First published in Great Britain by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2000 This paperback edition published in 2001 by Phoenix Press, a division of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin's Lane, London WC2H9EA
Copyright © 2000 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
The moral right of Simon Sebag Montefiore to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it may not be resold or otherwise issued except in its original binding.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic
isbn 1 84212 438 2
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Notes xvii
prologue: Death on the Steppes i
part one: potemkin and catherine 1739-1762
The Provincial Boy 13
The Guardsman and the Grand Duchess: Catherine's Coup 3 2
First Meeting: The Empress's Reckless Suitor 48
part two: closer 1762-1774
Cyclops 65
The War Hero 76
The Happiest Man Alive 94
part three: together i774-i776
Love 109
Power 122
Marriage: Madame Potemkin 136
Heartbreak and Understanding 151
part four: the passionate partnership 1776-1777
Her Favourites 165
His Nieces 185
Duchesses, Diplomats and Charlatans 196
x contents
part five: the colossus 1777-1783
Byzantium 215
The Holy Roman Emperor 223
Three Marriages and a Crown 236
Potemkin's Paradise: The Crimea 244
part six: the co-tsar 1784-1786
Emperor of the South 263
British Blackamoors and Chechen Warriors 285
Anglomania: The Benthams in Russia and the Emperor of Gardens 295
The White Negro 312
A Day in the Life of Grigory Alexandrovich 328
part seven: the apogee 1787-1790
The Magical Theatre 351
Cleopatra 363
The Amazons 376
Jewish Cossacks and American Admirals: Potemkin's War 388
Cry Havoc: The Storming of Ochakov 404
My Successes Are Yours 417
The Delicious and the Crueclass="underline" Sardanapalus 430
Sea of Slaughter: Ismail 448
part eight: the last dance 1791
The Beautiful Greek 459
Carnival and Crisis 467
The Last Ride 480
epilogue: Life After Death 481
List of Characters 503
Maps 50 6
Family Trees 508
Notes 512
Select Bibliography 593
Index 615
ILLUSTRATIONS
Credits for the illustration sections.
Serenissimus Prince Grigory Potemkin, by Johann Baptist von Lampi (1751-1830),
Hermitage, St Petersburg, photo by N. Y. Bolotina Catherine the Great in 1762 by Vigilius Ericksen (1722-1782), Musee des Beaux-
Arts, Chartres, France, Lauros-Giraudon/Bridgeman Art Library Countess Alexandra Branicka by R. Brompton, Alupka Palace Museum, Ukraine, photo by the author
Portrait of Paul 1,1796-7 by Stepan Semeonovich Shukin (1762-1828), Hermitage,
St Petersburg, Russia/Bridgeman Art Library Potemkin's Palaces[1]
Portrait of Catherine II the Great in a Travelling Costume, 1787 (oil on canvas) by Mikhail Shibanov (fl. 1783-89), State Russian Museum, St Petersburg, Russia/Bridgeman Art Library Portrait of Field Marshal Potemkin, 1787 by Alexander Roslin, courtesy of the West
Wycombe Collection of Sir Edward Dashwood, photo by Sir Edward Dashwood Potemkin's signature
Catherine the Great, 1793 by Johann Baptist von Lampi (1751-1830), Hermitage,
St Petersburg, Russia/Bridgeman Art Library Portrait of Prince Grigori Potemkin-Tavrichesky, c. 1790 by Johann Baptist von
Lampi (1751-1830), Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia/Bridgeman Art Library The roadside memorials marking Potemkin's death, photo by author The board announcing Potemkin's death, photo by author
The trapdoor in St Catherine's church in Kherson, Ukraine, leading to Potemkin's
tomb, photo by author Potemkin's coffin, St Catherine's, Kherson, Ukraine, photo by author The ruined church in Potemkin's home village of Chizhova, Russia, photo author's collection
Potemkin in Chevalier-Garde uniform, collection of V. S. Lopatin
Potemkin's mother, Daria Potemkina, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai
Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library The Empress Elisabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, etching by E. Chemesov,
Weidenfeld & Nicolson picture collection The Grand Duchess Catherine with husband Peter and their son, Paul, Weidenfeld & Nicolson picture collection
Field-Marshal Peter Rumiantsev at the Battle of Kagul, 1770, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson picture collection Grigory Orlov, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, picture
courtesy of the British Library Alexei Orlov, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich picture courtesy of the British Library Catherine and Potemkin in her boudoir, author's collection
Alexander Lanskoy, by D. G. Levitsky, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai
Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library Count Alexander Dmitriyev-Mamonov, by Mikhail Shibanov, Portraits Russes by
Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library Princess Varvara Golitsyna, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich,
picture courtesy of the British Library Countess Ekaterina Skavronskaya with her daughter, by Angelica Kauffman, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library
Princess Tatiana Yusupova, by E. Vigee Lebrun, Portraits Russes by Grand Duke
Nikolai Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library Portrait of Ekaterina Samoilova by Johann Baptist von Lampi (1751-1830), Portraits Russes by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, picture courtesy of the British Library
Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, photo author's collection
Joseph II and Catherine meeting 1787, Weidenfeld & Nicolson picture collection
Charles-Joseph, Prince de Ligne, photo author's collection
Catherine walking in the park at Tsarskoe Selo, by V. L. Borovikovsky,
Weidenfeld & Nicolson picture collection The storming of the Turkish fortress of Ochakov in 1788, Odessa State Local