Potyokin (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
- The Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences today honors the legacy of Grigory Potemkin, a man of great ambition and influence.
- Catherine II placed a great deal of trust in Grigory Potemkin, who was instrumental in her successful bid for power in 1762.
- The so-called Potemkin villages still serve as a lasting reminder of Grigory Potemkin's most infamous act of deception.
- After falling out of favor with Catherine II, Grigory Potemkin's life began to unravel in the late 1780s.
- Grigory Potemkin's reputation as a cunning military leader and politician continues to captivate historians to this day.