The year is 1783. Potemkin has just annexed Crimea on behalf of his mistress Catherine the Great. – The purpose was for the empire to become as large as possible, says author and historian Halvor Tjønn to news. Catherine the Great – who was empress of the vast Russian Empire had allowed herself to be persuaded by her ten-year-younger lover to go south: As Peter the Great expanded Russia to the west, Potemkin believed that Russia had to take Crimea and the land on the Black Sea in the south . – They wanted a Russia that would become one of the most powerful states on the European continent and in the northern hemisphere. After all, this was in the 18th century, and then people had no notions of democracy or self-determination like we have today. IMPORTANT PERSON: Author Halvor Tjønn believes that Potemkin is one of the most fascinating figures on the European scene in the 18th century. And important to the empress. Photo: Edvard Thorup / Dreyer Forlag She was 44, he was ten years younger. He was not only her lover, but also Catherine’s closest friend, political adviser, military strategist, army commander and co-tsar. And the power couple had big ambitions: their ultimate plan was to capture Constantinople and create a new empire with a Greek population, a new Byzantine Empire. The old dream of the Russians was to gain control over the Bosphorus. Was contacted by the Kremlin – Potemkin is the link between now and then, says Simon Sebag Montefiore, referring to the fact that the army leader took the land and founded the cities that are being fought over now. When the British author published the book “Potemkin and Catherine the Great” in 2000, he was surprisingly contacted by President Putin’s office in the Kremlin. PUTIN WANTED TO AFFORD: When Simon S. Montefiore published his Potemkin biography, he was contacted by the Kremlin. Putin wanted to learn more about the conquest of Crimea. Montefiore has published several books on Russian history, including on Joseph Stalin. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Putin had just come to power and had read the biography. He was very interested in learning more about Potemkin and the conquest of the Crimea. To CNN, Montefiore stated that Putin wanted a summary of how Potemkin and Catherine II took Crimea and the land in southern Ukraine. Putin was very pleased, says the author. A builder – Potemkin is one of the most fascinating figures of the 18th century in European history. He was very important to the fact that the period during which Katarina II reigned was such a huge success, from her point of view, of course, says Tjønn. Potemkin founded and planned the cities of Kherson, Odesa, Mykolayev, Mariopol, Dnieper, Simferopol and, not least, Sevastopol, which is the base of the Russian Black Sea fleet which the field lord also built up. The original Muslim population was displaced. New residents were brought in: – Potemkin brought in colonists from Europe. They were German speaking, Greek speaking and even Swedish speaking from Estonia. New residents also came from Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia. Potjomin also invited Jews to settle in Novorossija, New Russia, which he and Katarina called the newly conquered area, says Tjønn. Harem and sex stories The couple both lived eccentric and debauched lives. They lived together for a short time, but continued to live separately with new lovers. The letters between them went back and forth quickly. They wrote about politics, war and love. Potemkin was notorious for his appetite for everything life had to offer. The list of young women was long. He also allegedly had relationships with five of his nieces. And although Prince Potemkin fought several bloody battles against the Turks, he liked several aspects of their culture, not least the harem. For the Russian prince did not want to be inferior to the sultan, and also acquired a harem of women. The eccentric Potemkin did exactly as he pleased. Among other things, he met people in his morning clothes and even barefoot. – He is described as both enterprising, depressed, energetic, generous, witty and sharp, very knowledgeable. He must have been a very outgoing person. But was also lazy and ineffective at times. There is speculation as to whether he had a bipolar disorder, says Tjønn. Jason Clarke and Helen Mirren play Prince Potemkin and Empress Catherine in the HBO series “Catherine the great” from 2019 Photo: Scanpix / Everett Collection Tjønn says that he could retreat to a monastery and meditate. Katarina became worried and had to get him out of monastic life and depression. He then returned with energy like a volcano. Moved the body Potemkin died of exhaustion and an unhealthy life aged just 52 while traveling in present-day Moldova. He died on a lawn in the arms of his favorite niece. But the corpse and the remains were to live a further life. Potemkin had made enemies over the years. In particular, Catherine’s son Paul 1 strongly disliked the prince. Paul ordered that all memories of his mother’s favorite and co-tsar be erased. Gradually, the memory of them was dimmed, because their lifestyle did not fit the spirit of the times in the 19th century and when Russia became communist after the revolution in 1917. Read also: Did Catherine the Great become an executioner in Ukraine Again he is controversial, now in Ukraine where the the Russian conqueror’s tracks are removed once again. Last fall, his remains were moved from St. Catherine’s Church in Kherson. Russian forces transported the remains to the other side of the Dnieper River. The name Potemkin is also known after Sergei Eisestein’s film about “The Battleship Potemkin” and the famous Potemkin Stairs in Odesa from the same film. Photo: Rights Managed / Mary Evans Picture According to Simon Sebag Montefiore, his remains have been moved several times over the past 250 years because the prince and field lord was a controversial figure. – But I never thought they would steal his remains again. It’s strange because no one would have touched his grave now, says Montefiore to the independent Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar. But Montefiore thinks he knows why this is happening: – My thought is that they are considering burying the remains in a large grave in Moscow. You can imagine a burial site with all the names of the territories conquered for Russia, such as Mykolaiv, Mariopol, Dnipro and all the cities he founded. and not least Crimea. So I think that’s why they took the body. Sources: Letter reproduced in Simon Sebag Monterfiore’s biography of Prince Grigory Potemkin and Empress Catherine.
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