Potemkin became the most powerful man of Catherine’s reign after the empress herself, serving as lover, adviser, commander, and perhaps husband for 17 years.

Born in 1739, he excelled at the University of Moscow before expulsion for poor attendance. He joined the Horse Guards, took part in the 1762 coup, and first attracted Catherine with his wit and theatrical charm. Gossip about their growing attraction angered the Orlovs, who allegedly attacked him; around this time he lost the sight in one eye. Catherine later recalled him to court, and he distinguished himself in the Turkish war.

In December 1773, Catherine invited Potemkin to correspond. He arrived in January 1774 but found Vasilchikov still in place as her favorite. Frustrated, he withdrew to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery until Catherine, dismissing Panin’s warnings about his ambition, sent Countess Bruce to bring him back. Potemkin became her lover, though their relationship was turbulent and marked by jealousy. Catherine wrote “A Sincere Confession,” recounting her previous lovers and insisting she could not live “without love for even an hour” (423). They quarreled constantly.

Evidence suggests they secretly married on June 8, 1774. No document survives, but Catherine’s letters call him “dear husband” and are signed “your wife” (430), language she used with no one else. Later comments by Joseph II and the French ambassador also hint at a marriage, which would explain Potemkin’s singular authority.

Potemkin’s rise was meteoric. By May 1774 he sat on the Privy Council; by June he was vice president of the College of War and governor-general of New Russia. Catherine showered him and his family with gifts, bringing his five nieces to court.

The court realized this favorite would wield real power. Potemkin cultivated a wary relationship with Panin while leaving him in control of foreign affairs. Catherine gave Potemkin responsibility for the Pugachev rebellion and increasingly consulted him on everything, even asking him to correct her Russian grammar. Potemkin’s talent for spectacle emerged when he produced elaborate Moscow celebrations marking the end of the Turkish war. He clashed with Panin over honors and his growing interference in foreign policy.

In summer 1775, King George III asked to rent 20,000 Russian troops to suppress rebellions in England’s American colonies. Catherine refused. Her unstated reason was that she anticipated needing those soldiers for a future war with Turkey.

For all their passion, Catherine and Potemkin’s relationship was deeply unstable. In January 1776 Catherine secured for him the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, yet their quarrels continued.

In May 1776 Potemkin took offense at Catherine’s use of the phrase “blind eye” in a letter about his regiment and threatened resignation. Catherine grew weary of the constant conflict, especially because he discussed their disputes with his relatives. She concluded that they “quarrel about power, never about love” (440). Potemkin craved supreme authority but feared his position depended entirely on Catherine’s favor. Knowing he could be discarded like Orlov or Vasilchikov, he chose power over romance, ending their physical relationship while preserving his political dominance.

When Catherine gave Potemkin the Anichkov Palace, many assumed his fall was near. Alexis Orlov even offered to make him “disappear” (442). Catherine reported this to Potemkin, prompting Alexis Orlov’s resignation.

As their romance cooled, Catherine and Potemkin found a favorite for Catherine in Peter Zavadovsky, a 37-year-old Ukrainian protégé of Rumyantsev. The match suited them both: Catherine gained relief from Potemkin’s emotional demands, while Potemkin preserved his power.

By March 1776 Catherine was involved with Zavadovsky, though Potemkin still lived in the Anichkov Palace. Zavadovsky became official favorite on June 28, 1776 but the arrangement failed when he fell deeply in love with Catherine and grew jealous of Potemkin’s continued role. In spring 1777 Potemkin demanded his removal, and Catherine agreed.

Catherine and Potemkin established a durable new relationship that preserved affection and political collaboration while allowing separate lovers. Catherine’s later favorites had to write deferential letters to Potemkin acknowledging his supremacy. Potemkin, meanwhile, turned his attention to other women, including three of his nieces, the Engelhardt sisters. His longest attachment was to Alexandra, or “Sashenka,” who became one of Catherine’s favorite ladies-in-waiting. Catherine expressed no jealousy, but she did envy the youth of these women and lamented her own aging, wishing she could “remain fifteen forever” (448).

Catherine had 12 known lovers in her lifetime: three before becoming empress and nine during her reign. She truly loved five—Poniatowski, Orlov, Potemkin, Zavadovsky, and Alexander Lanskoy. Orlov later married his young cousin, who died of tuberculosis; he himself declined into dementia and died in 1783, leaving his fortune to Alexis Bobrinsky, his son with Catherine.

The role of Catherine’s favorite followed a set pattern. Usually young Guards officers, they were installed in palace apartments, lavished with gifts, and kept in near isolation. Their tenures rarely lasted more than two years, and they were forbidden from political involvement.

After Zavadovsky came Simon Zorich, chosen by Potemkin, who lasted only 10 months. He was followed by Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov, whose affair with Countess Bruce led Catherine to dismiss them both. After six months alone, Catherine accepted Alexander Lanskoy in 1780. Also selected by Potemkin, he was gentle, devoted, and eager to learn. Their four-year relationship was her longest since Orlov. When Lanskoy died suddenly in 1784, probably of diphtheria, Catherine collapsed in grief for weeks, and Potemkin returned to comfort her.

Alexander Yermolov followed in 1785 but engineered his own downfall by trying to turn Catherine against Potemkin. Potemkin struck him at court and demanded Catherine choose; Yermolov was dismissed at once. Alexander Mamonov came next. After 18 months he confessed to a secret affair with Princess Scherbatova, who was pregnant by him. Catherine allowed them to marry but exiled them from St. Petersburg.

Massie argues that Catherine sought these young men for companionship, warmth, and reassurance against aging. Her long, loveless marriage had left deep marks. She dismissed successive favorites because of intrigue, infidelity, or boredom. Their submission to her, driven by ambition and family pressure, was neither unusual nor especially shocking in 18th-century aristocratic society.