218 years ago Grigory Potemkin was born. He is well known as the lover of Catherine the Great but he was also a military leader, statesman and nobleman.
Catherine the Great with her lover, G. Potemkin
In Imperial Russia he was born as the son of a diplomat. The same fate awaited him and he is well known as an 'anglophile', negotiating deals between Russia and England. Climbing the ladder of aristocracy, he was noted by Catherine the Great. The latter, Empress of All the Russias, appointed him commander-in-chief.
The notion of Potemkin villages.
A village where fake settlements are being erected to impress someone is called a Potemkin village. A historical myth suggests such villages were erected to fool Empress Catherine II to her visit to the Crimea. In her trips around Russia, Catherine II wanted to observe and inspect the welfare of the Russian people.
Knowing that all was not well in Russia and to improve his standing with the Empress, Potemkin is alleged to have given orders to erect fake façades, in order to impress as opposed to disappoint Catherine.
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