page_title: Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov
section_title: Service under Catherine II
hierarchical_section_title: Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov / Service under Catherine II
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov (1737-1809) Русский: Портрет графа А.Г. Орлова-ЧесменскогоРабота Карла Людвига Христинека, 1779
context_page_description: Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov was a Russian soldier and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great.
  Orlov served in the Imperial Russian Army, and through his connections with his brother, became one of the key conspirators in the plot to overthrow Tsar Peter III and replace him on the Russian throne with his wife, Catherine. The plot, carried out in 1762, was successful, and Peter was imprisoned under Alexei Orlov's guard. He died shortly afterwards under mysterious circumstances, and it was popularly believed Orlov had either ordered, or personally carried out, his murder. Handsomely rewarded by Catherine after her accession, the Orlovs became powerful at court. Alexei was promoted and took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74, commanding a naval expedition to the Mediterranean in 1770, which destroyed the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Chesma. For his success he was granted the honorific Chesmensky. The Russian victory sparked off the Orlov Revolt in the Greek territories of the Ottoman Empire soon afterwards.
context_section_description: The Orlovs were rewarded after Catherine's accession, and Alexei was promoted to the rank of major-general, and given the title of count. He and his brother received 50,000 roubles and 800 serfs. Despite a lack of formal education and his ignorance of foreign languages, he maintained an interest in science, patronizing Mikhail Lomonosov and Denis Fonvizin, and corresponding with Jean Jacques Rousseau. He was one of the founders of the Free Economic Society and its first elected chairman. Rewarded with large estates, he took an interest in horse breeding, developing the Orlov Trotter, and popularising the breed of chicken now known as the Orloff.
  He became involved in military operations during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, organising the First Archipelago Expedition, and commanding of a squadron of the Imperial Russian Navy. He fought and won the Battle of Chesma against an Ottoman fleet on 5 July 1770, with the help of British naval expertise, and received the right to add the honorific 'Chesmensky' to his name. He was also awarded the Order of St. George First Class. His expedition sparked off the Orlov Revolt in Greece, which despite initial successes, lacked continued Russian support, and was eventually put down by the Ottomans. Orlov was sent as plenipotentiary to the talks at Focşani in 1772, but his impatience caused the breaking off of negotiations, which led to dissatisfaction from the Empress.
  Catherine then commissioned Orlov to make contact with Yelizaveta Alekseyevna, a pretender to the throne claiming to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, and deliver her to Russia. Orlov did so by pretending to be a supporter of hers, and successfully seducing her. He then lured her aboard a Russian ship at Livorno in May 1775, where she was arrested by Admiral Samuel Greig and taken to Russia, where she was imprisoned and later died. Shortly after this service, the Orlovs fell from favour at court, and Alexei and Grigory were dismissed from their positions. Orlov retired to the Sans Ennui Palace near Moscow, and gave luxurious balls and dinners, making himself 'the most popular man in Moscow.'
caption: Oval portrait of Alexei Orlov by Carl-Ludwig Christinek, 1779
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