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According to legend, Grigory and Alexei Orlov invited Potemkin to a friendly game of billiards, then attacked him with their cues "for flirting with Catherine", resulting in Potemkin's eye being damaged during the brawl; the wound then turned septic "after being mistreated by a quack physician".
Accidental loss of an eye — mistakenly blamed on his patrons, the Orlov brothers — lent mystique to his robust physique and ebullient personality. He became assistant procurator of the Holy Synod in 1763 and spokesman for the non-Russian peoples at the Legislative Commission of 1767 – 1768.
- He achieved his first successes not thanks to wealth, but thanks to his wits. Grigory Potemkin was the son of a retired major from the Smolensk province, who died when the future prince was seven years old.
- His looks and character contributed to his advancement. “Being tall, he was of a proportionate build, had strong muscles and a high chest. An aquiline nose, a high brow, beautifully arched eyebrows, nice blue eyes, a beautiful complexion with a delicate blush, soft and curly blond hair, even and dazzlingly white teeth,” this is how his biographer, historian Vasily Ogarkov, described Potemkin in his prime.
- He may have been married to Catherine the Great. Among Catherine II's favorites, Grigory Potemkin was the closest to her and the one she herself respected the most.
- Despite his high standing, he kept his lower-class habits. “The Empire's primary nail biter” – this was how, somewhat caustically, Catherine referred to Grigory Potemkin.
Jun 4, 2024 · Grigory Potemkin, Russian army officer and statesman, for two years Empress Catherine the Great’s lover and for 17 years the most powerful man in the empire. An able administrator, licentious, extravagant, loyal, generous, and magnanimous, he was the subject of many anecdotes.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Grigory Potemkin was a Russian statesman, military leader and nobleman, best known as a lover of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great.
May 21, 2018 · Potemkin, Grigori Aleksandrovich (1739–91) Russian soldier and politician. Involved in the coup that brought Catherine II (the Great) to power in 1762, he became her lover for a time, and remained the most powerful man in Russia until his death. World Encyclopedia. Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin >The Russian administrator and field marshal ...
It is the archetypal slaughter of the innocent. A legless cripple is seen fleeing. An old woman is shot in the eye. A woman and a sick child she is cradling in her arms are shot at close range,.
