Titans of History

POTEMKIN

1739–91

An inconceivable mixture of grandeur and pettiness, laziness and activity, bravery and timidity, ambition and insouciance.

Louis Philippe, comte de Segur

Grigory Potemkin was born of poor gentry near Smolensk in 1739, but he grew up to be so beautiful and intelligent that he was compared to Alcibiades. He was a scholar who, fascinated by religion, craved the priesthood, but instead he joined the Guards and helped bring Catherine to power. He fell in love with her but was ten years her junior, and she was still with her permanent lover, Orlov. She knew that Potemkin was so dominating, demanding, passionate and gifted that he would be a difficult partner. But when Catherine faced a political crisis in 1773, they embarked on a wildly sexual romance. Potemkin was much too energetic and talented to be a kept man. Instead, Catherine promoted him to the rank of prince, and he became her partner in power. As their passion, but not their friendship, dwindled they each took other lovers.

Like Catherine, Potemkin prided himself on decency, tolerance and humanity. As co-tsar and viceroy of the south, he annexed the Crimea in 1783 (becoming Prince of Taurida), founded the naval base of Sebastapol and created the Russian Black Sea fleet. He also founded a series of cities, from Kherson to Odessa, then led Russian forces in the war against the Turks, in which he stormed Ismail, and conquered the southern Ukraine and Black Sea coast. But during his later years he became increasingly powerful, extravagant and bizarre.

“The most extraordinary man I ever met,” wrote the Prince de Ligne, “constantly reclining yet never sleeping, trembling for others, brave for himself, bored in the midst of pleasure, unhappy for being too lucky, a profound philosopher, able minister, sublime politician or like a ten-year-old child, embracing the feet of the Virgin, or the alabaster neck of his mistress. What is the secret of his magic? Genius, genius and more genius.” This one-eyed giant enchanted and scandalized Europe like a sultan in The Arabian Nights, even seducing one princess by serving plates of diamonds instead of pudding. Pushkin hailed the “glory of his name,” while Stalin reflected: “What was Catherine the Great’s achievement? To appoint talented men like Potemkin to rule Russia.”

Potemkin died in 1791 on an open Bessarabian steppe, weeping over Catherine’s letters. When she heard the news she collapsed: “There’ll never be another Potemkin.” Theirs was one of the great love stories of history, in a league with that of Napoleon and Josephine or Antony and Cleopatra, but more romantic and much more successful than either of those.