Prince Grigory Potemkin was a favorite of Catherine II and during her reign played an important role in the political life of the Russian Empire. This undoubtedly outstanding figure annexed Crimea to Russia, created the Black Sea Fleet and became its first leader.
The early years and participation in the coup
Grigory A. Potemkin was born in September 1739 in a noble family. Place of birth - the village of Chizhevo, near Smolensk.
In 1746, Grisha's father, a retired military man, died and the boy moved with his mother to Moscow. Here Gregory was arranged in a private lyceum named after Litke in the German settlement. After graduating from this lyceum, Grigory Potemkin continued his education at the prestigious Moscow University. At the same time, he was enlisted in the Horse Guards with a raider with permission not to appear until the end of training in the service.
In 1756, Grigory Alexandrovich was awarded a medal for significant success in comprehending science, and in 1757, he was one of the twelve most capable students who was invited to St. Petersburg to host the then-ruler, Elizabeth.
Returning from this reception back to Moscow, Potemkin suddenly lost interest in his studies and decided to concentrate on his military career (which ultimately led to expulsion from the university). In 1761, Gregory was given the rank of vachmistra, and in 1762 he became the orderly of Georg Golshtinsky, a relative of Tsar Peter III.
In July 1762, Potemkin took part in a coup d'etat, which culminated in the ascension to the throne of Catherine II. After that, he received the rank of guards lieutenant (the new sovereign clearly favored Grigory Alexandrovich, the other vahmists who supported the uprising became only cornets), ten thousand rubles, and also four hundred souls of serfs.
Further career and rapprochement with the Empress
After the coming to power of Catherine the Great, Grigory Potemkin began to move very quickly up the career ladder. It is known that in 1763 he served as Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, and in 1767 participated in the activities of the Stated Commission (the Empress convened this commission to develop a single code of laws).
In 1768, another (not the first, but not the last) Russian-Turkish war broke out. Potemkin immediately went to the army as a volunteer. At the front, he commanded a cavalry and managed to show courage in several battles, for which he received praise directly from the field marshal. In 1774, he was summoned to the palace of Catherine II and became her favorite. There is a version that the Empress and Gregory even married secretly, but one hundred percent evidence for this at the moment is not found. Interestingly, Potemkin never had any other official wives.
The patronage and love of Catherine allowed Grigory Alexandrovich to become one of the most powerful people in the empire. Over the next seventeen years, Potemkin was very actively involved in the affairs of a huge state.
