned military campaigns directly in the theater of military operations. It was under him that national military geniuses, such as Suvorov and Ushakov, appeared in all their splendor. Many other talented commanders appeared: I.V. Gudovich, N.V. Repnin, I.I. Genrman, M.I. Kutuzov and others.

G. A. Potemkin developed a promising shipbuilding program on the Black Sea, but he failed to implement this and many of his other projects. On October 5 (16), 1791, in the steppe, on the road from Yassy to Nikolaev, he died before he could sign the Yassy Peace Treaty.

His death was a heavy blow for the Russians. Bishop Ambrose (Serebennikov) said in his funeral eulogy: “I, and those like me, lost in him the most merciful benefactor and leader; the army of the most humane Hero and Father; The Fatherland of the wise spreader of limits; The Church of the most zealous son and in the compartment of the decorator and representative; NUN of adviser, guardian, associate, friend.”

The Empress herself, having received news of the prince’s death, wrote to Baron F. Grim: “Again a terrible blow broke out over my head... Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky died in Moldavia from an illness that lasted a whole month... He was a man of high intelligence, rare intelligence and excellent hearts. He was philanthropic, very knowledgeable and extremely kind... During this war he showed amazing military talents: he had success everywhere - both on land and at sea. No one controlled him, but he himself was amazingly able to control others. In a word, he was a statesman: he knew how to give good advice, he knew how to carry it out...

He had qualities that were extremely rare and distinguished him from other people: he had a brave mind, a brave soul, a brave heart. Thanks to this, we always understood each other and did not pay attention to the talk of those who understood less than us. In my opinion, Prince Potemkin was a great man who did not accomplish even half of what he was able to do...”

Tombstone over the grave of G. A. Potemkin in the Kherson Cathedral

The name of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, with all the “efforts” of Russia’s enemies, took its rightful place in the pantheon of names of Russian heroes. In our centuries-old history, he was one of the great statesmen who laid down his life on the altar of the Fatherland.

Material prepared by the Research Institute
military history of the Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

Grigory Potemkin, whose biography and personal life we ​​will consider in the article, is an outstanding personality in the history of the Russian Empire, a favorite of Empress Catherine II. At the moment, there are a huge number of stories and myths that relate to the biography and personal life of Grigory Potemkin, some of them are true, others are not.

In fact, every person who is interested in the history of our state has more than once asked questions about how this person was able to earn a trusting relationship with the empress.

The statesman and outstanding commander was born into a family of nobles from the Potemkin family in 1739. Their family estate was located in the Smolensk region. Grigory Potemkin's father died when the boy was very young. His mother was involved in his upbringing. For many, the biography of Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin is interesting because he became the empress’s favorite and was one of the important persons at court. Of course, at that age he had absolutely no idea what could await him ahead; Gregory was destined for a military career, for which he was preparing.

To get an education, the mother and young Gregory went to Moscow. In this city, Potemkin attended an educational institution, which was located in the German settlement. Soon the young man entered the gymnasium at Moscow University. After graduating from this educational institution, he was accepted into the University itself.

Potemkin was a talented student. The study of all sciences was easy for him, so he was considered one of the best students of the University.

However, despite his outstanding academic success, Potemkin was still expelled. The relevant documents indicated that the young man missed classes at the educational institution.

Service

Like many nobles of that time, Potemkin chose to serve in the army. Having moved to St. Petersburg, he began serving in the Horse Guards. Potemkin moved quickly up the career ladder. This was due to the young man’s excellent physical fitness, endurance and hard work. After a short period of time, he rose to the rank of sergeant. His talent was noted more than once by his superiors, as the young guy was ready to go into battle at any moment to protect the interests of his state.

In 1762, a coup d'état took place in the Russian Empire. The Horse Guard, which included Gregory and Potemkin, supported the new Empress Catherine II. The new ruler generously distributed ranks to many guardsmen.

Potemkin was also promoted to rank, he became a second lieutenant of the guard. It was then that the biography and personal life of Grigory Potemkin began to interest many employees and those close to the empress. The young officer was also in a trusted circle, so he also received a high rank.

In 1769, Potemkin took part in hostilities during the Russian-Turkish War. Chief General Golitsyn, who led the troops, noted the courage and intelligence of the second lieutenant and granted him the rank of major general.

The next commander-in-chief, Rumyantsev, also did not ignore the outstanding guardsman. In key battles, he trusted Potemkin with the most important tasks, and the young major general did not let him down.

His guard was the first to break into captured fortresses and crush enemy troops. For military services, Potemkin was awarded the rank of general - second lieutenant, and was also awarded the Order of St. Anna and St. George.

The Empress's Favorite

During the Russian-Turkish War, Potemkin maintained an active correspondence with the Empress, who was delighted with the exploits of the guardsman. After arriving in St. Petersburg, Potemkin becomes Catherine's right hand and at the same time her favorite.

Some historical sources indicate that Potemkin and the empress got married, and in 1755 their common daughter Elizabeth was born. However, the girl had to live her whole life under a false name. Such measures were taken in order to avoid palace coups.

Grigory Potemkin was not only a brave warrior, but also a competent politician. Being the right hand of the empress, Potemkin began to develop the southern territories of the country. He becomes the governor of these lands and supervises the construction of new cities and facilities in this area. The statesman built Kherson and strengthened the fortress with a navy.

In addition, he is the first statesman who realized the importance of annexing the Crimean territory to Russia. Potemkin led the construction of Sevastopol and the formation of the Black Sea Fleet.

The favorite did not forget to support the empress. During the uprising of E. Pugachev, he led the actions of the army.

For public services, Potemkin was appointed President of the Military Collegium. Working in this high position, he tried to strengthen the domestic troops. This concerned not only the improvement of weapons, but also the uniforms and life of soldiers. Catherine II, delighted with the achievements of her favorite, bestowed upon him the title of “Prince of Tauride.”

The Tauride region at that time was called Crimea. We can say that this is exactly what a short biography of Grigory Potemkin looks like before the war. Subsequently, serious changes awaited him.

Soon the Russian-Turkish war began again. This time Potemkin fought not as an ordinary lieutenant, but as one of the commanders in chief. Potemkin's great achievement was the assault on the impregnable fortress of Ochakov. Near the destroyed fortress, Potemkin founded the city of Nikolaev, in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Together with his troops, he recaptured this strategically important facility. In honor of the commander, the empress organized a huge celebration and awarded the favorite with the Order of Nevsky.

Grigory Potemkin supported talented commanders. In particular, he trusted Suvorov with major military operations in which he was able to prove himself.

During Potemkin’s command, Admiral Ushakov was also able to prove himself. You can learn more about the personal life and biography of Grigory Potemkin on Wikipedia. His personality is of interest to many people, since the man became a prominent political figure.

last years of life

The wounds received during the two Russian-Turkish wars made themselves felt. Before peace was concluded with Turkey, Potemkin returned to St. Petersburg. My health was seriously compromised. He expressed a desire to go to Nikolaev, but during the journey the favorite became ill. He died before reaching Nikolaev.

The statesman, great military leader and favorite of the empress was solemnly buried in Kherson. Wikipedia has a lot of information about the biography of Grigory Potemkin, but there is nothing about his personal life. He devoted himself completely to the Russian state, and he did not do it in vain. Interest in Gregory's personality is entirely due to the fact that he was a favorite and an outstanding military leader.

Personal life

Historical sources are silent about this part of the biography of Grigory Potemkin. What is known is that they had a wedding with Empress Catherine II.

After which a daughter was born, but nothing more is known about her. She was given a completely different surname, and she did not live at court. Gregory's other relationships with women were not recorded in the historical record.

Potemkin-Tavrichesky, Prince Grigory Alexandrovich

28th Field Marshal General.

Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky, the son of a retired major who served in a garrison regiment, was born in the Smolensk province, Dukhovshchinsky district, in the small village of his father, Chizhov, in September 1736. It came from an ancient noble family that moved from Poland to Russia and became quite famous during Peter the Great’s childhood. [Among the ancestors of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich was the okolnichy Pyotr Ivanovich Potemkin, known for his embassies to Spain, France (1668 and 1680), England (1681) and Denmark. See about him in the fourth part of my Dictionary of memorable people of the Russian land, pp. 186-192.] Appointed to the clergy, Potemkin studied first at the Smolensk seminary, then sent to Moscow University. Here he attended professors’ lectures with great diligence, made rapid progress in the sciences, wishing - as he told his comrades - be sure to be a bishop or minister; received a gold medal (1756) and soon became bored with the uniform teaching, stopped going to university, was excluded from it [I saw in the briefcases of my late parent (burned in the Moscow fire of 1812) a sheet torn from Vedomosti, in which it was printed, among others expelled from the university for not walking, Name Grigory Potemkin. - "Do you remember, - Prince Tauride later said to Professor Barsov during the time of his glory and power, - how did you kick me out of university?" - “Your Lordship deserved it then,” answered his former mentor], addressed only the monks, talking in the Zaikonospassky and Greek monasteries about the dogmas of the faith. It seemed like a young man gifted by nature with colossal height, courageous beauty, a quick mind, and memory extraordinary, he prepared himself to wear a miter: the opposite turned out. His ambitious disposition could not be content with the rank of shepherd of the Church, he wanted to command many, he pursued glory and instilled in him the happy idea of ​​getting closer to the Court through military service. Among the clergy whom Potemkin visited was Ambrose Zertis -Kamensky, who was then Archbishop of Krutitsky and Mozhaisk: he approved of his intention and gave him five hundred rubles for his journey [This was given to me by my late parent, the nephew of St. Ambrose. Potemkin later recalled this money several times, saying, what he owes him;but will try to pay with interest. My parent did not ask him for anything: that was the end of the promises.] From the monastery cell, Potemkin was transported to the banks of the Neva and was soon accepted into the Horse Guards; I studied French in my free time. He was the sergeant of this regiment when Catherine II ascended the throne (1762), was in Her retinue and, having heard that the Empress wanted to have a lanyard on her sword, he tore off his own, drove up to the Empress and dared to offer it. Potemkin's zealous horse, accustomed to squadron training, caught up with the Empress's horse and, despite all his efforts, persisted in moving away. Catherine smiled, looked at the brave horseman, asked about his name, and the next day (June 29) promoted Potemkin to a guard officer, then to a second lieutenant and chamber cadet, ordering him to be given two thousand rubles. He was sent to Stockholm to our minister at the Swedish court, Count Osterman, with notification of the subsequent change in government.

Returning to St. Petersburg, Potemkin tried to get closer to the Orlovs, who were in all their strength, was accepted into the society of the Empress, where courtesy and simplicity replaced forced customs, and was later seconded, as a lieutenant, to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Ivan Ivanovich Melisino . In 1768, he already had the rank of full chamberlain and second captain of the Horse Guards. Then Potemkin began to think over a plan for his exaltation and power, not content with the awards he received; he wanted more and, feeling his advantages over others, was confident of success.

In 1769, war broke out with Turkey. Potemkin took this opportunity to retire from the capital for a while; served first under the banners of General-in-Chief Prince Golitsyn, then in the army of Field Marshal Count Rumyantsev: on June 19 he participated in the defeat by Major General Prince Prozorovsky of a twenty-thousand-strong Turkish army that crossed from Khotyn to the left bank of the Dniester and wanted to get to Kamenets-Podolsky; in the capture, July 2, of Turkish fortifications near Khotyn; promoted to major general for bravery and experience in military affairs; leading a detachment of cavalry, he distinguished himself in the battle of August 29, in which the Supreme Vizier Moldovanzhi Pasha and the Crimean Khan were completely defeated and put to flight.

Count Rumyantsev, having taken over the main command of the army after Prince Golitsyn and guessing what fate awaited Potemkin, gave him opportunities to reap laurels; he crowned himself with new glory, at the beginning of January 1770, in the vicinity of Focshan, he overthrew (on the 4th) across the Milka River, together with Major General Count Podgorichani, a Turkish corps of ten thousand, led by Suliman Pasha and Seraskir Rumeli-Valasi; put a thousand people on the spot, took away five guns, two banners and five wagons with gunpowder; assisted (February 4) Lieutenant General Shtofeln in capturing Zhurzheya; pursued the enemy, put to flight by Rumyantsev, on June 17, near Ryaba Mogila; participated in the battles of Larga (July 7) and Kagul (July 21); repulsed the Crimean Khan, who intended to strike the rear of the Russian army; awarded the Order of St. Anne and St. George, third class; took an active part in the occupation of Izmail by Lieutenant General Prince Repnin; the first to enter the outskirts of Kiliya when it was engulfed in flames; successfully repelled (1771) Turkish attacks on Kranov; drove them out of Tsimbra; freed the Christians who were in this city; burned several enemy ships on the Danube and four stores filled with flour and crackers; put a four-thousand-strong Turkish detachment to flight (May 17) on a march to the Olta River; kept the Turnu fortress under siege, together with Major General Gudovich; leading a small flotilla (in October), he searched on the right bank of the Danube and approached Silistria. In 1772, peace negotiations took place, and Potemkin spent most of this time in a dressing gown or lying on the sofa, deep in thought. Meanwhile, he was promoted to lieutenant general for his past service.

With the resumption of hostilities (1773), Potemkin again drew his sword: he crossed the Danube in sight of a numerous enemy, and on June 7 participated in the defeat of Osman Pasha near Silistria and in the capture of his camp. These exploits of Potemkin remained without reward. The offended commander, always enterprising, went to St. Petersburg and decided to write the following letter to the Empress: “Most Gracious Empress! I have determined my life for your service, I did not spare it at all, wherever there was an opportunity to glorify the Most High Name. I made this simple for myself. duty, I never thought about my condition, and if I saw that my zeal corresponded to Your Imperial Majesty’s will, I considered myself rewarded. Almost from the very moment I entered the army, I was the commander of detached troops and always close to the enemy, I did not fail to inflict all kinds of harm on him : in which I refer to the commander of the army and the Turks themselves. I am not at all motivated by envy of those who are younger than me, but have received extra signs of the Highest favor, but I am only offended by the fact that in the thoughts of Your Majesty I am less worthy than others? being tormented, I took the boldness, falling at the sacred feet of Your Imperial Majesty, to ask, if my service is worthy of Your favor and when the generosity and High Royal mercy towards me do not fail, to resolve this doubt of mine by granting me the position of Adjutant General of Your Imperial Majesty. This will not be an offense to anyone, but I will take it as the height of my happiness, especially since, being under the special patronage of Your Imperial Majesty, I will be honored to accept your wise commands and, delving into them, I will become more capable of serving Your Imperial Majesty and the Fatherland." The next day, Potemkin was honored to receive the following handwritten rescript: “Mr. Lieutenant General! Mr. Strekalov handed your letter to me this morning and I found your request so moderate in consideration of the merits you have done for me and the Fatherland that I ordered a decree to be issued to award you adjutant general. I confess that I am very pleased with this, that your trust in Me was such that you addressed your request directly in a letter to Me, and did not look for it along side roads. However, benevolent Catherine comes to you." [From Miller’s portfolios stored in the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.]

Following this, Potemkin received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1774); began to attend the company of the Empress as before; he was cheerful, entertaining others; then he became gloomy and thoughtful, left the Court completely, and retired to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery; announced that he wanted to cut his hair, studied the church rules there, grew a beard, and wore a monastic robe. So this extraordinary man paved the way to his exaltation! His spiritual sorrow and despondency did not remain hidden from the Court, aroused its curiosity and pity, and soon the temporary hermit threw off his black clothes and appeared among the amazed courtiers in all the splendor of the favorite of happiness. In the same year, he was awarded General-in-Chief, Vice-President of the Military Collegium, Lieutenant Colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and (December 25) Knight of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The following year (1775) he received the Order of St. George, second class, for his feats of arms against the Turks during the previous campaign; appointed governor-general of the Novorossiysk, Azov and Astrakhan provinces, with the power and advantages of a tsarist governor, and upon the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman Porte he was awarded (July 10): for promoting him with good advice Count's dignity of the Russian Empire; for brave and tireless work a sword sprinkled with diamonds, and as a sign of the Monarch's favor portrait of the Empress to be worn on the chest.

At first, Potemkin did not have much influence on state affairs, although he enjoyed Catherine’s complete power of attorney, lived in the Palace, where admirers fawned over him every day, while he, lying on the sofa, did not pay attention to them. In 1776, the Empress granted him lieutenant of the Cavalry Corps and petitioned him for the Princely dignity of the Roman Empire with the title His Serene Highness. Meanwhile, the growing power of Potemkin forced other sovereigns to look to him: the King of Poland sent him the Orders of the White Eagle and St. Stanislav; Frederick the Great instructed his brother, Prince Henry, to place the Black Eagle ribbon on him; The Danish king sent the Order of the Elephant, the Swedish - the Order of the Seraphim.

Having become necessary for Catherine the Great, the proud nobleman, confident in his strength, went (1777) to the governorship subordinate to him to improve his poor health. The courtiers, Potemkin's enemies, rejoiced at his removal; but this journey was based on a refined policy: he deviated for a while only in order to later achieve a more certain goal. Everywhere on the road they built triumphal gates in his honor, gave him speeches of welcome, and gave him holidays. Catherine gave him the Anichkov Palace and granted him eighty thousand rubles to repair the furniture; but Potemkin, returning to the capital, stayed as before in the Winter Palace and then moved to the one adjacent to it, which belonged to the Hermitage (1777). Here he began his long-thought-out plan for expelling the Turks and Tatars from Europe and restoring the Greek Empire. They claim that Potemkin intended to found an independent state there. It was necessary to take possession of the Crimea first: Catherine established Shagin-Girey as Khan with an armed hand (1777), despite the threats of the Porte. Many families of Greeks and Armenians were resettled from Taurida to Russia. At the mouth of the Dnieper, Potemkin founded Kherson with a ship harbor (1778). In vain, Frederick the Great tried to convince the Empress to establish a defensive alliance with Turkey, caressing Potemkin’s ambition with the Duchy of Courland; he did not change his way of thinking and was able to win over Emperor Joseph II to his side when he was in Russia (1780). Equally unsuccessful were the efforts of the English Ministry to distract the Russian Court through Potemkin from armed neutrality: the faithful executor of Catherine’s great intentions did not sacrifice the benefits of the Fatherland for his own. In 1782, according to his representation as the Ekaterinoslav Governor-General, many of the Novorossiysk deserts were populated by people who came from various other regions of the Empire. Then Catherine II established the Order of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and placed it on Potemkin. Soon Crimean affairs recalled him to Kherson. While negotiations were taking place with the khan and the supreme leaders of the Kuban peoples, Potemkin traveled to St. Petersburg several times; finally, with affection, persuasion, gold and formidable weapons, he was able to persuade Shagin-Girey to cede the peninsula to Russia. [Shagin-Girey retired to Russia, where he received a pension from the Empress; then, bored, he went to Turkey and was strangled by order of the Sultan.] This important feat, to the immortal glory of Potemkin, was accomplished (1783). ) without any bloodshed. Taman and the entire Kuban country were also annexed to our Empire. Bulgakov's firmness and activity [Yakov Ivanovich Bulgakov, Potemkin's university friend, was then envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Constantinople. On December 28, he concluded an act with the Turkish plenipotentiaries: on the cession of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia by Turkey. “You attribute this to me,” Potemkin wrote to Bulgakov, “and thus your merits increase even more! Everything is from God; but Russia and the Turks themselves owe it to you: your firmness, activity and intelligence averted the war. The Turks would have been defeated; but Russian blood also it would flow!”] strengthened these acquisitions for Russia forever.

At the beginning of 1784 (February 2), Catherine, grateful for his services, granted Potemkin the president of the Military College with the rank of field marshal, Ekaterinoslav and Tauride governor-general and chief of the Cavalry Regiment. Then a new field opened up for his selective mind: he issued (1786) a charter in which the costs of each regiment were indicated with great accuracy; changed the unsuitable clothes of the Russian troops, ordered them to cut off their braids and throw away the powder; dressed the soldier in a jacket, comfortable trousers, ankle boots and a comfortable, beautiful helmet; constantly moved the shelves from one place to another so that in peacetime they would not become accustomed to bliss. In Taurida, entrusted to his care, the wild steppes turned into fruitful fields, where numerous beautiful herds, blessed fields, rich villages, and populous cities were visible everywhere. In order to cover the borders from enemy attacks and keep the Tatars and other predatory peoples at bay, he extended a chain of troops on the banks of the Kuban; Sevastopol and Kherson were filled with fleets; The Russian flag fluttered freely on the Black Sea.

The year 1787 is memorable in the life of Potemkin: Catherine made happy Kherson and Taurida with her visit. Then the big roads and mountain ranges were illuminated with multi-colored lights; The Dnieper is covered with magnificent galleys; palaces have been built everywhere; forests have been turned into English gardens. “The Empress’s journey,” describes Prince de Ligne, who accompanied her, “can be called magic. At almost every step we encountered the unexpected, the unexpected. There we saw squadrons, there horse detachments, there lighting stretched for several miles; here gardens, created in one night "Everywhere Catherine was crowned with celebrations, expressions of gratitude, reverence and delight." On the gate in Perekop was the following inscription, composed by Potemkin: " Presumed fear and brought peace(1787.)"; in Kremenchug: " Revivalist of these countries". While traveling through the Tauride region, the Empress's companion was Joseph, who arrived under the name of Count Falkenstein. Returning to St. Petersburg, Catherine ordered the governing Senate to prepare a letter of commendation recognizing the exploits of Field Marshal Prince Potemkin: in the annexation of Taurida to the Russian Empire, in the successful establishment of the economic part and population of the Ekaterinoslav province, in the structure of cities and in the multiplication of naval forces on the Black Sea, with the addition of the name Tauride. England and Prussia armed the Ottoman Porte against Russia that year: in Constantinople they demanded that our envoy Bulgakov return the Crimea, and imprisoned him in a seven-tower castle. On September 9, a manifesto on the war with the Turks was published. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky and Potemkin-Tavrichesky were appointed leaders of the troops. The first is entrusted with the Ukrainian army; the second - Ekaterinoslavskaya.

On June 28 (1788) Potemkin appeared near Ochakov and, in sight of this city, occupied his camp at the Dnieper mouth. On July 25, he observed the redoubt being set up on the Black Sea coast, waiting for a cannon shot from the enemy. Cannonballs rained down from the fortress from all sides; Major General Sinelnikov and a Cossack, who were in the retinue of the commander-in-chief, were mortally wounded; the latter let out a pitiful cry. " Why are you shouting?" - Potemkin told him with firmness of spirit and calmly ordered the work. Treasuring the blood of his own kind, he did not want to sacrifice human life out of ambition and decided to force the Turks to surrender with a close siege. In mid-August our batteries ran out. The Ochakov garrison defended itself desperately and repeated its attacks. On September 7, Potemkin opened heavy fire from all his batteries to prevent the besieged from repairing the damaged fortifications. Meanwhile, the Turkish fleet suffered a severe defeat on the Liman; separate detachments of Potemkin caused fear and devastation beyond the Kuban and on the banks of the Anatolian; Berezansky Island with a fortress is occupied by brave Black Sea Cossacks (November 7). In his magnificent dugout, under the thunder of cannons, amid the movements of the military, the prince of Tauris found time to talk with the muses, wrote poetry, and translated the Church history of Abbot Fleury. A severe cold set in, accompanied by heavy snow. The enemy made a sortie from Ochakov (November 11), but was repulsed. The position of the army became constantly more difficult. Increasing illnesses were stealing away many people every day. The soldiers asked their commander to lead them against wicked city, which they wanted to turn into a coffin for the enemies of Christianity. The ice that covered the Liman made it convenient to attack Ochakov from that side, which was weaker than the others. Potemkin decided to take the fortress by storm, appointed the day of St. Nicholas for this, and the day before he inspected the enemy retrenchments several times, right under the guns; encouraged the soldiers: he promised to give them the city to their full freedom, if only they would take it. All preparations for the attack were made. It is planned to attack the mountain retrenchment, the Gassan-Pashinsky castle and the fortress itself at the same time. Potemkin divided the army into six columns: four, led by Prince Repnin, were to act on the right wing; two, under the command of artillery general Meller [Ivan Ivanovich Meller, artillery general, holder of the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, St. George of the second class and St. Vladimir of the first degree, was erected, in honor of excellent merits, to the Baronial dignity of the Russian Empire, with the name Meller-Zakomelsky(1789). Died from a wound he received near Kiliya on October 10, 1790] on the left; turned the remaining regiments into two reserves; He ordered the cavalry to be with them, and the light troops to watch from the side of the Dniester. The fateful day arrived (December 6): the commander-in-chief repeated the order that the troops assigned to the attack, without engaging in a firefight, act with bayonets with all possible speed; A prayer service was said, and at seven o'clock in the morning the attack began. The enemy desperately defended himself; but the fire of his guns, the depth of the ditches, the high ramparts and front garden, the hellish mouth of the blown up mines did not stop the Russian soldiers: they walked forward over the piles of enemy bodies and over the corpses of their brothers, knocking over everything that came their way - and Ochakov was conquered! - Potemkin remained on one battery during the attack and, resting his head on his hand, repeated incessantly: “ God, have mercy!" He was forced to keep his fatal word: he allowed the fierce army to plunder the captured city for three days... In addition to rich booty, three hundred and ten cannons and mortars, one hundred and eighty banners and many weapons went to the victors. Among the prisoners were: the chief commander of the fortress, three-bunchuzh Pasha Gussen and three chektyr-beys, who commanded the galleys and had the dignity of two-bunchuzh pashas. The cruel winter did not allow all the corpses to be buried in the ground: the field marshal ordered that the killed enemies be thrown onto the ice, so that they sail to the Turkish shores. Many of them served as food for hungry wolves and birds of prey. For the capture of Ochakov he received the long-desired Order of St. George, first degree, and one hundred thousand rubles; and for victories on the Liman - a sword studded with diamonds and decorated with laurels worth twenty thousand, with the inscription: " ,crowned with success". She was sent to him on a golden platter on which was carved: To the Commander of the Ekaterinoslav Land and Sea Forces,like a builder of military ships".

Inspecting the Ochakovo steppe at the beginning of 1789, Prince Tauride paid special attention to the convenience of the place where the Ingul River flows into the Bug, and began to establish a shipyard there. Potemkin named this place Nikolaev, wanting to pay a debt of gratitude to the patron of Russian weapons, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Soon he received permission to appear in St. Petersburg, where a brilliant reception awaited him. For several days before the arrival of the conqueror Ochakov, the road leading to the capital, at a distance of twenty miles, was illuminated every night. The Empress warned him with her visit and then announced at the court ball, that came from Prince Potemkin. This is how Catherine knew how to reward the merits of her subjects! The courtiers gave him holidays, trying to compete with each other in splendor and pomp. Before leaving St. Petersburg, Potemkin received from the Empress one hundred thousand rubles, a field marshal's baton, decorated with diamonds and entwined with a rich laurel wreath, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky to be worn on the chest, attached to a precious solitaire worth one hundred thousand rubles [This Order was conferred by the Empress on Potemkin in the Court Church after Matins on St. Chr. Resurrection. He had been a knight thereof since 1774] and six million for the continuation of hostilities.

Turkey was then ruled by Selim III, the nephew of Abdul Hamid, a young sovereign, but brave. Wasting gold to spare human blood, Potemkin was able to win over Sultana Valida and Captain Pasha to his side, who later assisted in the death of the Supreme Vizier, an obvious enemy of Russia. Victories at Galati under General Derfelden; at Fokshani and near Rymnik Suvorov; on the Salche River Repnina and the surrender of Bender (November 5th) to the Prince of Tauride - marked the campaign of 1789. It is curious that during the siege of this fortress, Potemkin inspected the work in a field marshal's uniform and in orders: cannonballs whistled near him; one fell a few steps away and covered him with earth. " The Turks are aiming at me, - said the hero with a calm look, - but God is my protector:he parried the blow". Then, without leaving his place, he sat on his horse and continued to survey the work being done. Three hundred guns, twenty-five mortars, several thousand pounds of gunpowder, many bombs, cannonballs, grenades, guns, sabers, twenty-two thousand pounds of crackers and twenty-four thousand quarters of flour. The Empress sent the conqueror one hundred thousand rubles, a laurel wreath studded with emeralds and diamonds worth one hundred and fifty thousand, and a gold medal knocked out in his honor [The same medal was knocked out in honor of Potemkin for the conquest of Ochakov]. The capture of Bender completed the conquest Moldavia and a large part of Bessarabia. Having located his troops in winter quarters, Potemkin went to Iasi, where he negotiated with Constantinople.

On February 9, 1790, the life of Catherine II’s faithful ally, Emperor Joseph, ended. Potemkin, elevated to the position of Grand Hetman of the Cossack Ekaterinoslav and Black Sea troops, opened military operations within Turkey in May: Rear Admiral Ushakov defeated the Ottomans in the waters of the Black Sea; Major General Herman defeated the glorious seraskir Batal Pasha in the Kuban and took him prisoner; General Gudovich captured Kiliya; Rear Admiral Ribas - Tulceiu; his brother - Isakcheyu; Suvorov - Izmail. Potemkin spent this time in Iasi with the splendor and splendor characteristic of him alone, but among various amusements, the Tauride prince was gloomy, thoughtful, looking for distraction, and everywhere despondency and sadness followed him. For sixteen years he excelled in Russia, not fearing his colleagues: Zubov appeared [Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov, being the headquarters captain of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, was granted colonel and adjutant wing (1789) and soon became a major general, cornet of the Cavalry Corps, cavalier orders: St. Anne, both Polish and St. Alexander Nevsky, in the twenty-third year from birth (1790); Three years later he received the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called (1793); the rank of Feldsman General, portrait of the Empress, Order of St. Vladimir of the first degree (1795) and, before the death of Catherine II, the dignity of His Serene Highness Prince of the Roman Empire; died in 1822] and with his power awakened the sweet slumber of the arrogant nobleman. “Mother, Most Gracious Empress!” Potemkin wrote to the Empress then. “Dear Mother! Under circumstances that burden you, do not leave me without notice. Do you really not know the extent of my affection, which is special from everyone? What is it like for me to hear ridiculous news from all sides? and not know whether to believe it or not? Caring in such uncertainty plunged me into unspeakable weakness. Deprived of sleep and food, I am worse than a baby. Everyone sees my exhaustion. No matter how necessary it is to go to Kherson, I cannot move. If my life is anything... If anything is worth it, then in such circumstances just say that you are healthy and so on." [Signature on this letter (copied by me from the original): “As long as he is alive, the most faithful and grateful subject.”] He went to St. Petersburg in February 1791, was received with excellent respect by the Empress, and received from her a palace, famous under the name Tauride; a dress decorated with diamonds and expensive stones, worth two hundred thousand rubles.

Everyone continued to fawn over Potemkin, and with all that, deep sadness did not leave him: he missed honors and affection; he was dissatisfied with everyone, even with himself; complained to those close to him about tooth pain, said, what will come out of C.-Petersburg then only,how will he pull it off?, and, indulging in sad forebodings, organized a brilliant holiday for Catherine in his Tauride Palace. Two huge halls, separated from one another by eighteen columns, deserved special attention. The first of them was intended for dancing: colossal pillars in two rows surrounded it; between them there were boxes, decorated with garlands and inside with rich damasks; huge balls hung on the vault, serving instead of chandeliers; their shine was reflected in countless mirrors; Carrara marble vases of extraordinary size and azure stone stoves decorated this room. In another there was a winter garden filled with laurel, orange and myrtle trees; sandy, winding paths, green hills and clear ponds in which golden and silver fish frolicked; pleasant smell of plants; delightful birdsong; a grotto decorated with mirrors with a marble bath inside; a through altar rising on the steps with eight columns supporting its arch; jasper bowls, lamps, wreaths and chains of flowers that decorated it; placed among the columns on a porphyry base with a golden inscription: " Mother of the Fatherland and me, most merciful", a statue of the Empress made of Parian marble; a labyrinth surrounding the altar with altars of gratitude and zeal, idols of glorious men in ancient times, precious vessels, and in a green meadow a high pyramid, trimmed in gold, with faceted chains and crowns, made of various transparent stones, with the radiant name of Catherine: all this was reminiscent of magical castles, amazing the eyes with a charming combination of different climates and seasons.

Three thousand persons of both sexes were invited to this holiday by the Prince of Tauride (April 28). Everyone was in fancy dress. Potemkin appeared in a scarlet caftan and a rich long cape made of black lace. His clothes shone with precious stones, and there were so many of them on his hat that one adjutant carried it. After six o'clock the Court arrived there. When the Empress's carriage drove up to the porch, the following was heard in the air: " Hooray", trumpets thundered in the amphitheater built opposite the palace, and a national holiday began. [In addition to the various dishes and drinks with which the people were treated, they also gave them dresses.] Potemkin and all his guests met the Empress with signs of the deepest respect and devotion. Having entered hall, Catherine ascended to the place prepared for her, surrounded by transparent paintings and inscriptions. The entire assembly scattered under the columns and in the boxes. The solemn sounds of vocal and instrumental music [The orchestra consisted of three hundred musicians and singers] resounded under the arches of the hall. Twenty-four pairs of the most noble ladies and gentlemen began to dance a ballet invented by the owner himself. The Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich, with their participation, added more shine to this charming troupe. The dancers were in white dresses, decorated with diamonds worth ten million rubles. At the end of the ballet, the glorious Le Pic appeared. The Empress then left into another room, where rich carpets and tapestries attracted the attention of visitors. In the next room there was an artificial golden elephant, on which hung pearl fringes and many diamonds, emeralds and rubies. He moved his trunk, and the Persian sitting on him, magnificently dressed, struck the bell. Then Potemkin led his distinguished visitors and other guests to the theater. The curtain rose: a radiant sun appeared, in the middle of which the monogram name of Catherine II shone in the green laurels. The peasants and peasant women, raising their hands to the beneficial luminary, showed with their movements their most zealous feelings. This was followed by a comedy, and after that a ballet, representing a Smyrna merchant trading in slaves of all nations, among whom, however, there was not a single Russian. From the theater the meeting returned to the large hall and winter garden: one hundred thousand lights illuminated the interior of the house. The cornices, windows, and walls were strewn with crystal balls filled with wax. Huge chandeliers and lanterns increased the sparkle. Bright stars or beautiful rainbows of rubies, emeralds, yachts and topazes sparkled everywhere. Countless mirrors and crystal pyramids reflected this magical sight. " Are we really there?,where they were before?" - asked Empress Potemkin in surprise. Meanwhile, in the choirs, decorated with precious Chinese vessels and two gilded organs, the Polskaya began to play with the thunder of timpani, singing and cannon shots:

"The thunder of victory is heard!
Have fun, brave Ross!
Decorate yourself with resounding glory:
You beat Mohammed.

Glory to this, Catherine!
Hail, mother tender to us!

The fast waters of the Danube
Already in our hands now;
Honoring the bravery of the Russians,
The Taurus is below us and the Caucasus.

Glory to this, Catherine!
Hail, mother tender to us! and so on."
[Words by Derzhavin; music by Kozlovsky.]

During the ball, the Empress played cards with Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. Music, dancing, dancing (including Russian and Little Russian), swings located inside the chambers, and various other amusements entertained the guests. In the outer garden, filled with crowds of curious people, pleasure lights are lit; the ponds were covered with a flotilla, beautifully illuminated; The groves and alleys are also dotted with lanterns. The voices of chanters and the sounds of horns were heard between the trees. At a sign from the owner, the theater suddenly disappeared, and in its place, and in several other rooms, tables appeared for six hundred persons. They were positioned in such a way that everyone’s gaze turned to the face of the Empress. The other guests dined while standing, for which purpose many tables were placed along the walls. At the end of the hall, at the very height, glass vessels of different flames shone. The service was gold and silver. The food and drinks corresponded to the magnificent decoration of the palace and the rich clothing of the servants. Potemkin himself served the Empress; but she invited him to sit down. After dinner, the ball continued until the morning. The Empress and the August Family left at eleven o'clock. No one remembered her staying anywhere at the ball for so long. It seemed that Catherine was afraid to disturb her master’s bliss by her removal. When she was already leaving the hall, suddenly there was a gentle singing with the quiet sound of organs, descending from the choirs, which were closed with multi-colored glass vessels, illuminated by a bright fire. Everyone was silent and listened to the pleasant harmony:

“The kingdom here is of pleasure;
The dominion of your bounties;
There is water, land and air
Everything breathes with your soul;
I am only your blessing
And I live and am happy.

What's in wealth and honor?
What is in my greatness,
If it’s a thought, you won’t mature,
The spirit is terrifying.

Stop and don't fly, time!
And don’t deprive us of our blessings.
Our life is a path of sorrows:
Let flowers bloom in it."
[This chorus, taken from an Italian opera, is sung in Italian.]

The Empress expressed her gratitude to Potemkin, who reverently fell to his knees before her, grabbed her hand, watered it with tears, and held it for several minutes with special emotional tenderness...

So Potemkin surprised the inhabitants of the banks of the Neva with his splendor; Meanwhile, the banks of the Danube were stained with the blood of Christians and Ottomans. He put off leaving for the army, sacrificed his glory and wasted only time uselessly. Repnin had already completely defeated the Supreme Vizier Yusuf Pasha on June 28 under Machin, signed preliminary peace articles with the Turkish plenipotentiaries on July 31, when Prince Tauride finally arrived in Galati. In annoyance at the brave commander who stole his victory, Potemkin destroyed the agreement he had established, considering it incompatible with the dignity of the Empire. Prescribing the painful conditions of Turkey, he was preparing for a new battle, while death hovered invisibly over his head and its harbingers, exhaustion, melancholy, increased mental suffering! The Prince of Wirtemberg died in Galati: leaving the church on August 12, the upset, saddened Potemkin sat down instead of his droshky on a droshky prepared for a dead body... In Iasi, he was overcome by a fever: the art of the doctors Timan and Massot remained invalid. Potemkin, capricious and accustomed to sumptuous dinners, fed his illness. Meanwhile, his activity did not weaken: he continued to conduct extensive correspondence; couriers flew to all parts of Europe more often than usual; Polish nobles, dissatisfied with the new changes that followed in their fatherland, and the Moldavian boyars sought his patronage. But inner grief did not give him peace; he felt his death approaching; received the Holy Mysteries on August 19 and September 27 [“Both times when I communicated the Holy Mysteries to the deceased,” Prince Potemkin’s confessor wrote to my parent, “until now I have never seen such living signs of faith in anyone”]; said goodbye to those around his bed and a few days later expressed a desire to leave Iasi, saying: " At least, I will die in my Nikolaev".

On October 4, 1791, at 8 a.m., Potemkin was put in a carriage. He rode no more than twenty-five miles that day; was quite cheerful; I consoled myself with the thought that he left his coffin[That’s what Potemkin called Iasi]. Night fell: the disease intensified. Potemkin constantly asked: " Will it dawn soon?"At six o'clock (October 5) he ordered himself to be carried out into the carriage; they drove further: mortal melancholy continued to bother him; he ordered to stop, asked: " Is there a village near?" - ordered to go quickly and at the thirty-eighth mile from Yassy at twelve o'clock in the morning, with increasing painful anxiety and languor, he said in a weak voice: " Will.Now there's nowhere to go:I'm dying.Take me out of the stroller,I want to die on the field"They fulfilled his will: they laid the dying man on a spread out cloak near the road. Here he lay for three quarters of an hour, turning his touching gaze alternately to the sky and to those ahead, and at twelve o’clock he quietly fell asleep in the arms of his beloved niece, Countess Branitskaya, in the strength of courage, being only fifty-five years old. [Perfectly described by Derzhavin in his " Waterfall"Potemkin and his death:
"Whose bed is the earth; blood is the blue air,
Halls - deserted views all around?
Aren't you the son of happiness, glory,
The magnificent prince of Tauris?
Isn't it you from the height of honor
Suddenly fell among the steppes?" etc.]

At night they took him back to Iasi in the same carriage, surrounded by torches.

Catherine mourned the death of Potemkin and commanded on the day of peaceful celebration with the Ottoman Porte (1793): " Prepare a certificate in his memory, with a description in it of the fortresses he conquered during the last war and various land and sea victories,the troops of his conquered;keep this document in the Cathedral Church of the city of Kherson,where to build a marble monument to Tauride,and in the arsenal of that city to place his image and knock out a medal in his honor".

Potemkin's tomb is placed on a hearse in a crypt lined with black velvet and located under the altar of the Cathedral Church of Kherson, which he built. [The entrance to this crypt was made during the reign of Emperor Paul I. They claim that Potemkin’s remains were transferred from there to another place.] Now a colossal monument to him has been built in this city, sculpted by our famous artist Martos.

Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky had a beautiful, courageous appearance, a strong build, and majestic stature. When he was young, he injured one of his eyes, but this did not diminish the beauty of his face. He emerged from the circle of ordinary people of his age, distinguished by striking opposites: he loved simplicity and pomp; he was proud and courteous; cunning and gullible; secretive and frank; wasteful and often stingy; He combined compassion with cruelty, timidity with courage. Nothing could compare with the activity of his imagination and his bodily laziness. In his affairs, pleasures, disposition, gait, some kind of disorder was noticeable. Sometimes he dreamed of the Duchy of Courland, the Crown of Poland; at other times he wanted to be a bishop, a simple monk; built magnificent palaces and, not finishing them, sold them; he sent couriers to the most remote places for certain needs for his table and often, before the messengers returned, he lost the desire to taste what they brought. [He even sent couriers for sour cabbage soup and cranberries.] Either he was engaged in one war, surrounded by officers, Cossacks and Tatars, or politics: he wanted to divide the Ottoman Empire, conquer Persia, agitate the European Cabinets; at other times he spent a whole month of evenings visiting, apparently forgetting all his affairs. Sometimes he outshone the courtiers with his shiny clothes, orders of various powers, and diamonds of extraordinary size; gave charming holidays for no reason - and after several weeks in a row he remained at home, in the circle of family and friends, lying on the sofa in a dressing gown, with bare feet, a bare neck, with a frowning brow, drooping eyebrows, and silently playing chess or cards. He loved to promise, but did not always keep his word. No one read less than him; but not many could equal him in his studies. They were superficial, but very extensive. In conversations he amazed the writer, artist, and theologian. His style was abrupt and strong. “Despise the machinations of the French,” he wrote (1783) to Constantinople to our envoy, Ya. I. Bulgakov, “believe that everything will turn to their shame and destruction. The French are causing trouble here, bowing here, and perishing at home.” Loving the Fatherland passionately, he gave full justice to the merits of Suvorov, wrote to him: “Believe me, dear friend! That I find my glory in yours.” He valued his soldiers: “They are not so cheap,” he mentioned in one letter to the same commander, “to lose them over trifles.” Empress Catherine II honored Potemkin with an unlimited power of attorney and granted him, in addition to significant sums and gifts, many villages. They claim that in ten years (from 1774 to 1784) he received eighteen million rubles in cash and precious things. He had forms from the Empress, and could, moreover, contact the state chambers with his demands. At the beginning of 1791, he allocated income from his Achuevskaya dacha to increase the capital of Moscow University, where he studied. [Only after Potemkin’s death did the university learn about this donation, having received in 1796 seven thousand four hundred and sixty-eight rubles from the ataman of the Don Army, Lieutenant General Alexei Ivanovich Ilovaisky, who was in charge of this dacha.]

“Potemkin was my pupil,” said Empress Catherine II. “I promoted him to all ranks: from non-commissioned officer to field marshal general. He had an extraordinary mind, a hot disposition, a kind heart; he looked like a wolf and therefore was not loved; but, giving clicks, he benefited even his enemies. He could not be bribed; it is difficult to find another like him." [Cm. Memorial Notes A.IN.Khrapovitsky, placed in Domestic Notes P. P. Svinina.]

The Empress also spoke of Potemkin that he passionately loved Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich and called him Angel,embodied for the bliss of the Empire;le Prince de son coeur.

Suvorov said that Potemkin was great man and great man;great in mind,big and tall;didn't look like that tall French ambassador in London,about which Chancellor Bacon said,that the attic is usually poorly furnished. [From See what “Potemkin-Tavrichesky, Prince Grigory Alexandrovich” is in other dictionaries:

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