MILITARY COLLEGE, the central body of military administration in Russia in 1720-1812. Formed by Peter I instead of a series of orders, it obeyed the Senate. In December 1717, the 1st and 2nd Presidents of the Military Collegium were appointed, began work in 1720.

The Military Collegium consisted of a presence (president, vice-president, adviser members and assessors) and an office, which consisted of additional services (later renamed offices and expeditions): army (in charge of the service of army personnel), artillery, garrison, clerk, recruit and auditing. At the military collegium there was a prosecutor (he was subordinate to the prosecutor general of the Senate). Until 1731, the Military Collegium was subordinated to the Commissariat (had the right not to execute the "illegal" decrees of the Military Collegium and report them to the Senate) and the General-Provisionmaster (from 1726, with the right to report wrong actions of the Military Collegium to the Supreme Privy Council).

In 1736, during the reorganization of the military administration, all persons and institutions belonging to the military department were subordinated to the Military Collegium, it included the main office (recruiting, device, service and inspection of troops), undergrowth, etc.) and offices: general-kriegs-commissariat (collection and distribution of funds for military needs), chief-tsalmeister (payment of salaries), uniform, provisions, artillery, fortification, counting. In Moscow, there was a branch of the Military Collegium - the Military Office (abolished in 1797). During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1742, the military leadership was decentralized, the accounting office was abolished, the post of president of the Military Collegium in the 1746-60s was vacant.

In 1763-64, the president of the college became the personal rapporteur of Empress Catherine II on military affairs. At the Military Collegium, a secret expedition was created (from 1797 a military one, in charge of the movements and actions of troops, etc.), in 1781 - an counting one, in 1785 - an inspector's department, in 1791 - a commissariat department. The Military Collegium subordinated the Main Provisional Chancellery (from 1797 the Provisional Expedition of the Military Collegium) and the Chancellery of the Main Artillery and Fortification (from 1796 the artillery department of the Military Collegium). In 1798, the Military Collegium included: an office (army, garrison, order, foreign, recruit expeditions, an expedition to establish schools and a repair unit) and special expeditions of the Military Collegium (military, counting, inspector, artillery, commissariat, provisional, military orphanages), which were subordinate to the Military Collegium as separate institutions.

In 1802, the Military Collegium was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Minister of Military Land Forces, the artillery expedition was divided into artillery and engineering expeditions, and an audit expedition of the Military Collegium was created. The Military Collegium was liquidated with the adoption of the "Establishment of the Ministry of War."

Presidents of the Military Collegium: A.D. Menshikov (1st President, 1717-24), A.A. Veide (2nd President, 1717-20), A.I. Repnin (1724-26); M. M. Golitsyn (senior) (1730); V. V. Dolgorukov (1730-31, 1741-46), H. A. von Minich (1732-41), Prince Anton Ulrich (1741), N. Yu. Trubetskoy (1760-63), 3. G. Chernyshev (1773-74), G.A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky (1784-91), N.I.Saltykov (1796-1802).

Lit .: Dobrovolsky A. Fundamentals of the organization of central military command in Russia and in the most important Western European states. SPb., 1901; Centenary of the War Office. SPb., 1902. T. 1: Historical sketch of the development of military management in Russia.

E. Falconet. Monument to Peter I

All activities of Peter I were aimed at creating a strong independent state. The realization of this goal could be realized, according to Peter, only through an absolute monarchy. For the formation of absolutism in Russia, a combination of historical, economic, social, domestic and foreign policy reasons was needed. Thus, all the reforms carried out by him can be considered political, since the result of their implementation was to become a powerful Russian state.

It is believed that Peter's reforms were spontaneous, thoughtless and often inconsistent. One can object to this that it is impossible in a living society to calculate everything with absolute accuracy for decades to come. Of course, in the process of implementing the transformations, life made its own adjustments, so plans changed and new ideas appeared. The order of the reforms and their features were dictated by the course of the protracted Northern War, as well as the political and financial capabilities of the state in a certain period of time.

Historians distinguish three stages of Peter's reforms:

1. 1699-1710 Changes are taking place in the system of state institutions, new ones are being created. The system of local self-government is being reformed. A recruiting system is being established.
2. 1710-1719 Old institutions are liquidated and the Senate is created. The first regional reform is underway. The new military policy leads to the construction of a powerful fleet. A new legal system is being approved. State institutions are transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
3. 1719-1725 New institutions begin to work and old ones are finally liquidated. The second regional reform is underway. The army is expanding and reorganizing. Church and financial reforms are underway. A new system of taxation and civil service is being introduced.

Soldiers of Peter I. Reconstruction

All the reforms of Peter I were enshrined in the form of statutes, regulations, decrees that have the same legal force. And when on October 22, 1721, Peter I was awarded the title of "Father of the Fatherland", "Emperor of All Russia", "Peter the Great", this already corresponded to the legal formulation of an absolute monarchy. The monarch was not limited in his powers and rights by any administrative authorities. The power of the emperor was wide and strong to such an extent that Peter I broke the customs concerning the person of the monarch. In the Military Regulations of 1716. and the Maritime Regulations of 1720 proclaimed: “ His Majesty is an autocratic monarch who should not give an answer to anyone in his affairs, but his states and lands have strength and power, like a Christian sovereign to rule by his own will and benevolence. ". « Monarch's power is autocratic power, which God himself commands for conscience". The monarch was the head of state, church, supreme commander-in-chief, supreme judge, it was exclusively in his competence to declare war, conclude peace, and sign treaties with foreign states. The monarch was the bearer of the legislative and executive powers.

In 1722, Peter I issued a decree on succession to the throne, according to which the monarch determined his successor "recognizing the convenient", but had the right to deprive him of the throne, seeing "indecency in the heir", "seeing a worthy one." Legislation determined actions against the tsar and the state as the most serious crimes. Anyone “who would design any evil”, and those who “aided or provided advice or, knowingly, did not inform,” were punished by death, having their nostrils pulled out or banished to galleys, depending on the severity of the crime.

Senate activities

Senate under Peter I

On February 22, 1711, a new state body was formed - the Governing Senate. The members of the Senate were appointed by the tsar from among his inner circle (initially in the amount of 8 people). These were the greatest figures of that time. The appointment and resignation of senators took place on the orders of the tsar. The Senate was a permanent state collegial body. His competence included:

• the administration of justice;
• solving financial issues;
• general issues of trade management and other sectors of the economy.

In the Decree of April 27, 1722 "On the position of the Senate" Peter I gave detailed instructions on the activities of the Senate, regulates the composition, rights and obligations of senators; the rules of relations between the Senate and the collegia, provincial authorities and the Prosecutor General are established. But the normative acts of the Senate did not have the highest legal force of the law. The Senate only took part in the discussion of bills and interpreted the law. But in relation to all other bodies, the Senate was the highest authority. The structure of the Senate did not take shape immediately. At first, the Senate consisted of senators and the chancellery, and then two departments were formed: the Dispensary Chamber (as a special department before the appearance of the Justitz Collegium) and the Senate Office (which dealt with management issues). The Senate had its own office, which was divided into several tables: provincial, secret, discharge, order and fiscal.

The punishment chamber consisted of two senators and judges appointed by the Senate, who regularly (monthly) submitted reports to the Senate on cases, fines and searches. The judgment of the Execution Chamber could be overturned by the general presence of the Senate.

The main task of the Senate office was to prevent the current affairs of Moscow institutions from the Governing Senate, to execute the decrees of the Senate, to control the execution of senatorial decrees in the provinces. The Senate had subsidiary bodies: a reketmaster, a herald master, provincial commissars. On April 9, 1720, at the Senate, the post of “reception of petitions” was established (since 1722 - reketmeister), which received complaints about the collegiums and the chancery. The duties of the King of Heralds included the compilation of lists in the state, nobles, monitoring that from each noble family in the civil service there was no more than 1/3.

Provincial commissars monitored local, military, financial affairs, recruiting, and the maintenance of regiments. The Senate was an obedient instrument of the autocracy: senators were personally responsible to the monarch, in case of violation of the oath, they were subjected to the death penalty or fell into disgrace, dismissed from office, punished with monetary fines.

Fiscality

With the development of absolutism, the institution of fiscal and prosecutors was established. The fiscal power was a special branch of the Senate government. Ober-fiscal (head of the fiscal) was at the Senate, but at the same time the fiscal were the tsar's confidants. The king appointed an ober-fiscal, who took the oath to the king and was responsible to him. The competence of the fiscal was outlined in the Decree of March 17, 1714: to visit about everything that "to the detriment of the state interest may be"; to report “about malicious intent against the person of His Majesty or treason, about indignation or rebellion”, “whether spies are sneaking into the state”, the fight against bribery and embezzlement. The fiscal network constantly began to form according to territorial and departmental principles. The provincial fiscal monitored the city fiscal and once a year "exercised" control over them. In the ecclesiastical department, the fiscal was headed by the proto-inquisitor, in the dioceses - by the provincial-fiscal, in the monasteries - by the inquisitors. With the creation of the Justitz Collegium, fiscal affairs were transferred to its jurisdiction and control of the Senate, and after the establishment of the post of attorney general, fiscal affairs began to obey him. In 1723. a fiscal general is appointed - the supreme body for fiscal. He had the right to demand any business from him. Ober-fiscal was his assistant.

Organization of the Prosecutor's Office

By a decree of January 12, 1722, the Prosecutor's Office was organized. Prosecutors in the provinces and courts were then established by subsequent decrees. The attorney general and chief prosecutors were subject to the judgment of the emperor himself. Prosecutorial supervision even extended to the Senate. The decree of April 27, 1722 established his competence: presence in the Senate ("look firmly so that the Senate retains its position"), control over the fiscal ("if anything is bad, immediately inform the Senate").

In 1717-1719. - the period of formation of new institutions - colleges. Most of the collegia were created on the basis of orders and were their successors. The collegium system did not take shape immediately. On December 14, 1717, 9 colleges were created: Military, Ingstrannyh Affairs, Berg, Revision, Admiralteyskaya, Justitz, Cameras, State offices, Manufactories. In a few years there were already 13 of them. The presence of the collegium: president, vice president, 4-5 advisers, 4 assessors. Board staff: secretary, notary, translator, actuary, copyist, registrar and clerk. The collegiums included a fiscal (later a prosecutor) who monitored the activities of the collegia and was subordinate to the prosecutor general. Collegiums received decrees only from the monarch and the Senate, having the right not to execute the decrees of the Senate if they contradicted the decrees of the tsar.

Collegium activities

Collegium of Foreign Affairs She was in charge of "all sorts of foreign and ambassadorial affairs", coordinated the activities of diplomats, was in charge of relations and negotiations with foreign ambassadors, carried out diplomatic correspondence.

Military collegium She managed "all military affairs": recruiting the regular army, managing the affairs of the Cossacks, setting up hospitals, and providing for the army. Military justice was in the system of the Military Collegium.

Admiralty Collegium she managed "the fleet with all naval military servants, including those belonging to naval affairs and administrations." It consisted of the Naval and Admiralty Chanceries, as well as the Tunic, Waldmeister, Academic, Canal Offices and the Particular Shipyard.

Chamber collegium was supposed to carry out "supreme supervision" over all types of fees (customs, drinking), overseeing arable farming, collecting data on the market and prices, controlled salt mines and the coin business.

Chamber collegium exercised control over government spending, made up the state state (the state of the emperor, the states of all colleges, provinces, provinces). It had its own provincial bodies - renters, which were local treasuries.

Revision board exercised financial control over the use of public funds by central and local authorities.

Berg collegiums supervised the issues of the metallurgical industry, the management of mints and monetary yards, supervised the purchase of gold and silver abroad, judicial functions within its competence. A network of local bodies of the Berg Collegia was created.

Manufacturing collegium dealt with industrial issues, in addition to mining, managed manufactories in the Moscow province, the central and northeastern parts of the Volga region and Siberia; gave permission to open factories, regulated the execution of state orders, and provided benefits. Its competence also included: linking convicts in criminal cases to factories, controlling production, supplying enterprises with materials. It did not have its own organs in the provinces and provinces.

Commerce Collegium promoted the development of all branches of trade, especially foreign, carried out customs supervision, drew up customs charters and tariffs, monitored the correctness of measures and weights, was engaged in the construction and equipment of merchant ships, and performed judicial functions.

Justitz College supervised the activities of provincial court courts; carried out judicial functions in criminal offenses, civil and fiscal cases; headed an extensive judicial system, consisting of provincial lower and city courts, as well as court courts; acted as a court of first instance in "important and controversial" cases. Its decisions could be appealed to the Senate.

Patrimony collegium resolved land disputes and litigations, formalized new land grants, considered complaints about “wrong decisions” in local and patrimonial matters.

Secret Chancery engaged in the search and prosecution of political crimes (for example, the case of Tsarevich Alexei). There were also other central institutions (old surviving orders, Medical office).

Senate and Holy Synod building

Synod activities

The Synod is the main central institution for church affairs. The Synod appointed bishops, exercised financial control, was in charge of its estates and exercised judicial functions in relation to heresies, blasphemy, schisms, etc. Particularly important decisions were made by the general meeting - conference.

Administrative divisions

By decree of December 18, 1708. a new administrative-territorial division is introduced. Initially, 8 provinces were formed: Moscow, Ingermanland, Smolensk, Kiev, Azov, Kazan, Arkhangelsk and Siberian provinces. In 1713-1714. three more: the Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan provinces were separated from the Kazan province, and the Riga province from the Smolensk province. At the head of the provinces were governors, governor-generals, who exercised administrative, military and judicial power.

Governors were appointed by royal decrees only from among the nobles close to Peter I. The governors had assistants: the chief commandant regulated the military administration, the chief commissar and chief food master - the provincial and other fees, the landrichter - the provincial justice, financial surveying and search affairs, the chief inspector - the collection of taxes from cities and counties.

The province was divided into provinces (headed by the chief commandant), provinces - into counties (headed by the commandant).

The commandants were subordinate to the chief commandant, the commandant to the governor, the latter to the Senate. In the districts of cities, where there were no fortresses and garrisons, the governing body was the Landards.

50 provinces were created, which were divided into districts - districts. The provincial governors were subordinate to the governors only for military affairs, otherwise they were independent from the governors. The governors were engaged in the search for fugitive peasants and soldiers, the construction of fortresses, the collection of income from state-owned factories, took care of the external security of the provinces, and from 1722. carried out judicial functions.

The governors were appointed by the Senate and were subordinate to the collegia. The main feature of local government bodies was that they performed both administrative and police functions.

The Burmister Chamber (Town Hall) was created with subordinate zemstvo huts. They were in charge of the commercial and industrial population of cities in terms of collecting taxes, duties and duties. But in the 20s. XVIII century. city ​​government takes the form of magistrates. The Chief Magistrate and local magistrates were formed with the direct participation of governors and voivods. The magistrates were subordinate to them in matters of court and trade. Provincial magistrates and magistrates of the cities included in the province were one of the links of the bureaucratic apparatus with the subordination of lower bodies to higher ones. Elections to the magistrates of the mayors and ratmans were entrusted to the governor.

Creation of an army and a navy

Peter I turned separate sets of "tributary people" into annual recruitment sets and created a permanent trained army in which the soldiers served for life.

Petrovsky fleet

The creation of the recruiting system took place from 1699 to 1705. from the Decree of 1699 "On the admission to the service of soldiers from all kinds of free people." The system was based on the class principle: officers were recruited from the nobility, soldiers - from peasants and other taxable population. For the period 1699-1725. 53 recruits were carried out, which amounted to 284187 people. By decree of February 20, 1705. garrison internal troops were created, which ensured order within the country. The created Russian regular army showed itself in the battles of Lesnaya, Poltava and in other battles. The reorganization of the army was carried out by the discharge order, the order of military affairs, the order of the commissar-general, the order of artillery, etc. Subsequently, the discharge table and the commissariat were formed, and in 1717. the Military Collegium was created. The recruiting system made it possible to have a large combat-ready army.

Peter and Menshikov

The Russian fleet was also formed from conscripted recruits. At the same time, the Marine Corps was created. The navy was created during the wars with Turkey and Sweden. With the help of the Russian fleet, Russia established itself on the shores of the Baltic, which raised its international prestige and made it a maritime power.

Judicial reform

It was carried out in 1719 and streamlined, centralized and strengthened the entire judicial system of Russia. The main task of the reform is to separate the court from the administration. The monarch was at the head of the judicial system, he decided the most important state affairs. The monarch, as the supreme judge, examined and decided many cases on his own. On his initiative, the Chancellery of Investigation Cases arose on his initiative, they helped him to carry out judicial functions. The prosecutor general and the chief prosecutor were subject to the king's court, and the Senate was an appellate instance. Senators were subject to the Senate court (for malfeasance). The Justitz Collegium was the court of appeal in relation to the court courts, it was the governing body over all courts. Regional courts consisted of court and lower courts.

The presidents of the court courts were governors and vice-governors. Cases were transferred from the lower court to the court on appeal.

The chamberlains were tried for cases involving the treasury; voivods and zemstvo commissars tried the peasants for the escape. Judicial functions were performed by almost all collegia, with the exception of the collegium of Foreign Affairs.

Political cases were considered by the Preobrazhensky Prikaz and the Secret Chancellery. But since the procedure for passing cases through instances was confused, governors and voivods intervened in court cases, and judges in administrative cases, a new reorganization of the judiciary was carried out: the lower courts were replaced by provincial ones and passed to the disposal of the voivode and assessors, court courts and their functions were eliminated were transferred to the governors.

Thus, the court and the administration again merged into one body. Court cases were usually resolved slowly, accompanied by red tape and bribery.

The adversarial principle was replaced by an investigative principle. In general, the judicial reform took place especially unscheduled and chaotic. The judicial system of the period of Peter the Great's reforms was characterized by the process of increasing centralization and bureaucratization, the development of estate justice and served the interests of the nobility.

Historian N. Ya. Danilevsky noted two aspects of Peter I's activity: state and reformative (“changes in everyday life, morals, customs and concepts”). In his opinion, "the first activity deserves eternal grateful, reverent memory and the blessing of posterity." Through the activities of the second kind, Peter brought "the greatest harm to the future of Russia": "Life was forcibly turned over to a foreign way."

Monument to Peter I in Voronezh

PRESIDENT OF THE MILITARY COLLEGE

In May 1774 Potemkin received the rank of general-in-chief and was appointed vice-president of the Military Collegium, commander of all light cavalry and all irregular troops, and then in 1784 - the president of this collegium. Having passed the brilliant school of the outstanding Russian commander P.A. Rumyantsev, Potemkin made full use of the experience gained to strengthen the Russian army, increase its combat power, and provide military security to Russia's southern borders. All aspects of army life were significantly improved by the head of the Russian military department, from the organization of troops to uniforms. At the same time, Potemkin followed the same principle as when organizing a civil order in the provinces subordinate to him - to personally consider all problems and issues, develop projects of reforms.

In the fall of 1774, executing the instructions of Catherine II, he carried out an inspection check of the troops located in the capital and the surrounding area, examining the regiments: Kazan cuirassier, Vologda and Keksholm infantry. The result of this check was Potemkin's report, in which he made several rather critical remarks. So, for example, speaking about the Kazan cuirassier regiment, Potemkin speaks approvingly of the condition of people, horses and ammunition. “But what belongs to those military conversions,” he continues, “with which this regiment acted during the review, then these have so far removed from direct cavalry perfection that swiftness and harmony, which is nowhere separate from it, is like the only heavy cavalry force, without which no It cannot act in the slightest before the enemy, it is not in the mentioned regiment at all, and thus such a regiment cannot fight with an equal number of irregular troops. " Here Potemkin not only characterizes the state of the regiments, but also expresses the programmatic provisions on changes in the troops, remembering that against the light Turkish cavalry, heavy cavalry is inferior. The vice president realized his views later, when, at his insistence, the number of irregular troops was increased. In this report, Potemkin also expresses his attitude to the soldier's life, he will try to change him throughout his life. Having received an approving resolution for his report, Potemkin sent an order to the Kazan cuirassier regiment on October 27, 1774 to rectify the situation: to the commanders, so that they teach everything written above, avoiding as much inhuman as possible and in the custom of the beaten, doing a disgusting service; but by an affectionate and patient interpretation of everything, having learned the firmness of what they are obliged to teach their subordinates, they will avoid the opportunity to make unintentional mistakes themselves and thus acquire their full trust, love and respect, and turn the service into a respectable and pleasant exercise for them, performing this as a direct benefit of the service and Her Imperial Majesty's charitable intention ”.

Potemkin strove to follow these principles in the organization of military training and control of the army as president of the Military Collegium, constantly taking care of the thousands of servicemen subordinate to him. In January 1775 Potemkin presented a report to Catherine II, the purpose of which was to cleanse the regiments "of all uncommon excesses and put each type of army on such a leg of perfection that all decency in it would correspond to its swift movement." He offered to train dragoons both on horseback and on foot, so that they could operate without the need for reinforcement of either infantry or heavy cavalry.

In the same report, Potemkin pointed out the need to increase the number of hussar regiments needed for an intelligence service and fast movements. On the basis of Potemkin's considerations, five dragoon regiments (of ten squadrons each) and seven Russian hussar regiments (of six squadrons each) were formed; in 1777, with all cuirassier regiments, special horse-jaeger battalions were organized, and in 1785 the number of grenadiers was ordered to be increased to forty battalions and to form six jaeger corps (four battalions each) and musketeer four-battalion regiments. Jaegers were selected infantry, accustomed to loose formation, marksmanship and individual combat. They had no analogues in foreign armies, their faint resemblance can be found only in the Prussian troops of Frederick II. Rangers in battle formed in squares and covered the flanks, and, if necessary, turned around for shooting. As a result of the shift in emphasis made by Potemkin in favor of light cavalry, only 5 cuirassier regiments remained in the Russian army, but the number of dragoons was brought to 10, hussars - to 16.

Wishing to create a large group of its supporters among the Cossacks and taking into account the experience of the Pugachev uprising, the government of Catherine agreed that many of the "initial people" previously selected "on the circle" began to receive patents for officer ranks. This idea belonged to Potemkin, who highly appreciated the fighting efficiency of the Cossack troops and even called upon the soldiers and officers of the regular cavalry to learn "to sit in the saddle with the freedom that the Cossacks have." Potemkin expressed his pleasure with the Cossack troops in an order to Colonel M. Platov. "How pleased I was to see the quick fruits of this newly established army," he wrote in 1788, "and this was multiplied by the look of vigorous warriors that they have ... they have already acquired a bearing decent to knights." Potemkin's admiration was also shared by Russia's ally in the second Russian-Turkish war, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. In May 1787, traveling with the Empress through the southern regions of Russia, he shared with his famous commander Lassi observations about the Don Cossacks: “The dexterity of these people and the kind of formation that they know how to observe in the very disorder, truly interested me ... such an army in the rear of the upset cavalry, it was irrevocably lost. "

An important task for Potemkin as president of the Military Collegium was to change the manning of the army, especially in the context of the strengthening of Russia's foreign policy activity. Since the time of Peter the Great, the Russian regular army has been built on recruitment sets of a taxable population, while Potemkin for the first time extended recruitment sets to Ukraine and Belarus and at the same time introduced new principles of the next system and the drawing of lots. In these regions, a 15-year term of service was established, the conscription was limited to 2 months, the population was divided into parts and queues of 500 people. Each unit had a certain queue, within which recruits were called up by lot without being replaced by mercenaries. Potemkin made an attempt to extend these principles to Great Russia, but met with fierce resistance from the landowners, which prevented him from completing the recruitment reform. Pointing to the consequences of this incompleteness, Potemkin wrote to Catherine II at the end of 1788: “The recruits given away are weak and sick, many are old, so they die in large numbers, not even reaching their place. How many of them disappear due to unaccustomedness to the climate and due to the steep acquisition of soldier's life and service, this is awful ... 1787-1791 Potemkin came to the conclusion that it was necessary to replace the then-existing indefinite service with an urgent one. To stop the frequent escapes of soldiers to Poland, Potemkin "ordered the infantry and cuirassiers to let go of a portion, which ended, saying that the empress would do military service after the war." He reported this in a letter to Count A.A. Bezborodko and added: “This worked the most. Poles beckon. She needs to set a deadline, although starting with the state (peasants. - NB) ". This proposal, progressive for its time, to save soldiers from grueling service to death or disability could lead not only to the benefit of a private one, but also the army would become younger and more efficient. Later, conscript service was introduced in Russia.

The need for improvements in the principles of recruiting was also recognized by one of the closest advisers of Catherine II A.A. Bezborodko, addressing Potemkin: "It would be highly desirable that for the benefit of the state and its surest defense, your plan for military service was put into effect and that, although after the end of the war, this would happen." During the reforms of the Russian cavalry carried out by Potemkin in 1783–1786, the settled regiments were transformed into field regiments, which undoubtedly strengthened the armed forces on the eve of the war.

An integral part of the reforms carried out by Potemkin in the army was a change in the uniforms associated with the improvement of the soldier's life. No wonder the soldiers composed songs about him, and after his death one of them confessed to General G.G. Engelhardt: “The late His Grace was our father, made our service easier, satisfying us with all our needs; in a word, we were his spoiled children ... "

Describing the state of the Russian army in 1764, General A.I. Khrushchov talked about the rough and cruel treatment of soldiers, beatings, the burdensome methods used on the march to "not bend the knee," and many other shortcomings. Rumyantsev was the first to draw attention to this. Potemkin, assimilating his views and seeing all the hardships of a soldier's life, managed to carry out a series of successive reforms.

The experience of the war has shown that the army must first of all be required not for ostentatious purity, but the ability to move quickly and change combat forms. Still only at the zenith of favor, taking the post of vice-president, Potemkin on November 16, 1774 sent a note to the Military Collegium about Catherine's verbal command, which marked the beginning of a change in the army's uniform. It said: “1st, that the boots laid down by the state in all the infantry of the Flemish canvas are from now on forever destroyed ... 2nd. Instead of the two pairs of shoes required for each person by the same states, which make up the same price as the boots, release one more pair of boots for each person. I declare this for execution by this State Military Collegium. "

In an order to Lieutenant-General Tekeli of June 18, 1775, Potemkin ordered non-commissioned officers and privates in all corps of light troops in the regiments of hussars to “not curl or powder their hair in bouclés from now on, do not have braids entwined with ribbons ... no bukol, no braids to wear. " In June 1776, even in the midst of Catherine's explanations with Potemkin, she did not allow him to get offended and forget about the duties of a statesman, including in the military department. Having received a letter from Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich from Riga about the state of the regiments suffering there “the need for shoes and clothes”, the Empress orders the favorite to “visit”, what is the reason for such a plight of the soldiers, and make appropriate orders.

In the program report "On clothing and weapons of forces" (1783) Potemkin's views on the reform of uniforms received their full development: “When the regularity was introduced, foreign officers entered Russia with the pedantry of the time. And ours, not knowing the direct cost of the things of the military shell, considered everything sacred and seemingly mysterious. It seemed to them that the regularity consisted of braids, hats, flaps, cuffs, rifle tricks, and so on. Occupying themselves with such rubbish, and to this day they still do not know well the most important things, such as: marching, different formations and turns ... They almost do not know how to shoot ... In a word, our troops' clothes and ammunition are such that it is almost impossible to think of better to oppress a soldier , especially since he, being taken from the peasants, at the age of 30 he recognizes boots, a lot of garters, a tight underwear and an abyss of things that shorten the ages. "

After expressing critical remarks, Potemkin proposed a whole plan to change the appearance of a soldier. “The beauty of military clothing,” he believed, “consists in the equality and conformity of things with their use: dress so that it is a clothing for a soldier, and not a burden. Any panache must be destroyed, for it is the fruit of luxury ... ". For each item of uniform, Potemkin proposed his own changes aimed at freeing the soldier from burdensome, from his point of view, excesses in clothing:

The hat is an unnecessary piece of clothing, because it does not cover the head, and the ends of the cocked hat sticking out in all directions "soak the soldier with danger for ever", "prevents the head from laying ... prevents it from turning, and it also does not close the ears from the frost." The prince believed that a helmet is much more acceptable than a hat, and "there is a characteristic military outfit."

Kaftan and camisole with sleeves - "the cut of the caftan gives a lot of reason to make it different, therefore, there can be no equation."

Elk trousers in the cavalry must be replaced with cloth trousers, which will lead to a reduction in the costs of servicemen, who often bought cloth trousers at their own expense. In addition, in autumn and rainy weather, according to Potemkin, leggings cause a lot of inconvenience; they are cold in winter and hot in summer.

Narrow boots should be replaced with loose ones, and stockings with onuchi or footcloths. A soldier will be able to throw them off at any moment, wipe his feet with a footcloth and wrap them with a dry end, "put on shoes in speed and thus protect them from dampness and chills."

Potemkin considered the best of the saddles Hungarian, which was distinguished by its lightness and convenience for both the rider and the horse. In addition, they were cheaper than the old ones.

The lord paid special attention to “hair cleaning”. “Curling, powdering, weaving braids, is this a soldier's business? - the prince was indignant. - They have no valets ... Everyone must agree that it is more useful to wash and scratch your hair than to burden it with powder, bacon, flour, hairpins, braids. The soldier's toilet should be such that it is up and ready. "

Potemkin introduced a simple, comfortable uniform in the cavalry and infantry, which remained in the main elements for a long time. Braids, broccoli, powder, hairpins - "all the panache" that weighed down the soldier was destroyed.

Having studied Potemkin's report "On the clothing and armament of the forces", Catherine II on April 4, 1783 signed a rescript on the activation of the prince's ideas, highly appreciating his proposals. The Empress wrote: “The idea that you have perpetrated by our will about changing the way of dressing and arming our troops, we accept with great pleasure, we find for the generation that by this means, having overcome all the former prejudices, the excesses that have so far burdened the warrior are destroyed ... instead of that benefits and relief are provided to him, with a great deal more for the treasury by our benefit. "

His Serene Highness was an opponent of useless drills, he argued that soldiers should be taught not only in parade formation, but most importantly - to act correctly in various battle formations, not only to keep weapons clean, but also to be able to shoot from them. Demanding simplicity and freedom of action from the combatant service, Potemkin wrote to Prince Dolgorukov on March 24, 1787: “I find it necessary to express my desire for all regiments to march smoothly, at ease, but not sluggishly; so that the march is not feigned, but the most natural; to teach people to close up and know the division by parts, like platoons, divisions and other things; the rows to be somewhat denser, entered as fast as possible; with a gun so that they do it smoothly and evenly; to stand under it more vigorously, but not ossified, as it used to be in vogue. "

Even very influential people, such as Count A.A. Bezborodko, who participated in solving many political issues on an equal basis with Potemkin, critically assessed the activities of the prince in the military department. Perhaps this was due to their low awareness of the private orders of His Serene Highness, or maybe constant competition was the reason. Undoubtedly, at different stages, Potemkin had to concentrate all his attention and efforts on solving quite specific problems that were important for the country. So, on the eve of the decisive events in the annexation of the Crimea on March 15, 1784, Bezborodko wrote to Sergei Romanovich Vorontsov in England about the prince: "He does not deal with the Military Collegium except for secret and most important matters, giving a swift course to others." The same nobleman, a month earlier, called his Serene Highness his benefactor and said that "Prince Potemkin treated me in an excellently commendable manner."

The views of the head of the Military Collegium on soldiers' uniforms were far ahead of his time. Equally revolutionary was Potemkin's mitigation of the soldiers' punishments: the prince rebelled against the beatings of the recruit and demanded that they limit themselves, in extreme cases, to "six sticks." When training recruit Potemkin adhered to the method of strict sequence, bringing them "insensitively to the first knowledge of the rank of a soldier." Repeatedly Potemkin wrote to the chiefs of units, ordering to treat the soldiers more humanely and not to exceed a certain measure in punishment: “To the gentlemen officers, publicly declare that people should be treated with all possible moderation, that they would try about their benefits, they would not violate the prescribed punishments, would be with them the way I do, for I love them like children. "

On pain of severe punishment, Potemkin forbade the use of soldiers for the private work of commanders. “I let you know,” he wrote to General Nashchokin, “that 60 hussars were found in the wagon train of Major General Neranchich, and all, on my order, were taken away. I have ordered to exact this with such severity that if I find you in the convoy of military or non-combatants belonging to the army, then I will exact ten recruits for each, and maybe it will be even worse. " For Potemkin it was obvious that "it is better to have a mediocre number of real soldiers than a great number of such soldiers who, according to the old examples, would only correct the commanders' work."

The prince personally monitored the correct and timely supply of food and clothing to the soldiers, demanded compliance with the sanitary rules "Notes on the causes of diseases", published by him and put into effect in 1788, and a second time after Peter I established the posts of inspectors in the army. They were supposed to control the execution of all orders for the cavalry and infantry. Delving into all the little things of the soldier's life, Potemkin was engaged in the organization of hospitals - during the construction of new cities, it was mandatory to set up hospitals and quarantines, even controlling the diet of the wounded. Questions of the functioning of hospitals were constantly present in Potemkin's orders to subordinates. In 1788, the worried Yekaterinoslav governor Sinelnikov suggested changing the recruit's route, since the previous one was longer and more burdensome. The new path would save the army replenishment from complaints, and if you wait out the spring "mud and hollow waters", it would help to reduce the number of sick among the recruits. Severe fevers were the scourge of the army, the regional government liberated state and private houses, "palaces" to transform them into hospitals and accommodate patients, doctors and medical officials, medicines gathered from everywhere.

Unfortunately, the state of medicine at that time was still far behind the needs of the army and the civilian population, which pushed the government to attract a significant number of foreigners, as well as to create a network of special educational institutions. Back in December 1783, the Medical College reported to Empress Catherine II about the problems in the medical provision of the army, the small number of medical and surgical schools and the need in this regard "to write out doctors and doctors from foreign lands." The whitepaper said:

“As for the current movement of the army of Your Imperial Majesty, at the beginning of this 1783, a lot of medical ranks were required from the Military Collegium in excess of the usual from other places for the needs of the army; and, taking from everywhere, she could only recruit 80 people doctors, headquarters doctors, doctors and medical doctors. Schools of medicine and surgery are so few in number that, even without extraordinary needs, the Medical College could never equip the armies and navy of Your Imperial Majesty with both doctors and physicians, about which the Medical College in 1780 still submitted to Your Imperial Majesty the most submissive report in which is asking for the multiplication of medical and surgical schools. And as nowadays many more medical ranks are required from the army of Your Imperial Majesty, then do not please, Most Merciful Empress! the highest command, for a real need, for the army of Your Imperial Majesty, how many healers and clerks need to be discharged from foreign lands, following the example of the last war with the Ottoman Port. And for the usual staffing of both the army and the navy, to multiply the schools under the general hospitals by adding more students according to the report submitted to your Imperial Majesty in 1780 and to determine the amount for that.

And about this, Your Imperial Majesty, the most submissive Medical College asks for the highest decree. "

The Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, being in 1786, on the eve of a new war with Turkey, in Kherson, visited a local hospital. According to him, it was well planned and built, but because of the disgusting smell felt everywhere, the air seemed fetid to the visiting guest. “The hospital is no different in cleanliness and order,” Miranda wrote in her diary. As I was told, soldiers are sent here from each regiment who do not have enough space in the barracks, and today there are, in addition to the sick, from 300 to 400 people. "

With the outbreak of hostilities on the Russian-Turkish front, the shortage of medical personnel and medicines was felt more and more acutely. Potemkin constantly demanded doctors from the Medical College for the army, waging grueling battles in difficult climatic conditions. On December 1, 1788, the director of the Medical College, Privy Councilor von Fitinghof, sent a report to Empress Catherine II about the small number of "a notable number of doctors and doctors" in the armies and navies, in which he quite reasonably wrote: the imperial majesty lacks a noble number of doctors and under-doctors, as is shown in the attached list. Therefore, in order to satisfy in some way with the armies and navies now the real urgent need for medical ranks, I do not find any other means than under contracts, for no more than three or a quarter years, to accept into service from foreign lands skilled healers and sub-doctors, when determining they should be arranged in such a way that they would follow without prejudice to all the places where only they, after consideration by the board, may be sent for them ”. According to Fitinghof's report, a corresponding decree was issued on the same day.

A wide range of reforms in the Russian army, carried out by Potemkin as vice president and then president of the Military Collegium, was directly related to the administration of the new provinces. It was the troops who performed the functions of border protection, intelligence, and took part in the economic development of lands. At the same time, it is rather difficult to agree with the prevailing opinion that the main goal of Potemkin's reforms was only to gain popularity in the army. The essence of the transformations is deeper. Undoubtedly, military reform is an internal matter, but it served in the most direct way to achieve the goals of foreign policy.

Contemporaries assessed Potemkin's activities in the field of the head of the military department in different ways. Foreigners were especially interested in the state of the Russian army. Emperor Joseph II, in his letters to Field Marshal Lassi, described the Russian armed forces in great detail, and not in the best way. He constantly repeated that the external brilliance of the army and navy, successfully demonstrated by Potemkin during the trip to Catherine, did not correspond to the internal strength and strength. The troops were dressed in new and very elegant uniforms, but the cavalry, according to Joseph II, sabers were not suitable. He found the clothes of the soldiers inappropriate for the climate conditions, which is why they often get sick with fever. With the terrible high cost of living in the south, the officers were in need and often suffered hunger, and the soldiers often went without shirts. The set of regiments was incomplete, and Joseph II believed that of the 100,000 people declared by Potemkin who made up the troops in his governorships, in fact, there are no more than 40,000, of whom many were sick, while others were engaged in construction in new cities. The emperor also criticized the state of the fortifications in Kherson, Kinburn, and also went to the Black Sea Fleet and the professional training of sailors. The skeptical remarks of Joseph II were in many ways probably related to the fact that Austria quite reasonably competed with the Russian Empire on the world stage and pursued an active foreign policy. It was the gaze of an intent rival.

Foreigner Francisco de Miranda, who came to Russia from afar and was not bound by political ambitions, was more objective in his assessments. He was very interested in the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the Russian army, he asked a lot and talked about these topics with Potemkin and with military officials during his stay in Russia. A professional military man endowed with remarkable abilities, an inquisitive mind and decisiveness, was more fair in assessing the state of the troops in southern Russia on the eve of the war. Almost all politicians were convinced that sooner or later Russia could not avoid a clash with Turkey. In her diary, Miranda constantly returns to the topic of the army that is so close and familiar to him. On November 18, 1786, he wrote that one of Potemkin's collaborators, Korsakov, showed him a soldier in artillery uniform, which the Venezuelan liked very much: “a helmet or cap in the Greek style, made of brass to withstand saber blows, as well as fuses on the shoulder ... A short sword with a wide blade and point, which serve the soldier for various purposes. " And the conclusion of a professional soldier: "In general, these troops are outfitted with great taste, military grace and in accordance with the climate (in the English manner)." After that, Miranda and Korsakov continued the conversation, and the stranger found the interlocutor well versed in the art of war. On December 13, the kind Major Korsakov brought the foreigner to the "artillery park", which consisted of 30 cannons. “The neatness, gallant appearance and strong build of the local soldiers certainly attract special attention,” Miranda wrote in the evening. “The sentries wore ordinary sheepskin coats of lamb fur, cloth capes over their uniforms, and gloves on their hands (as is customary in this country), without which it would have been impossible to endure the cold.” He managed to get from the Russian military the data he was so interested in “about the current state of the army”, which he carefully recorded in his diary:

Number of persons

Cavalry? 61819

Infantry, minus guards regiments, artillery and garrison battalions? 213,002

Total? 274,821

A harsh and harsh test for the reformed G.A. Potemkin of the army was the second Russian-Turkish war, which began in 1787. Anticipating a significant increase in office work associated with the expected war, Potemkin decided to improve his system and personally drew up the corresponding instructions addressed to Vasily Popov:

“As the time comes when worries and deeds will multiply, then for a speedy course and immediate resolutions it is necessary to establish such an order in my chancellery so that everything would be continuous:

1. Expedition commissariat and provisional. Whoever will rule these should always have a ready answer to give when I ask.

2. An expedition along the incoming reports from the commanders of the units about the affairs of the ordinary course, to which the answer would not hesitate to compose and bring it to my signature.

3. The third will include all cases of Cossack troops and volunteer teams.

4. To this belong the affairs of the provinces entrusted to me. All offices are in your exact team,

and the expedition, the secret treasury of extraordinary sums, and the admiralty with the fleet under your special and own jurisdiction. "

In August 1787, reis-effendi summoned the Russian ambassador to Istanbul, Yakov Bulgakov, and demanded in an ultimatum to hand over the Moldovan ruler Mavrocordato, who had fled to Russia; to recognize the Imeretian king Irakli II as a Turkish subject; recall the Russian consuls from Iasi, Bucharest and Alexandria, and admit the Turkish consuls to all Russian harbors and trading cities in the Northern Black Sea region. The Russian diplomat, who once sat on the same bench with Potemkin at Moscow University and maintained friendly relations with him for many years, resolutely rejected the ultimatum of the Turkish government. On August 5, he was arrested and imprisoned in the famous Seven Towers Castle. Experienced Bulgakov reported to the capital: “No matter how soon they seized me, I managed to hide the most important papers, numbers (ciphers for coding reports. - N.B.), the archive of my time, expensive things and so on. The treasury is also intact, although not large. " Events developed rapidly. Following the suggestions of the British, Prussian and Swedish ministers, the Vizier of the Ottoman Port on August 13, 1787 declared war on Russia. This happened just a few months after Catherine's brilliant journey to the territory of the lands that once belonged to Turkey and the birth of the myth of the "Potemkin villages".

According to A.A. Bezborodko, who was in charge of foreign policy issues, the Russian Empire was ready for the expected battle: “we have everything ready and ready than in 1768”. For Russia, this was the seventh war for access to the Black Sea in a hundred years. Grigory Potemkin was appointed commander of the Yekaterinoslav army, Count P.A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky - Ukrainian. The heavy burden of responsibility for the lives of hundreds and thousands of people, the territorial integrity of the Russian Empire, and finally, for the country's prestige on the world stage, fell on the shoulders of His Serene Highness. On August 21, he writes to Catherine: “The war has been declared ... I am in extremes. Shelves with a quarter will not be able to come up soon. There is a terrible number of patients in Kherson. In the Crimea, too, it is enough. Ships withdrawn - it is difficult to protect on the Estuary. God alone can give help. All transports will become grain. If my life could satisfy everything, then I would give it. Order to make a large recruitment and add a double number to the remaining regiments in Russia. It's hard for ours to hold on until what kind of help arrives. " In pursuit of the courier, another letter flies to the capital about problems in the south, in the army; His Serene Highness again insistently talks about the large recruitment and complains of very poor health. “I walk violently, after the illness I was still weak,” Potemkin concludes his message to Catherine, “and now the fever is beginning to show. Mother, I'm sorry, I can't write anymore. " Who would know better if Russia was ready for the expected war, a dignitary in the capital, or Potemkin on the spot? Maybe he was missing a month, two, six months? And perhaps the Most Serene One is a doubting person, acutely aware of his unprecedented responsibility, feeling a loss of strength after an illness and endless, continuous work. Even great personalities have a right to feelings, fears and experiences. The image of a person is made up of many fragments; it cannot and should not be only good, lacking in flaws, active and active. The man of the past and the man of the present are different, multifaceted, and this is precisely what is wonderful. For many years, looking back into our past, we saw images of either geniuses or antiheroes. Black and white, no halftones. Now we can recognize the real, not invented people of the past centuries, who sometimes decided the fate of people, and sometimes were a toy in the wrong hands. Potemkin's life is not a phantasmagoria. He really loved, suffered, fought, pondered, doubted, spent merry evenings at a rich table and long days in solving pressing problems. He lived.

The 48-year-old Potemkin, who for the first time took over the command, was worried, nervous, discouraged at every failure, at every failure, about which he frankly wrote to the Empress. Catherine replied to him: “From many of your letters, it would seem to me that you hesitate in fulfilling the plan you have already drawn and already begun in the reasoning of the Turks. But I do not allow myself these thoughts in any way. There is no glory, no honor, no profit, having undertaken any deed and leading it ardently, then, having not completed it, willfully distort it. You have waged the defense of the frontiers with perfect success; God grant health, my friend, you will lead offensive actions with success ”. Potemkin perked up, felt a surge of strength, now his main task is to solve the question: where will the enemy deliver the main blow? The most dangerous direction to Kherson was covered by the Kinburn fortress, erected on a sand spit opposite Ochakov. It was this battle area that the lightest instructed Suvorov. “My dear friend, you are more than ten thousand in your persona,” Potemkin wrote to him on the eve of the declaration of war. - I respect you so much and, she-she, I speak sincerely. God delivers from the wicked, He was always my helper. My hope is not weakening, but the confluence of various troubles oppresses my soul. " The tension in this area of ​​hostilities was growing, and Russian troops were pulling in here. In the fall, the Turks subjected Kinburn to a brutal bombardment, as a result of retaliatory fire, the enemy suffered significant damage. Potemkin is pleased with the actions of Suvorov, he justified all his expectations and showed himself to be an excellent commander. His Serene Highness with sincere pleasure informs Catherine: “Above all of them in Kherson and here Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. It is necessary to tell the truth: here is a man who serves with both sweat and blood. I will be glad to have an opportunity where God will give me to recommend him. " No envy, no signs of enmity and misunderstanding, about which there are so many, and with pleasure, both contemporaries and descendants wrote. Potemkin and Suvorov, subordinate to him, are still comrades in arms, they have common goals and one war.

The autumn of 1787 brought a terrible shock to His Serene Highness: the Sevastopol fleet was smashed by a storm. The tragedy broke the resurrected spirit of Potemkin, undermined his faith in the help of God and his strength. He writes to "mother" again, this letter terrifies Catherine. Never before had her dear friend been so worn out by circumstances and illnesses, never so lost and weak. “Mother Empress, I have become unhappy ... In my illness, I am struck to the extreme, there is neither mind nor spirit. I asked about the assignment of the superiors to another. Believe what I feel; do not allow deeds to endure through this. Hey, I'm almost dead; I cast all the favors and possessions that I received from your bounty in your footsteps and want to end a life in solitude and uncertainty, which, I think, will not last ... I give up everything from myself and remain a simple person. But that I was devoted to you, God is witness to that. " But Catherine and the former commander of Potemkin P.A. Rumyantsev is supporting the staggering colossus with letters, and his Serene Highness comes to his senses. The commanders of the units follow orders, the fleet dispersed by the storm gathers in Sevastopol. And, lo and behold! The fleet is intact, suffered significantly, but it exists and is combat-ready.

In January 1788, an officer of the French Royal Guard, a representative of the old aristocratic family Count Roger de Dame, arrived in the active army. Making an exception for him, the Empress allowed the foreigner to volunteer in the Russian army. In the army, and especially in the flotilla, there were many foreign volunteers during this war, they witnessed all the most important battles, as well as Potemkin's luxurious life at headquarters. Roger de Dame plunged into his native element with passion - war. He clearly sympathized with His Serene Highness and, as an unbiased eyewitness, enthusiastically described his image at the end of his life. Almost daily, the French, among five or six persons, dined at the prince's table, which was set independently of the large table. In the evenings, the prince's inner circle (a French guardsman easily entered him) certainly spent at Potemkin's, and everyone forgot that they were in Tartary, thanks to various pleasures and the local society.

Potemkin, according to the memoirist's recollections, had a broad nature, combining the most varied shades of manifestations of a human character, ranging from tenderness, courtesy, obligatory man? high society and ending with the severity, arrogance and cruelty of the most perfect despot. Possessing extraordinary tact and giving free rein to all the movements of his soul, he oppressed those who offended him or did not like him, and at the same time flattered and showered favors on those whom he distinguished and respected. He did not find it difficult to develop his plans, worked with ease and was resourceful during entertainment; he could seem an empty person and at the same time be busy with various issues, giving a wide variety of orders. So, he included in his head a project for the destruction of the Ottoman Empire next to a project for the construction of a palace in St. Petersburg, or a project to change the form of the entire army and an order to prepare a basket of flowers for his nieces. And yet his thoughts were never confused, and he did not confuse those to whom he expounded them.

The flow of his thoughts, which seemed illogical, in fact was correct and strictly adhered to the intended path. He managed to learn all the ways to the satisfaction of ambition and to pleasure; he knew how to step over, rise, descend or dodge in time in order to achieve the goal - to rule completely and to have fun with ease. Prince Potemkin, as Roger de Dame wrote, subordinated the art of war, politics and government to his personal passions. He did not know anything at the root, but he possessed all-round superficial knowledge and a special wonderful instinct. His will and mind markedly surpassed his knowledge, but the activity and firmness of the former deceived about the lack of the latter, and he seemed to rule by right of the victor; he despised his compatriots and irritated them with his arrogance, but he loved foreigners and captivated them with his gentleness and the most refined attention; in the end, he subdued the entire state, displaying arbitrary European sophistication along with Asian rudeness.

Welcoming Potemkin's measures to improve recruitment, Bezborodko, in a personal message of 1788 to the Russian representative in London, Sergei Vorontsov, spoke out more categorically. In his opinion, military power did not match the prosperity in the financial support of military operations, which was quite enough without resorting to taxes. “Having taken a recruit from a hundred souls,” Bezborodko continued criticizing the military command, “they filled only the army, and more than 30,000 are missing in the border garrisons alone. Now we are still preparing gunpowder and shells ... ". He also advised Potemkin's slowness in delivering fresh data from the Novorossiysk province, which delayed decision-making. “Time is moving towards the expulsion of the fleet, but it is up to the troops and the general” - this is how Bezborodko described the situation in the capital. And the leitmotif through many letters and memoirs of this time is the theme of court intrigues. The count directly says about this: "In case of failures, I probably expect that there will be indignation at us, but most importantly it will turn to me, with the help of all sorts of insidious intrigues, which again began to multiply here."

In April 1788 Potemkin, worried about the intensification of intrigue, decided to leave the army and go to the capital, but his opponents at court tried to keep his lordship in the army. It was decided to start a new military campaign with the siege of Ochakov. After long, exhausting and difficult sea battles with the Turkish fleet in Liman, near Kinburn, the enemy ships were driven back. In July 1788, the main forces of the Russian army moved towards Ochakov. It seemed that here it is, a close victory, but the Turkish fortress withstood a five-month siege. Volunteer Frenchman Roger de Dame perceived the hostilities around Ochakov with the interest of an outside observer. Once he and Prince de Lin, who was also in Potemkin's camp, decided to make a sortie in the direction of Ochakovo and try their luck on the other side of the outposts. “Brave and ardent, as they are in 20 years, - wrote a stranger about the prince and the joint adventure, - he wanted to see the Turks just as impatiently as I did ... Combining his sweet childishness with interest in me, he expressed a desire for me to see the enemy on land for the first time with him. Fascinated by his proposal, I mount my horse, and we set off next to ... ". The adventurers, accompanied by only three people, passed the Cossack outposts and already distinguished the minarets of Ochakov, the gardens surrounding the city, horsemen prancing at the walls of the fortress. Carried away by observing the Turks, Roger de Dame and the Prince de Ligne came too close, they were noticed, and the Turkish cavalry, which had come in greater motion than the fruit trees from the hurricane, rushed after them. Having returned safely, the foreigners promised each other to avoid walks to the gardens of Ochakov.

Time passed, the siege dragged on, and a murmur of misunderstanding sounded not only in the capital, but also in the trenches. In November 1788, Count Branitsky, the husband of Potemkin's niece Alexandra, who supplied food and everything necessary for his noble relative from his own estates, left the army. In this regard, His Serene Highness had to limit himself in pleasures. Foreigners were surprised at the inaction of the prince. They believed that in Europe the general-in-chief would be responsible for the time he lost, for the calamities that he so uselessly forced to endure, for the many people who died daily from want and disease. "Oh, unknown Russia!" the strangers exclaimed. They saw that “Prince Potemkin was inviolable, he personified the soul, conscience, and power of the empress and, therefore, was not subject to any rules of duty or justice. No one dared to open the eyes of the empress for fear of compromising himself. Everyone endured, even though they were grumbling and cursing fate. "

The foreigners who were in the Russian camp were lost in conjecture about the plans of the Serene Highness regarding further hostilities. He was frank only in letters to Catherine, to whom he informed about all the actions of the commands entrusted to him, the maneuvers of the fleet, the forays of the enemy. On October 17, 1788 Potemkin wrote to the empress about the failure of the second conspiracy in Ochakov in favor of the Russian army and the execution of its participants. The President of the Military Collegium proposed a new plan: after intelligence reports that the enemy was not planning a sortie, he intended to strengthen the "cannonade" and force the retrenchment. In the same letter, His Serene Highness thanked Catherine for the "fur coat" sent, as he wrote, "from mother's care." Perhaps it was with her that an interesting story was connected, which struck the great Pushkin years later. Prince D.E. Tsitsianov, who served in Potemkin's staff, told it to his cousin A.O. Smirnova-Rosset: “I was,” he says (Tsitsianov. N.B.), favorite of Potemkin. He says to me: "Tsitsianov, I want to surprise the empress so that every morning she drank coffee with a roll, you are one of the best of all trades, go with a hot roll." - "Ready, Your Excellency." So I arranged a box with a camphor, laid the roll and rushed off, the sword only struck the posts all the time, waste, tra, tra, and presented the roll with my own hand for breakfast. She deigned to thank and sent Potemkin a fur coat. I AM I came and said: "Your Excellency, the Empress, as a token of gratitude, sent you a sable fur coat, which is the best." - "Tell me to open the chest." - "It is not necessary, it is in my bosom." The prince was surprised. The fur coat flew like fluff, and it was impossible to catch it ... ".

A month later, on November 17, Potemkin writes to Catherine that heavy snow prevented the assault, but promises that in three days "the breach battery will end and, despite the cold and winter, I will begin to storm, calling on God for help." The French volunteer Roger de Dame recalled that on November 18, 1788 Potemkin staged a truly theatrical spectacle of the attack on the island of Berezan by the "Cossacks", but these were no longer those free residents of the Zaporozhye Sich, but the Don Cossacks devoted to the service of the Empress.

On December 6, 1788, at 4 o'clock in the morning, Russian troops gathered in front of the camp front and received the blessing of the priests. All the soldiers were allowed to go out of line and venerate the cross, while each lowered a copper coin onto a dish and only then returned to his comrades. Lining up in columns, the soldiers moved in complete silence from the trenches to the trenches of Ochakov. Three bombs served as the signal for the assault, their action set in motion the entire huge mass of troops. When the first broke, the soldiers had to throw off their winter clothes: fur coats and fur boots. To cross the moat, each column received a sufficient number of boards, and the fifth (last) - ladders for storming the fortress walls. Traditional shouts of "hurray!" warned the Turks about the beginning of the attack. This greatly surprised the foreigners, accustomed to advancing in silence, which greatly contributed to the unexpectedness of the moment. A few hours later, the fortress, which had been besieged for so long, was taken, and Saraskir (the commander of the troops) was captured. For several days, the inhabitants of Ochakov, who had escaped the massacre, carried the dead to the middle of the Estuary, so that with the spring thaw they would be carried away to the Black Sea. Roger de Dame, who fought bravely at the walls of the fortress, recalled: "The sight of these terrible bodies on the surface of the Liman, preserved by frost in the positions in which they died, was the most terrible thing that can be imagined."