Biography of Count Potemkin

Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin is the most influential person of his time in Russia. The outstanding organizer and business executive, the founder of the Black Sea Military and Trade Fleet, as well as the cities of Kherson, Sevastopol, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk and others. They said more about him that he made more for Russia in the south than Peter I in the north. Catherine said about him: “He was my dearest friend to me to replace him!

He conquers the peoples with the other hand. With one foot, he is losing his friend and enemy, with the other he tramples the shores.

” Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin led the development of the Northern Black Sea region and the construction of the Black Sea Fleet. The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Russian-Turkish war. Grigory Potemkin belonged to a small, but noble Polish family, which was part of the Smolensk gentry. His ancestors served as part of the sovereign of the court, and his father, a participant in the wars of Peter's time, had retired lieutenant colonel at the time the son was born.

Grisha received his primary home education, then brought up by his father M. Kislovsky in Moscow, studied at a private boarding house, and C at a gymnasium at the University of Moscow. At the University, Grigory Potemkin established himself as one of the talented students, and among the best students was represented by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. However, he was excluded “for laziness and non -classes in classes”, and according to another version, for a poetic pamphlet for professors.

Possessing an excellent memory, the ability to speed -read and the interest in science has been preserved throughout his life, Potemkin was engaged in self -education. He owned French and German, Latin, ancient Greek and Old Slavonic. Potemkin was especially interested in theology and history of the Church. He was a deeply believers of an Orthodox person who did not share the ideas of education.

In his character, G. Potemkin combined laziness, love for ostentatious luxury and arrogance with indomitable energy and hard work. During the coup on June 28, Potemkin, according to legend, gave to Catherine II Temlyak with his saber and accompanied the empress. For participation in the coup, he was produced in the second seconds, received the title of chamber junker and shower of serfs.

President Potemkin enjoyed the patronage of the Orlovs, and in a nominal decree he was ordered to be present in the Synod "At the Ober-Prosecutor's Table." He was elected to Potemkin as a deputy of the stacked commission, became part of the private spiritual and civil commission and acted as a guardian of the nun-fighters. In Potemkin, he was granted the rank of real chamberlain and soon expelled from the horse guard.

However, with the beginning of the Russo-Turkish war, he voluntarily returned to military service with the rank of Major General, distinguished himself in the most important battles under Large, Kagul, Ryaba Grail, Fokshany, was produced in the Russian-General and awarded the orders of St. Anna and St. George of the 3rd degree. In the beginning, Potemkin, who had long been secretly in love with the Empress, was called to the court and soon became the favorite of Catherine II.

From that time, until the end of his life, Potemkin became the closest employee and confidant of the empress. In, according to the existing version, their secret wedding took place in the Temple of the Great Ascension on Nikitskaya Street in Moscow, and in Yekaterina gave birth to a daughter Elizabeth from Potemkina, who was brought up under the name Elizabeth Tsemkina and was subsequently married to General I.

Already in Grigory Potemkin received the ranks of the Adventor General, the general-general and the olf. Preobrazhensky regiment; He becomes the main speaker of the empress for military affairs, and then the vice-president of the Military College, Governor-General of the Novorossiysk, Azov and Astrakhan provinces, commanding of a light connight and irregular troops of the Russian army, takes an active part in organizing the suppression of an uprising led by E.

He is already a count, and B-the prince of the Holy Roman Empire with the title of the Serene, the holder of the orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky and the White Eagle, St. George of the 2nd degree, etc. At the end of the war and the defeat of Pugachev, Potemkin directly took up the arrangement of Novorossia. Under his leadership, the construction of the cities of Kherson, Sevastopol, Yekaterinoslav now Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev and others were carried out.

He was one of the authors of the Greek project, on his initiative B was carried out to Russia of the Crimean Peninsula, for which he received the honorary name Tauride. In Potemkin he was promoted to Field Marshals and appointed President of the Military College. He carried out military reform associated with changes in the combat service and equipment of troops. Potemkin led the organization of the preparation and conduct of Catherine II to the Crimea, which is associated with the winged expression “Potemkin villages”, which usually means plywood houses allegedly erected by him in the path of the empress.

However, in reality, Potemkin showed Catherine only really existing villages, and the emergence of the myth of the “Potemkin villages” is connected with the gossip that went out at that time, which bloated the enemies of Potemkin. With the outbreak of Russo-Turkish war, Grigory Potemkin was appointed commander in chief of the Russian army and established himself as a talented commander.

He directly led Ochakov’s capture, contributed to the heyday of the commander -in -law A. Suvorov, to whom he, like M. Kutuzov, was produced and who highly appreciated his commander. In January, Potemkin with the permission of the Empress came to Petersburg at the height of Roman Catherine with Plato Zubov. Here he stayed for 4 months, trying to overcome Catherine's coldness, but, having held fabulous money for lush festivals, he was forced to go back to the Yassy, ​​where he suddenly fell ill during peace negotiations.

Grigory Potemkin was going to go to Nikolaev, but died in a steppe 40 km from Yass in the arms of his niece and mistress of Countess Branitskaya. He was buried in Kherson.