Catherine the Great & Potemkin

by Simon Sebag Montefiore

  Potemkin’s nieces were his family, friends and mistresses.

  Princess Varvara Golitsyna – he fell in love with his flirtatious, strong-willed niece after the end of his affair with Catherine.

  The Duchess of Kingston (also Countess of Bristol) made her name when she was still Elisabeth Chudleigh by appearing naked at the Venetian Ambassador’s Ball in London in 1749. By the time this ageing and slatternly self-publicist visited Petersburg in a luxurious yacht in the 1770s, she was the most scandalous woman in England, having been found guilty of bigamy. Potemkin, who fancied her art treasures, arranged for an adjutant to become her lover.

  Countess Ekaterina Skavronskaya with her daughter, the future Princess Bagratian. Potemkin’s languid and beautiful niece – mistress, known as his ‘angel’, was his ‘sultana-in-chief’ for many years…

  Princess Tatiana Yusupova, the youngest niece who adored her uncle and wrote that court was very dull without him

  Countess Ekaterina Samoilova, the Prince’s brazen but fascinating niece-by-marriage. She seduced the young Comte de Damas during the Siege of Ochakov in 1788 – and was said to be Potemkin’s mistress soon afterwards.

  The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II meets Catherine in a field near Kaidak during Potemkin’s Crimean progress in 1787. That night, Joseph grumbled about Potemkin’s cooking – yet he envied his vast achievements.

  Charles-Joseph, Prince de Ligne, socialite, Austrian soldier, renowned wit, ‘jockey diplomatique’, and the charmer of Europe, said that it took the materials for a hundred men to make one Potemkin.

  Potemkin’s ‘Matushka’ and ‘foster-nurse’. Catherine in the 1780s as she could be seen around the park at Tsarskoe Selo, in a bonnet and walking shoes with her beloved English greyhounds.

  Potemkin, in the helmet in the centre, leads the storming of the powerful Turkish fortress of Ochakov in 1788. The Turkish dead were so numerous, they were piled into pyramids on the ice where they froze solid.

  Count Alexander Suvorov, Russia’s most brilliant general. Tough, cultured and wildly eccentric, he used to perform naked somersaults in front of his army every morning. ‘You can’t over-Suvorov Suvorov,’ said Potemkin.

  The invitation to Potemkin’s famous ball in the Taurida Palace on 28th April 1791. Catherine and Potemkin wept as he knelt at her feet to say goodbye.

  Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, Potemkin’s mistress near the end of his life. She was a paragon of aristocratic beauty with whom the Prince fell passionately in love, shocking observers by stroking her in public, building her an underground palace, ordering artillery salvoes to mark their caresses, and serving diamonds instead of pudding at her birthday ball.

  Countess Sophia Potocka, the ‘Beautiful Greek’ and outstanding adventuress of the age, said to be the ‘prettiest girl in Europe.’ She was a spy and courtesan notorious for her ‘beauty, vice and crimes’ who was sold at the age of 14 by her mother, a fruit-seller in Constantinople, and became one of Potemkin’s last mistresses before marrying the fabulously wealthy Polish Count Felix Potocki, seducing her step-son and building a huge fortune.

  Prince Platon Zubov, Catherine the Great’s last favourite who was vain, silly and politically inept. She nicknamed him ‘Blackie’. Potemkin failed to remove him but, as Zubov admitted, Serenissimus remained Catherine’s ‘exacting husband.’

  ‘Potemkin’s death was as extraordinary as his life.’ On 5th October 1791 Potemkin, weeping for the Empress, died on the Bessarabian steppes beside the road, in the arms of his favourite niece, Countess Branicka. Branicka fell into a faint. A Cossack commented, ‘Lived on gold; died on grass.’

  Potemkin’s funeral in Jassy was magnificent – but the destiny of his body was as restless as his life.

  LIST OF CHARACTERS

  Prince Grigory Potemkin of Taurida, Catherine II’s secret husband, statesman, soldier

  Catherine II the Great, born Princess Sophia of Zerbst, Empress of Russia 1762–96

  Abdul-Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan, 1774–88

  Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher and creator of utilitarianism

  Samuel Bentham, brother of above, inventor, naval officer, shipbuilder

  Alexander Bezborodko, Catherine’s secretary, then foreign minister

  Ksawery Branicki, Polish courtier married to Potemkin’s niece Alexandra Engelhardt

  Alexandra Branicka, Potemkin’s favourite niece, née Engelhardt, married to above

  Alexei Bobrinsky, natural son of Catherine and Grigory Orlov

  Praskovia Bruce, Catherine’s confidant, supposed to be sampler of favourites

  Count Cagliostro, Italian charlatan

  Zakhar Chernyshev, early admirer of Catherine, courtier, war minister, ally of the Orlovs

  Ivan Chernyshev, brother of above, courtier, navy minister

  Count Louis Cobenzl, Austrian ambassador to Petersburg

  Elisabeth Countess of Craven, aristocratic English adventuress, traveller, writer

  Comte de Damas, French aristocrat and officer in Potemkin’s army

  Ekaterina Dashkova, née Vorontsova, Catherine’s supporter and irritant

  Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, wife of Russian officer, mistress of Potemkin

  Elisabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, Empress 1741–61

  Mikhail Faleev, entrepreneur, quartermaster, merchant, builder of Nikolaev

  Frederick II the Great, King of Prussia 1740–86

  Frederick William, nephew of the above, King of Prussia 1786–97

  Mikhail Garnovsky, minder of the Duchess of Kingston, Potemkin’s homme d’affaires

  Varvara Golitsyna, née Engelhardt, Potemkin’s niece who married Prince Sergei Golitsyn

  Praskovia Golitsyna, married to Prince Mikhail Golitsyn, Potemkin’s ‘last mistress’

  William Gould, Potemkin’s English gardener

  Sir James Harris, British envoy to Petersburg, later Earl of Malmesbury

  Henry of Prussia, younger brother of Frederick the Great

  John Paul Jones, legendary American admiral regarded as founder of US Navy

  Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor or Kaiser 1765–90, co-ruler, then ruler of Habsburg lands 1780–90

  Alexander Khrapovitsky, diarist and Catherine’s secretary

  Elisabeth Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, English adventuress and bigamist

  Alexander Lanskoy, Catherine’s favourite 1779–84

  Leopold, Holy Roman Emperor, brother of Joseph II and his successor 1790–2

  Prince de Ligne, European aristocrat, Austrian courtier and field-marshal

  Lewis Littlepage, American from Virginia, Polish courtier and officer in Potemkin’s flotilla

  Alexander (Dmitryev-) Mamonov, Catherine’s favourite 1786–9

  Maria Theresa, Empress–Queen, ruler of Habsburg lands 1740–80, mother of Joseph

  Francisco de Miranda, South American revolutionary, later dictator of Venezuela

  Prince de Nassau-Siegen, European aristocrat and soldier of fortune

  Grigory Orlov, leader of Catherine’s coup and favourite 1761–72

  Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky, ‘Scarface’, murderer of Peter III and victor of Battle of Chesme, brother of above

  Nikita Panin, governor of Grand Duke Paul, then Catherine’s foreign minister

  Peter Panin, brother of above, general and subjugator of Pugachev

  Grand Duke Paul, Catherine and Peter III’s son, Emperor 1796–1801, assassinated

  Peter III, nephew of Empress Elisabeth; husband of Catherine II, Emperor 1761–2

  Reginald Pole Carew, English gentleman, traveller and friend of Potemkin, later MP

  Stanislas Poniatowski, Catherine’s second lover, later Stanislas-Augustus last King of Polandr />
  Vasily Popov, Potemkin’s head of chancellery

  Pavel Potemkin, the Prince’s cousin, general and viceroy of the Caucasus

  Praskovia Potemkina, wife of above and mistress of the Prince

  Emelian Pugachev, pretender, Cossack, leader of peasant rebellion 1773–4

  Alexei Razumovsky, Cossack chorister who became Elisabeth’s favourite

  Kirill Razumovsky, brother of above, Hetman of Ukraine until 1764, courtier

  José (Osip) de Ribas, Neapolitan adventurer, Potemkin crony and admiral

  Duc de Richelieu, officer in Potemkin’s army, later builder of Odessa, prime minister of France

  Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov, Catherine’s favourite 1778–9

  Peter Rumiantsev-Zadunaisky, military hero in First Turkish War

  Serge Saltykov, Catherine’s first lover

  Alexander Samoilov, Potemkin’s nephew and general, later procurator-general

  Ekaterina Samoilova, wife of above and probably Potemkin’s mistress

  Comte de Ségur, French ambassador to Russia

  Selim III, Ottoman Sultan, 1788–1807

  Major James George Semple, English conman – ‘Prince of Swindlers’

  Shagin Giray, Russian ally, descendant of Genghis Khan, and last Khan of the Crimea

  Stepan Sheshkovsky, secret policeman – the ‘knout-master’

  Ivan Shuvalov, Empress Elisabeth’s favourite who invited Potemkin to Petersburg

  Ekaterina Skavronskaya, ‘angel’ and ‘kitten’, née Engelhardt, Potemkin’s niece

  Alexander Suvorov, military hero, Potemkin’s favourite general

  Alexander Vassilchikov, Catherine’s favourite 1772–4, nicknamed ‘Iced Soup’

  Alexander Viazemsky, administrator of internal affairs, procurator-general

  Simon Vorontsov, Russian ambassador to London

  Alexander Vorontsov, brother of above, minister of commerce

  Sophie de Witte, slavegirl, courtesan, mistress of Potemkin, then Countess Potocka

  Alexander Yermolov, Catherine’s favourite 1786

  Tatiana Yusupova, née Engelhardt, married to Mikhail Potemkin, then Prince Yusupov

  Alexander Zavadovsky, Catherine’s favourite 1776–7, courtier, minister

  Joshua Zeitlin, Jewish merchant, rabbinical scholar, Potemkin’s friend

  Semyon Zorich, Catherine’s favourite 1777–8, founder of military school

  Platon Zubov, Catherine’s last favourite 1789–96

  Reigning Tsars and Emperors of Russia – The Romanovs

  This family tree shows the families of ruling Tsars and Emperors (in bold and dates of reign). After 1801 only ruling Emperors are shown

  The Wider Family of Prince Potemkin

  This family tree shows the main characters featured in the book and is not meant to be complete = married † died

  The Inner Family of Prince Potemkin including Favourite Nieces and Nephews

  This family tree shows the main characters featured in the book and is not meant to be complete = married † died

  NOTES

  PROLOGUE: DEATH ON THE STEPPES

  1 V. S. Popov’s reports to Catherine II on GAP’s illness are the main source for this account of his demise unless otherwise ascribed: RGVIA 52.2.94.3–26 and RA (1878) 1 pp 20–5. G. Derzhavin, The Waterfall, in H. G. Segal, The Literature of Eighteenth-Century Russia vol 2 p 302.

  2 RGADA 5.85.1.124–5, L 153 / SIRIO 27: 217, CtG to GAP 30 September 1782.

  3 Prince de Ligne, Letters and Reflections, ed Baroness de Staël vol 2 p 6, Prince de Ligne to Comte de Ségur 1 August 1788.

  4 M. M. Ivanov’s print, Hermitage E: 22158. Commissioned by V. S. Popov and Countess A. V. Branicka. Oddly, though Popov was apparently awaiting the Turkish plenipotentiaries in Jassy and was not at the death scene, he is pictured there, doubtless on his own orders. Ivanov was GAP’s house artist and travelled in his entourage. See Chapter 23. This is not the only print of GAP’s death: see also Death of G. A. Potemkin, an engraving by G. I. Skourodytov showing only head and torso of the dead Prince, arms crossed over his chest.

  5 James Harris, Diaries and Correspondence p 281, Sir James Harris to Viscount Stormont 21 July/1 August 1780.

  6 Author’s visit to Moldova 1998.

  7 Ligne, Letters (Staël) p 97, Prince de Ligne to Prince Kaunitz November 1788.

  8 SIRIO 23 (1878): 571, CtG to Baron F. M. Grimm August 1792. K. Waliszewski, Autour d’un trône vol 1 p 141.

  9 AKV 13: 216–22, A. A. Bezborodko to P. V. Zavadovsky 5 December 1791, Jassy.

  10 RGADA 5.85.1.429. L 470, CtG to GAP 3 October 1791.

  11 RGADA 5.85.2.304. L 470, CtG to GAP.

  12 RGVIA 52.2.22.191. L 470, CtG to GAP October 1791.

  13 C. F. P. Masson, Secret Memoirs p 109.

  14 The author’s visit to Moldova 1998.

  15 RA 1867 A. N. Samoilov, ‘Zhizn i deyania Generala Feld Marshal Knyazya Grigoriya Alexandrovicha Potemkina-Tavricheskogo’ col 1558.

  16 Samoilov col 1558.

  17 L. N. Engelhardt, Zapiski 1868 p 96.

  18 Samoilov col 1558.

  19 AKV 13: 216–22, Bezborodko to Zavadovsky 5 December 1791, Jassy.

  20 Derzhavin, The Waterfall, in Segal vol 2 p 299.

  21 BM 33540 f 296, Jeremy Bentham to Prince P. Dashkov 19/30 July 1786.

  22 Masson p 110.

  23 Ligne, Letters (Staël) vol 2 p 6, Prince de Ligne to Comte de Ségur 1 August 1788.

  24 Louis Philippe, Comte de Ségur, Mémoires et souvenirs et anecdotes 1859 pp 348–9. Littlepage quoted in Curtis Carroll Davis, The King’s Chevalier p 148.

  25 A. S. Pushkin, Polnoye Sobraniye Sochineniya vol 12 p 177.

  26 Lord Byron, Don Juan VII: 41.

  27 Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun Souvenirs vol 1 p 324.

  28 ZOOID 9 (1875): 461–4.

  29 Derzhavin, The Waterfall, in Segal vol 2 p 299.

  30 Comte de Stedingk, Un Ambassadeur à la cour de Catherine II, ed Comtesse Brevern de la Gardie, p 186, Stedynk to Gustavus III 28 October 1791.

  31 AKV 7: 37 Count Fyodor Rostopchin to Count S. R. Vorontsov 7th October 1791, Jassy.

  32 A. Soldatsky, The Secret of the Prince, ZOOID 9, 360–3.

  33 RGVIA 52.2.94.30, V. S. Popov to CtG, Jassy.

  34 SIRIO 23: 561, CtG to Grimm.

  35 A. V. Khrapovitsky, Dnevnik p 377.

  36 Masson p 113.

  37 SIRIO 23: 561, CtG to Grimm.

  38 Bakunin quoted in Wladimir Weidle, Russia: Absent and Present p 49.

  39 Khrapovitsky pp 377–87.

  On the history of GAP. The priggish morality and dynastic self-preservation of the Romanovs in the nineteenth century suppressed a real rehabilitation of GAP: the testimonies of contemporaries about his marriage with Catherine could only be published AFTER the 1905 Revolution when the regime was forced to relax its autocracy. The cult of Suvorov, after his campaign against the French and throughout the 19th century and again during the Great Patriotic War, played its role in distorting GAP’s histories. Until Stalin’s death, Soviet histories regarded Potemkin with a mixture of class hatred and Communist primness. His main role in Soviet history was to demonstrate the folly of Imperial whim and to serve as bungling noble fool who ‘often hampered’ the actions of the hero, Suvorov. See the Bolshaia Sovietskaya Encyclopedia volume 46 p 545, published in 1940. Later editions of Istorii SSSR (such as the 1949 edition by Y. I. Belan) follow this line even more since Stalin had made Suvorov an official hero during the war. (One Stalinist historian took a slightly different line, placing Potemkin as a people’s leader like Peter the Great: ‘Potemkin’s name,’ wrote the author of Istoriia SSR volume 1 pages 702/3, S drevneiskykh vremen do konts
a XVIII v., published in Moscow 1939, ‘hated by the aristocrats because of his arbitrariness, became popular among the soldiers, although less than Suvorov’ – naturally. But this was published before WW 2.) Only in the Fifties did historians such as E. I. Druzhinina begin to analyse his career properly. The main researches by authors like V. S. Lopatin and O. I. Yeliseeva have appeared since the downfall of Communism and have returned him to his rightful place.

  In the West, from Potemkin’s death right up to today, there has been an endless stream of romantic histories of Catherine and her lover though naturally the outstanding modern Russian specialists such as Marc Raeff, Isabel de Madariaga, J. T. Alexander, and W. Bruce Lincoln have appreciated his special role. Vincent Cronin’s biography of Catherine gives a fair portrait of him while Henri Troyat’s emphasizes his personality. However, the legends of Potemkin are so colourful and strange that they have also affected academic historians. The tendency to treat Potemkin as part-joke, part-legend, about whom the usual rules of history are ignored, shows no sign of abating even in the 1990s. Take two of the most admired modern historians. The quotation is from Professor T. C. W. Blanning, Professor of Modern European History, Cambridge, distinguished authority on Joseph II and the Enlightened Despots, who refers to Potemkin’s bedroom performance in Joseph II Profiles in Power p 176. Norman Davies, Professor of History, School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, University of London, repeats the legend of the Potemkin Villages as if it was an undisputed historical fact in Europe: A History p 658.