In the late 1700s, Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was arguably the most powerful man in the Russian Empire.
Potemkin first distinguished himself as a military commander in the first Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), becoming a firm favorite of Catherine the Great, empress of Russia. He remained her confidant until his death in 1791.
She was called Catherine the Great for a reason. Under her reign, Russia’s borders expanded to include large swaths of the Ottoman Empire as well as much of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Russia was finally recognized as an important European power. The empress encouraged a cultural revolution among her people. She also ordered the founding of several cities and towns in Russia’s newly annexed territories, including Odessa, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sevastopol. The noble elite established themselves in duchies across the empire, building magnificent mansions in the classical style loved by Catherine. Russia was thriving.
Yet beneath the grandeur and opulence, society was built on the backs of the serfs. Their inglorious existence spoiled the portrait of perfection.
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