Catherine the Great & Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair

22 Longworth, Art of Victory p 174. AAE 20: 235, Langeron, ‘Evénements 1790’. Duffy, Russia’s Military Way pp 187–8. M. S. Anderson, Europe in Eighteenth Century p 135. The true deathtoll at Ismail will never be known. Even eye-witnesses could not decide between 24,000 and 30,000, but the best estimate is that 26,000 Turks died at Ismail. Of the 9,000 prisoners, 2,000 died of their wounds within the week. Russian losses were much higher than the official 1,815 dead, 2,445 wounded – probably between 4,500 and Langeron’s 8,000 dead (4,000 died of their wounds), including 429 officers.

23 Samoilov col 1550.

24 AAE 20: 272, Langeron, ‘Evénements 1790’

25 RGADA 5.85.2.277, L 446, CII to GAP 3 January 1791.

26 SIRIO 54 (1886): 195, Richelieu, ‘Mon voyage’

27 SIRIO 54 (1886): 194, Richelieu, ‘Mon voyage’. AAE 20: 272, Langeron, ‘Evénements 1790’. Pushkin, Polnoye Sobraniye Sochineniya vol 12 pp 171–2. RGVIA 52.2.47.16, GAP to Prince Kaunitz 25 January/5 February 1791, Jassy, and RGVIA 52.2.47.19, GAP to Kaunitz 9/20 February 1791, RGVIA 52.2.55.72, unnamed to GAP 15 February 1791, Vienna, all unpublished. GAP was still in friendly contact with Kaunitz. In the first letter, despatched back to Vienna with young Prince Charles de Ligne, GAP thanks Kaunitz for sending him the ‘painting by Monsieur Casanova’ – the lover Casanova’s brother was a well-known portraitist. ‘It has happily arrived here,’ writes GAP, ‘it gives me the greatest pleasure.’ The second letter covers politics: ‘Our enemies and the envious do all to separate our interests but they won’t succeed,’ GAP declares, though this had already effectively happened. GAP then thanks Kaunitz for the cheeses he has sent him. In return, ‘I have a Turkish horse for Your Highness which belonged to the Pasha in command of Ismail.’ GAP triumphantly informs Prince Kaunitz and the Prince de Ligne in Vienna of his victory: now in the 3rd document, GAP hears back that Ligne has had to correct his mistaken opinions of GAP’s generalship. Two reports reveal how ‘the remarkable letter that Prince Potemkin had written to the Prince de Ligne to compliment him on his son’s conduct in the column across the Danube under General Ribas…has been visibly directed to avenge the libels the Prince de Ligne père made on the reputation of the Russian Field-Marshal after his return from Ochakov’.

28 Lopatin, Potemkin i Suvorov p 198: ‘After Ismail: What happened in Jassy?’ Lopatin’s recent research into this legend appears to disprove it conclusively. Examples of the story appear in Petrushevsky vol 1 pp 400–1 and Longworth, The Art of Victory p 175.

29 AVPRI 5.585.217, L 447, GAP to CII 11 January 1791, Jassy. Richelieu and Damas now headed back to Paris, stricken by revolution. Young Prince Charles de Ligne returned to Vienna taking the letters announcing the victory to Prince Kaunitz. Kaunitz sent GAP the cheese and painting, GAP sent him the Pasha of Ismail’s horse, mentioned above. See unpublished letters in note 27 above.

30 RGADA 1.1/1.43.51–4, L 448, GAP to CII 13 January 1791, Jassy. RGADA 5.85.2.275, L 444, CII to GAP 20 December 1791. AVPRI 5.585.208, L 449, GAP to CII 15 January 1791, Jassy.

31 AVPRI 5.585.217, L 447, GAP to CII 11 January 1791, Jassy.

32 RGADA 1.1/1.43.51–4, L 448, GAP to CII 13 January 1791, Jassy.

33 AVPRI 5.585.204, L 451, GAP to CII January 1791, Jassy. M. I. Pilaev, Staryy Peterburg p 306.

34 RGADA 5.85.2.279–80, L 451, CII to GAP 22 January 1791.

35 RGADA 1.1/1.43.51–4, L 448, GAP to CII 13 January 1791, Jassy.

36 McKay and Scott pp 240–2. John Ehrman, The Younger Pitt, vol 2: The Reluctant Transition pp 12–17.

37 Stedingk p 77, Count Stedingk to Gustavus III 8 February NS 1791.

38 Stedingk p 87, Stedingk to Gustavus III 16 February NS 1791.

39 Stedingk p 94, Steding to Gustavus III 11 March NS 1791.

40 Ehrman vol 2 pp 12–17. PRO FO 65/20, Sir Charles Whitworth to Duke of Leeds no 2, 10 January 1791. PRO FO 30/8/20, Joseph Ewart to William Pitt 11 February 1791, both as quoted in Ehrman vol 2 pp 12–17.

CHAPTER 31: THE BEAUTIFUL GREEK

1 Memoirs of the Life of Prince Potemkin pp 233–4. This chapter uses, apart from the references given below, Alexander, CtG pp 285–92, and Madariaga, Russia pp 409–26.

2 Stedingk p 98, J. J. Jennings to Fronce 17 March NS 1791, St Petersburg.

3 Stedingk p 96, Count Stedingk to Gustavus III 17 March NS 1791, St Petersburg.

4 AGAD Collection of Popiel Family 421: 10–11, Augustyn A. Deboli to SA, unpublished.

5 Derzhavin, The Waterfall, in Segal p 302.

6 AGAD 421.5–6, Deboli to SA ud, March 1791, unpublished. The ode to GAP was probably the one by Sumarokov – see Bolotina, ‘Private Library of Prince GAPT’ p 254.

7 AGAD 421: 1–2, Deboli to SA 1, 2, 3, 5 March 1791, unpublished.