Facts on the Life and Reign of Catherine the Great

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Catherine the Great's Lovers and Favorites

1. Sergei Saltykov: 1753-1754
2. Prince Stanislaw Poniatowski: 1756-1758
3. Prince Grigory Orlov: 1759-1772
4. Aleksandr Vasilchikov: 1772-1773
5. Prince Grigory Potemkin: 1774-1776
6. Pyotr Zavadovsky: 1776-1777
7. Semyon Zorich: 1777-1778
8. Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov: 1778-1779
9. Aleksandr Lanskoy: 1780-1784
10. Aleksandr Yermolov: 1785-1786
11. Count Aleksandr Dmitriev-Mamonov: 1786-1789
12. Prince Platon Zubov: 1789-1796

 

Chronology of the Lives of Catherine and Potemkin

1729

• Sophia Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst (future Catherine the Great) is born in Stettin on the Baltic Sea

1739

• Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin is born in the village of Chizhevo near Smolensk

1740

• Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia and Maria Theresa of Austria ascend the throne

1741

• Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, overthrows the infant Ivan VI and seizes the Russian throne

1744

• Sophia arrives in Russia, converts to Russian Orthodoxy, becomes Grand Duchess Catherine, and is officially engaged to Grand Duke Peter

1745

• Potemkin moves to Moscow and begins his studies
• Grand Duchess Catherine and Grand Duke Peter are married

1752

• Catherine begins liaison with Sergei Saltykov

1754

• Catherine gives birth to Paul Petrovich, the future Paul I (1796-1801)

1755

• Potemkin is enrolled in the Horse Guards
• Catherine begins liaison with Stanislaw Poniatowski

1757

• Potemkin visits St. Petersburg and is presented to Empress Elizabeth I in recognition of his academic success

1760

• Potemkin is expelled from Moscow University for laziness
• George III of England ascends the throne

1761

• Catherine begins affair with Grigory Orlov
• Potemkin leaves Moscow for St. Petersburg
• Empress Elizabeth I dies; Peter III ascends the throne

1762

• Catherine gives birth to Aleksei Bobrinsky, her son by Grigory Orlov
• Peter III is overthrown and murdered; Catherine is proclaimed empress

1764

• Stanislaw Poniatowski is elected king of Poland

1765

• Emperor Francis I dies; Joseph II of Austria becomes emperor and co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa

1767

• Legislative Commission opens in Moscow; Potemkin serves as “Guardian of the Tatars and other Exotic Peoples”

1768

• First Russo-Turkish War (1768-74) begins

1769

• Potemkin volunteers for duty and leaves capital for the front

1770

• Potemkin awarded Orders of St. Anne and St. George for fighting at Fokshany, Brailov, and Giurgevo; Russian navy defeats Turks at Battle of Chesme

1772

• Gustav III of Sweden carries out coup to restore powers of the crown
• First Partition of Poland

1773

• Grigory Orlov falls from grace; Aleksandr Vasilchikov becomes favorite
• Pugachev Rebellion begins

1774

• Potemkin returns to capital; replaces Vasilchikov as favorite, and possibly marries Catherine
• Louis XVI of France ascends the throne
• Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji ends First Russo-Turkish War

1775

• Pugachev is executed in Moscow
• Zaporozhian Cossack Host destroyed; territory incorporated into Russian Empire
• American War of Independence begins

1776

• Potemkin’s favor ends; Pyotr Zavadovsky becomes favorite
• American Declaration of Independence is signed

1777

• Semyon Zorich replaces Zavadovsky as favorite
• Alexander Pavlovich, Catherine’s grandson and the future Alexander I (1801-25), is born

1778

• Prussia declares war on Austria beginning War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-79)