Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin - Tavricheski ( , " Grigoriy Aleksandrovich Potyomkin - Tavricheskiy " ; – , ) was a Russian military leader , statesman , nobleman and favorite of Catherine the Great . He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy , which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen . Potemkin was born into a family of middle - income noble landowners . He first attracted Catherine ' s favor for helping in her 1762 coup , then distinguished himself as a military commander in the Russo - Turkish War ( 1768 – 1774 ) . He became Catherine ' s lover , favorite and possibly her consort . After their passion cooled , he remained her lifelong friend and favored statesman . Catherine obtained for him the title of " Prince of the Holy Roman Empire " and gave him the title of " Prince of the Russian Empire " among many others : he was both a Grand Admiral and the head of all of Russia ' s land and irregular forces . Potemkin ' s defining achievements include the peaceful annexation of the Crimea ( 1783 ) and the successful second Russo - Turkish War ( 1787 – 1792 ) . The fall of Ottoman stronghold Izmail that he orchestrated prompted Gavrila Derzhavin and Osip Kozlovsky to write Russia ' s first national anthem , " Let the thunder of victory sound ! " . In 1774 , Potemkin became the governor - general of Russia ' s new southern provinces . An absolute ruler , he worked to colonize the wild steppes , controversially dealing firmly with the Cossacks who lived there . He founded the towns of Kherson , Nikolayev , Sevastopol , and Yekaterinoslav ( now Dnipropetrovsk ) . Ports in the region became bases for his new Black Sea Fleet . His rule in the south is associated with the " Potemkin village " , a largely fictional method of ruse involving the construction of painted façades to mimic real villages , full of happy , well - fed people , for visiting officials to see . Potemkin was known for his love of women , gambling and material wealth ; he oversaw the construction of many historically significant buildings , including the Tauride Palace in St . Petersburg . A century after Potemkin ' s death , his name was given to the Battleship " Potemkin " , which featured in the 1905 Russian Revolution and was fictionalized in " The Battleship Potemkin " by Sergey Eisenstein . Biography . Early life . A descendant of Muscovite diplomat Pyotr Potemkin , Grigory was born in the village of Chizhovo near Smolensk into a family of middle - income noble landowners . His father , Alexander Potemkin , was a decorated war veteran ; his mother Daria was " good - looking , capable and intelligent " , though their marriage was ultimately unhappy . Potemkin was named after his father ' s cousin Grigory Matveevich Kizlovsky , a civil servant , who became his godfather . It has been suggested that Kizlovsky fathered Potemkin , who became the centre of attention , heir to the village and the only son among six children . As the son of an ( albeit petty ) noble family , he was expected to serve the Russian Empire . After Alexander died in 1746 , Daria took charge of the family . In order to achieve a career for her son , and aided by Kizlovsky , the family moved to Moscow , where Potemkin enrolled at a gymnasium school attached to the University of Moscow . The young Potemkin became adept at languages and interested in the Russian Orthodox Church . He enlisted in the army in 1750 at age eleven , as was customary for noble children . In 1755 a second inspection placed him in the elite Horse Guards regiment . Having graduated from the University school , Potemkin became one of the first students to enroll at the University itself . Talented in both Greek and theology , he won the University ' s Gold Medal in 1757 and became part of a twelve - student delegation sent to Saint Petersburg later that year . The trip seems to have affected Potemkin : afterwards he studied little and was soon expelled . Faced with isolation from his family , he rejoined the Guards , where he excelled . At this time his net worth amounted to 430 souls ( serf s ) , equivalent to that of the poorer gentry . His time was taken up with " drinking , gambling , and promiscuous lovemaking " , and he fell deep in debt . Grigory Orlov , one of Catherine ' s lovers , led a palace coup in June 1762 that ousted Peter III and enthroned Catherine II . Sergeant Potemkin represented his regiment in the revolt . Allegedly , as Catherine reviewed her troops in front of the Winter Palace before their march to the Peterhof , she lacked a sword - knot ( or possibly hat plumage ) , which Potemkin quickly supplied . Potemkin ' s horse then ( appeared to ) refuse to leave her side for several minutes before Potemkin and horse returned to the ranks . After the coup Catherine singled out Potemkin for reward and ensured he was promoted to second lieutenant . Though Potemkin was among those guarding the ex - Tsar , it appears that he was not directly involved in Peter ' s murder in July . Catherine promoted him again to " Kammerjunker " ( gentleman of the bedchamber ) , though he retained his post in the Guards . Potemkin was soon formally presented to the Empress as a talented mimic ; his imitation of her was well received . Courtier and general . Although Catherine had not yet taken Potemkin as a lover , it seems likely that she passively — if not actively — encouraged his flirtatious behaviour , including his regular practice of kissing her hand and declaring his love for her : without encouragement , Potemkin could have expected trouble from the Orlovs ( Catherine ' s lover Grigory and his four brothers ) who dominated court . Potemkin entered Catherine ' s circle of advisers , and in 1762 took his only foreign assignment , to Sweden , bearing news of the coup . On his return , he was appointed Procurator , and won a reputation as a lover . Under unclear circumstances , Potemkin then lost his left eye and fell into a depression . His confidence shattered , he withdrew from court , becoming something of a religious hermit . Eighteen months later , Potemkin reappeared , probably summoned by Catherine . He became an army paymaster and oversaw uniform production . Shortly after , he became a Guardian of Exotic Peoples at the new All - Russian Legislative Commission , a significant political post . In September 1768 , Potemkin became " Kammerherr " ( chamberlain ) ; two months later Catherine had his military commission revoked , fully attaching him to court . In the interval , the Ottoman Empire had started the Russo - Turkish War of 1768 to 1774 and Potemkin was eager to prove himself , writing to Catherine : Potemkin served as Major - General of the cavalry . He distinguished himself in his first engagement , helping to repulse a band of unruly Tatar and Turkish horsemen . He also fought in Russia ' s victory at the Battle of Kamenets and the taking of the town . Potemkin saw action virtually every day , particularly excelling at the Battle of Prashkovsky , after which his commander Aleksandr Mikhailovich Golitsyn recommended him to Catherine . Potemkin ' s army , under Pyotr Rumyantsev , continued its advance . Potemkin fought at the capture of Jurja , a display of courage and skill for which he received the Order of St . Anna . At the Battle of Larga , he won the Order of St . George , third class , and fought well during the rout of the main Turkish force that followed . On leave to St . Petersburg , the Empress invited him to dine with her more than ten times . Back at the front , Potemkin won more military acclaim , but then fell ill ; rejecting medicine , he recovered only slowly . After a lull in hostilities in 1772 his movements are unclear , but it seems that he returned to St . Petersburg where he is recorded , perhaps apocryphally , to have been one of Catherine ' s closest advisers . Though Orlov was replaced as her favourite , it was not Potemkin who benefited but Alexander Vassilchikov , another Horse - Guardsman . Potemkin returned to war in 1773 as Lieutenant - General to fight in Silistria . It appears that Catherine missed him , and that Potemkin took a December letter from her as a summons . In any case Potemkin returned to St . Petersburg as a war hero . Favorite of Catherine II . Potemkin returned to court in January 1774 expecting to walk into Catherine ' s arms . The political situation , however , was complex . Yemelyan Pugachev had just risen as a pretender to the throne , and commanded a rebel army thirty thousand strong . In addition , Catherine ' s son Paul turned eighteen and was beginning to gain his own support . By late January Potemkin had tired of the impasse and effected ( perhaps with encouragement from Catherine ) a " melodramatic retreat " into the Alexander Nevsky Monastery . Catherine relented and had Potemkin brought back in early February , when their relationship became intimate . Several weeks later , he had usurped Vassilchikov as Catherine ' s favorite . He gained the title of Adjutant General and Catherine declared him to be " one of the greatest , wittiest and most original eccentrics of this iron century " . His uncouth behavior shocked the court , but Potemkin showed himself capable of suitable formality when necessary . The frequent letters the pair sent to each other survive , revealing their affair to be one of " laughter , sex , mutually admired intelligence , and power " . Many of their trysts seem to have centered around the " banya " sauna in the basement of the Winter Palace ; Potemkin soon grew so jealous that Catherine had to detail her prior love life for him . Potemkin also rose in political stature , particularly on the strength of his military advice . In March 1774 he became Lieutenant - Colonel in the Preobrazhensky Guards , a post previously held by Alexei Orlov . He also became captain of the Chevaliers - Gardes . In quick succession he was appointed Governor - General of Novorossiya , to the State Council , General - in - Chief , Vice - President of the College of War and Commander - in - Chief of the Cossacks . These posts made him rich and he lived lavishly . To improve his social standing he was awarded the prestigious Order of St . Alexander Nevsky and Order of St . Andrew , along with the Polish Order of the White Eagle , the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle , the Danish Order of the Elephant and the Swedish Royal Order of the Seraphim . That Catherine and Potemkin married is " almost certain " , according to Simon Sebag Montefiore ; biographer Virginia Rounding is more doubtful . In December 1784 she first explicitly referred to him as her husband in correspondence though 1775 , 1784 and 1791 have all been suggested as possible nuptial dates . In all , Catherine ' s phrasing in 22 letters suggested he had become her consort , at least secretly . Potemkin ' s actions and her treatment of him later in life fit with this : they at least acted as husband and wife . By late 1775 , however , their relationship was changing , though it is uncertain exactly when Catherine took a secretary , Pyotr Zavadovsky , as a lover . On 1 January 1775 , Zavadovsky became Adjutant - General to the Empress ( he became her official favorite in May ) and Potemkin was moved to command the St . Petersburg troop division . Signs of a potential " golden adieu " for Potemkin include his 1775 appointment , at Catherine ' s request , to the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire . Though he was " bored " with Catherine , the separation was relatively peaceful . The Prince was sent on a tour to Novogrod , but , contrary to the expectations of some onlookers ( though not Catherine ' s ) , he returned a few weeks later . He then snubbed her gift of the Anichkov Palace , and took new apartments in the Winter Palace , retaining his posts . He was no longer Catherine ' s favorite , but remained her favored minister . Though the love affair appeared to end , Catherine and Potemkin remained in a particularly close friendship , which continued to dominate their lives . Most of the time this meant a ménage à trois in the court between the pair and Catherine ' s latest swain . It was a high - pressure position for the favorite : after Zavadovsky came Semyon Zorich ( May 1777 to May 1778 ) , Ivan Rimsky - Korsakov ( May 1778 to late 1778 ) and Alexander Lanskoy ( 1780 to 1784 ) . Candidates were checked by Potemkin for suitability ; it also appears that he tended to the relationships and " filled in " between favorites . Potemkin also arranged for Catherine to walk in on Rimsky - Korasakov in a compromising position with another woman . During Catherine ' s ( comparatively ) long relationship with Lanskoy , Potemkin was particularly able to turn his attentions to other matters . He embarked upon a long series of other romances , including with his own nieces , one of whom may have borne him a child . Diplomat . Potemkin ' s first task during this period was foreign policy . An anglophile , he helped negotiate with the English ambassador , Sir James Harris , during Catherine ' s initiative of Armed Neutrality , though the south remained his passion . His plan , known as the " Greek Project " , aspired to build a new Byzantine Empire around the Turkish capital in Constantinople . Dismembering the Ottoman Empire would require détente with Austria ( technically still the Habsburg Monarchy ) , and its ruler Joseph II . They met in May 1780 in the Russian town of Mogilev . The ensuing alliance represented the triumph of Potemkin ' s approach over courtiers such as Catherine ' s son Paul , who favored alliance with Prussia . The May 1781 defensive treaty remained secret for almost two years ; the Ottomans were said to still have been unaware of it even when they declared war on Russia in 1787 . Elsewhere , Potemkin ' s scheme to develop a Russian presence in the rapidly disintegrating state of Persia failed . Plans for a full - scale invasion had previously been cut back and a small unit sent to establish a trading post there was quickly turned away . Potemkin focused instead on Russia ' s southern provinces , where he was busy founding cities ( including Sevastopol ) and creating his own personal kingdom , including his brand new Black Sea Fleet . That kingdom was about to expand : under the Treaty of Kuçuk Kainarji , which had ended the previous Russo - Turkish war , the Crimean Khanate had become independent , though effectively under Russian control . In June 1782 it was descending again into anarchy . By July 1783 , Potemkin had engineered the peaceful annexation of the Crimea and Kuban , capitalizing on the fact that Britain and France were fighting elsewhere . The Kingdom of Georgia accepted Russian protection a few days later ; the Khanates of Persia and Armenia initially looked as though they might also , but eventually declined Russian help . Exhausted , Potemkin collapsed into a fever he barely survived . Catherine rewarded him with one hundred thousand roubles , which he used to construct the Tauride Palace in St . Petersburg . Governor - General and city builder . Potemkin returned to St . Petersburg in November 1783 and was promoted to Field Marshal when the Crimea was formally annexed the following February . He also became President of the College of War . The province of Tauris ( the Crimea ) was added to the state of Novorossiya ( lit . " New Russia " . ) Potemkin moved south in mid - March , as the " Prince of Tauris " . He had been the " namestvo " ( Governor - General ) of Russia ' s southern provinces ( including Novorossiya , Azov , Saratov , Astrakhan and the Caucasus ) since 1774 , repeatedly expanding it via military action . He kept his own court , which rivalled Catherine ' s : by the 1780s he operated a chancellery with fifty or more clerks and had his own minister , Vasili Popov , to oversee day - to - day affairs . Another favored associate was Mikhail Faleev . The " criminal " breaking of the Cossack host s , particularly the Zaporozhian Cossacks in 1775 , helped define his rule . However , Montefiore argues that given their location , and in the wake of the Pugachev rebellion , the Cossacks were likely doomed in any case . By the time of Potemkin ' s death , the Cossacks and their threat of anarchic revolt were well controlled . Builder . Potemkin then embarked on a period of city - founding . Construction started at his first effort , Kherson , in 1778 , as a base for a new Black Sea Fleet he intended to build . Potemkin approved every plan himself , but construction was slow , and the city proved costly and vulnerable to plague . Next was the port of Akhtiar , annexed with the Crimea , which became Sevastopol . Then he built Simferopol as the Crimean capital . His biggest failure , however , was his effort to recreate the city of Yekaterinoslav ( lit . " The glory of Catherine " ) , now Dnipropetrovsk . The second most successful city of Potemkin ' s rule was Nikolayev ( now better known as Mykolaiv ) , which he founded in 1789 . Potemkin also initiated the redesign of Odessa after its capture from the Turks ; it was to turn out to be the greatest . Potemkin ' s Black Sea Fleet was a massive undertaking for its time . By 1787 , the British ambassador reported twenty - seven battleship s . It put Russia on a naval footing with Spain , though far behind the British Navy . The period represented the peak of Russia ' s naval power relative to other European states . Potemkin also rewarded hundreds of thousands of settlers who moved into his territories . It is estimated that by 1782 the populations of Novorossiya and Azov had doubled during a period of " exceptionally rapid " development . Immigrants included Russians , foreigners , British convicts diverted from Australia , Cossacks and controversially Jews . Though the immigrants were not always happy in their new surroundings , on at least one occasion Potemkin intervened directly to ensure families received the cattle to which they were entitled . Outside of Novorossiya he drew up the defensive Azov - Mozdok line , constructing forts at Georgievsk , Stavropol and elsewhere and ensured that the whole of the line was settled . In 1784 Lanskoy died and Potemkin was needed at court to console the grieving Catherine . After Alexander Yermolov was installed as the new favorite in 1785 , Catherine , Yermolov and Potemkin cruised the upper Volga . When Yermolov attempted to unseat Potemkin ( and attracted support from Potemkin ' s critics ) , he found himself replaced by Count Alexander Dmitriev - Mamonov in the summer of 1786 . Potemkin returned to the south , having arranged that Catherine would visit in the summer of 1787 . She reached Kiev in late January , to travel down the Dnieper after the ice had melted . Potemkin had other lovers at this time , including a ' Countess ' and a Naryshkina . Leaving in April , the royal party arrived in Kherson a month later . On visiting Sevastopol , Austria ' s Joseph II , who was traveling with them , was moved to note that " The Empress is totally ecstatic . . . Prince Potemkin is at the moment all - powerful " . " Potemkin Village " . The notion of the Potemkin village ( coined in German by critical biographer Georg von Helbig as " " ) arose from Catherine ' s visit to the south . Critics accused Potemkin of using painted façades to fool Catherine into thinking that the area was far richer than it was . Thousands of peasants were alleged to have been stage - managed for this purpose . Certainly , Potemkin had arranged for Catherine to see the best he had to offer ( organising numerous exotic excursions ) and at least two cities ' officials did conceal poverty by building false houses . It seems unlikely , however , that the fraud approached the scale alleged . The Prince of Ligne , a member of the Austrian delegation , who had explored on his own during the trip , later proclaimed the allegations to be false . Commander - in - Chief . Potemkin remained in the south , gradually sinking into depression . His inactivity was problematic , given that he was now Russia ' s commander - in - chief and , in August 1787 , another Russo - Turkish war broke out ( the second of Potemkin ' s lifetime ) . His opponents were anxious to reclaim the lands they had lost in the last war , and they were under pressure from Prussia , Britain and Sweden to take a hostile attitude towards Russia . Potemkin ' s bluster had probably contributed to the hostility , either deliberately or accidentally ; either way , his creation of the new fleet and Catherine ' s trip to the south had certainly not helped matters . In the center , Potemkin had his own Yekaterinoslav Army , while to the west lay the smaller Ukraine Army under the command of Field - Marshal Rumyantsev - Zadunaisky . On water he had the Black Sea Fleet , and Potemkin was also responsible for coordinating military actions with Russia ' s Austrian allies . Potemkin and Catherine agreed on a primarily defensive strategy until the spring . Though the Turks were repelled in early skirmishes ( against the Russian fortress at Kinburn ) , news of the loss of Potemkin ' s beloved fleet during a storm sent him into a deep depression . A week later , and after kind words from Catherine , he was rallied by the news that the fleet was not in fact destroyed , but only damaged . General Alexander Suvorov won an important victory at Kinburn in early October ; with winter now approaching , Potemkin was confident the port would be safe until the spring . Turning his attention elsewhere , Potemkin established his headquarters in Elisabethgrad and planned future operations . He assembled an army of forty or fifty thousand , including the newly formed Kuban Cossacks . He divided his time between military preparation ( creating a fleet of a hundred gunboats to fight within the shallow liman ) and chasing the wives of soldiers under his command . Meanwhile , the Austrians remained on the defensive across central Europe , though they did manage to hold their lines . Despite advice to the contrary , Potemkin pursued an equally defensive strategy , though in the Caucasus Generals Tekeeli and Pavel Potemkin were making some inroads . In early summer 1788 , fighting intensified as Potemkin ' s forces won their naval confrontation with the Turks with few losses , and began the siege of Ochakov , a Turkish stronghold and the main Russian war aim . Less promising was that St . Petersburg , exposed after Russia ' s best forces departed for the Crimea , was now under threat from Sweden in the Russo - Swedish War of 1788 – 90 . Potemkin refused to write regularly with news of the war in the south , compounding Catherine ' s anxiety . Potemkin argued with Suvorov and Catherine herself , who were both anxious to assault Ochakov , which the Turks twice managed to supply by sea . Finally , on 6 December , the assault began and four hours later the city was taken , a coup for Potemkin . Nearly ten thousand Turks had been killed at a cost of ( only ) two - and - a - half thousand Russians . Catherine wrote that " you [ Potemkin ] have shut the mouths of everyone . . . [ and can now ] show magnanimity to your blind and empty - headed critics " . Potemkin then visited the naval yard at Vitovka , founded Nikolayev , and traveled on to St . Petersburg , arriving in February 1789 . In May he left once more for the front , having agreed contingency plans with Catherine should Russia be forced into war with either Prussia or the upstart Poland , which had recently successfully demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory . ( Catherine herself was just about to change favorites for the final time , replacing Dmitriev - Mamonov with Platon Zubov . ) Back on the Turkish front , Potemkin advanced towards the fortress of Bender on the Dniester river . The summer and autumn of 1789 saw numerous victories against the Turks , including the Battle of Focşani in July ; in early September , the Battle of Rymnik and the capture of both Kaushany and Hadjibey ( modern day Odessa ) ; and finally the surrender of the Turkish fortress at Akkerman in late September . The massive fortress at Bender surrendered in November without a fight . Potemkin opened up a lavish court at Jassy , the capital of Moldavia , to " winter like a sultan , revel in his mistresses , build his towns , create his regiments — and negotiate peace with [ the Turks ] . . . he was emperor of all he surveyed " . Potemkin even established a newspaper , " Le Courrier de Moldavie " . His preferred lover at the time — though he had others — was Praskovia Potemkina , an affair which continued into 1790 . Potemkin renamed two ships in her honor . As part of the diplomatic machinations , Potemkin was given the new title of " Grand Hetman of the Black Sea and Yekaterinoslav Cossack Hosts " and in March he assumed personal control of the Black Sea fleet as Grand Admiral . In July 1790 the Russian Baltic Fleet was defeated by the Swedish at the Battle of Svensksund . Despite the damage , the silver lining for the Russians was that the Swedes now felt able to negotiate on an even footing and a peace was soon signed , based on the " status quo ante bellum " , thus ending the threat of invasion . The peace also freed up military resources for the war against the Turks . Potemkin had moved his evermore lavish court to Bender and there were soon more successes against Turkey , including the capture of Batal - Pasha and , on the second attempt , of Kilia on the Danube . By the end of November , only one major target remained : the Turkish fortress of Izmail . At Potemkin ' s request , General Suvorov commanded the assault , which proved to be costly but effective . The victory was commemorated by Russia ' s first , albeit unofficial , national anthem , " Let the thunder of victory sound ! " , written by Gavrila Derzhavin and Osip Kozlovsky . After two years he returned to St . Petersburg to face the threat of war against an Anglo - Prussian coalition in addition to the war with Turkey . His return was widely celebrated with the " Carnival of Prince Potemkin " . The Prince came across as polite and charming though his latest mistress , Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukaya , appeared sidelined and Potemkin found himself embroiled in court intrigue whilst trying to force Zubov out . Catherine and Potemkin fought over military strategy ; the Empress wanted no compromise , while Potemkin wanted to buy time by appeasing the Prussians . Fortunately for the Russians , the Anglo - Prussian alliance collapsed and a British ultimatum that Russia should accept the " status quo ante bellum " was withdrawn . In this way , the threat of a wider war receded . Though Russia was still at war with the Ottomans , Potemkin ' s focus was now Poland . Potemkin had conservative allies including Felix Potocki , whose schemes were so diverse that they have yet to be fully untangled . For example , one idea was for Potemkin to declare himself king . Success on the Turkish front continued , mostly attributable to Potemkin . He now had the opportunity to confront the Turks and dictate a peace , but that would mean leaving Catherine . His procrastination soured Catherine ' s attitude towards him , a situation compounded by Potemkin ' s choice of the married Princess Paskovia Adreevna Golitsyna ( née Shuvalova ) as his latest mistress . In the end , Potemkin was given the requisite authority to negotiate with the Turks ( and , afterwards , to pursue his Polish ambitions ) , and dispatched by Catherine back to the south . She sent a note after him , reading " Goodbye my friend , I kiss you " . Death . Potemkin fell ill in the fever - ridden city of Jassy , though he kept busy , overseeing peace talks , planning his assault on Poland and preparing the army for renewed war in the south . He fasted briefly and recovered some strength , but refused medicine and began to feast once again , consuming a " ham , a slated goose and three or four chickens " . On , he felt better and dictated a letter to Catherine before collapsing once more . Later , he awoke and dispatched his entourage to Nikolayev . On Potemkin died in the open steppe , 40 miles from Jassy . Picking up on contemporary rumor , historians such as the Polish Jerzy Łojek have suggested that he was poison ed because his madness made him a liability , but this is rejected by Montefiore , who suggests he succumbed to bronchial pneumonia instead . Potemkin was embalmed and a funeral was held for him in Jassy . Eight days after his death , he was buried . Catherine was distraught and ordered social life in St . Petersburg be put on hold . Derzhavin ' s ode " Waterfall " lamented his death ; likewise many in the military establishment had looked upon Potemkin as a father figure and were especially saddened by his death . Polish contemporary Stanisław Małachowski claimed that Aleksandra von Engelhardt , a niece of Potemkin and wife to Franciszek Ksawery Branicki , a magnate and prominent leader of the Targowica Confederation , also worried for the fate of Poland after the death of the man who had planned to revitalise the state with him as its new head . Potemkin had used the state treasury as a personal bank , preventing the resolution of his financial affairs to this day . Catherine purchased the Tauride Palace palace and his art collection from his estate , and paid off his debts . Consequently he left a relative fortune . Catherine ' s son Paul , who succeeded to the throne in 1796 , attempted to undo as many of Potemkin ' s reforms as possible . The Tauride Palace was turned into a barracks , and the city of Gregoripol , which had been named in Potemkin ' s honor , was renamed . Potemkin ' s grave survived a destruction order issued by Paul and was eventually displayed by the Bolsheviks . His remains now appear to lie in his tomb at St . Catherine ' s Cathedral in Kherson . The exact whereabouts of some of his internal organs , including his heart and brain first kept at Golia Monastery , remain unknown . Personality and reputation . Potemkin " exuded both menace and welcome " ; he was arrogant , demanding of his courtiers and very changeable in his moods but also fascinating , warm and kind . It was generally agreed among his female companions that he was " amply endowed with ' sex appeal ' " . Louis Philippe , comte de Ségur described him as " colossal like Russia " , " an inconceivable mixture of grandeur and pettiness , laziness and activity , bravery and timidity , ambition and insouciance " . The internal contrast was evident throughout his life : he frequented both church and numerous orgies , for example . In Ségur ' s view , onlookers had a tendency to unjustly attribute to Catherine alone the successes of the period and to Potemkin the failures . An eccentric workaholic , Potemkin was vain and a great lover of jewelry ( a taste he did not always remember to pay for ) , but he disliked sycophancy and was sensitive about his appearance , particularly his lost eye . He only agreed to having portraits made of him twice , in 1784 and again in 1791 , both times by Johann Baptist von Lampi and from an angle which disguised his injury . Potemkin was also an intellectual . The Prince of Ligne noted that Potemkin had " natural abilities [ and ] an excellent memory " . He was interested in history and generally knowledgeable . Potemkin loved the classical music of the period , as well as opera . He liked all food , both peasant and fine ; particular favorites included roast beef and potatoes , and his anglophilia meant that English gardens were prepared wherever he went . A practical politician , his political ideas were " quintessentially Russian " , and he believed in the superiority of the Tsarist autocracy ( he once described the French revolution aries as " a pack of madmen " ) . Potemkin ' s habits included biting his nails , to the point where he developed hangnail . One evening , at the height of his power , Potemkin declared to his dinner guests : Ultimately Potemkin proved a controversial figure . Criticisms include " laziness , corruption , debauchery , indecision , extravagance , falsification , military incompetence and disinformation on a vast scale " but supporters hold that only " the sybaritism [ devotion to luxury ] and extravagance . . . are truly justified " , stressing Potemkin ' s " intelligence , force of personality , spectacular vision , courage , generosity and great achievements " . Though not a military genius , he was " seriously able " in military matters . Potemkin ' s contemporary Ségur was quick to criticise , writing that " nobody thought out a plan more swiftly [ than Potemkin ] , carried it out more slowly and abandoned it more easily " . Another contemporary , the Scotsman Sir John Sinclair , added that Potemkin had " great abilities " but was ultimately a " worthless and dangerous character " . Russian opponents such as Semyon Vorontsov agreed : the Prince had " lots of intelligence , intrigue and credit " but lacked " knowledge , application and virtue " . Family . Potemkin had no legitimate descendants , though it is probable he had illegitimate issue . Four of his five sisters lived long enough to bear children , but only the daughters of his sister Marfa Elena ( sometimes rendered as ' Helen ' ) received Potemkin ' s special attention . The five unmarried Engelhardt sisters arrived in court in 1775 on the direction of their recently widowed father Vassily . Legend suggests Potemkin soon seduced many of the girls , one of whom was twelve or thirteen at the time . An affair with the third eldest , Varvara , can be verified ; after that had subsided , Potemkin formed close — and probably amorous — relationships successively with Alexandra , the second eldest , and Ekaterina , the fifth . Potemkin also had influential relatives . Potemkin ' s sister Maria , for example , married Russian senator Nikolay Samoylov : their son Alexander was decorated for his service under Potemkin in the army ; their daughter Ekaterina married first into the Raevesky family , and then the wealthy landowner Lev Davydov . She had children with both husbands , including highly decorated General Nikolay Raevsky , Potemkin ' s great - nephew . His wider family included several distant cousins , among them Count Pavel Potemkin , another decorated military figure , whose brother Mikhail married Potemkin ' s niece Tatiana Engelhardt . A distant nephew , Felix Yusupov , helped murder Rasputin in 1916 . Legacy . Despite attempts by Paul I to play down Potemkin ' s role in Russian history , his name found its way into numerous items of common parlance . The phrase " Potemkin village " entered common usage in Russia and globally , despite its fictional origin . A century after Potemkin ' s death , the Battleship " Potemkin " was named in his honour . The ship became famous for its involvement in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and subsequent dramatization in " The Battleship Potemkin " , a Soviet movie by Sergey Eisenstein , which at one point was named the greatest film of all time . The name of the giant seaside staircase in Odessa , featured in the movie , eventually became known as the Potemkin Stairs .