Grigori Potemkin (Noun)
Meaning
A Russian officer and politician who was a favorite of Catherine II and in 1762 helped her to seize power; when she visited the Crimea in 1787 he gave the order for sham villages to be built (1739-1791).
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- Prince Grigori Potemkin founded the city of Kherson in 1778 and established a shipyard on the site of the present-day city of Mykolaiv.
- Grigori Potemkin achieved great military distinction at the siege of Khotyn and the capture of Bender, and his services were rewarded with the governship of Azov.
- Grigori Potemkin worked to found and populate new cities which he furnished with buildings, including fortresses, churches, canals, and harbors.
- Few people realize that Grigori Potemkin's alleged contrivances included the creation of fake, portable villages constructed only to please her when she came to that province.
- Prince Grigori Potemkin gave the order that these villages be erected specifically for Catherine II and her entourage to see, which became later known as "Potemkin villages".