Who dated Pyotr Zavadovsky?

Peter Vasiljevitj Zavadovskij (ryska: Пётр Васильевич Завадовский), född 10 januari 1739, död 10 januari 1812, var en rysk greve och gunstling till Katarina den stora.

Zavadovskij blev 1775 Katarinas sekreterare och blev den 2 januari 1776 hennes generaladjutant och älskare. Han beskrivs som stilig, kultiverad och allvarlig samt anses ha varit uppriktigt förälskad i Katarina. Förhållandet var ansträngt på grund av den svartsjuka han kände mot Potemkin, vars nära relation med Katarina fortgick trots att han i egenskap av älskare hade ersatt honom; även Potemkin ryktas ha haft åtminstone ett vredesutbrott på grund av relationen. Förhållandet avslutades på grund av de ständiga slitningarna och han ersattes 1777 av Simon Zoritj. Då relationen med Zoritj avslutades 1778 ska Katarina ha övervägt att återkalla Zavadovksij, men hon mötte då i stället Ivan Rimskij-Korsakov.

Catherine II (born Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 1729 – 17 November 1796), commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after a coup d'etat against her husband, Peter III. Her long reign helped Russia thrive under a golden age during the Enlightenment. This renaissance led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe.

After overthrowing and possibly assassinating her husband, Catherine's subsequent rule of the Russian Empire often relied on noble favourites such as Count Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. Assisted by highly successful generals such as Alexander Suvorov and Pyotr Rumyantsev and admirals such as Samuel Greig and Fyodor Ushakov, she governed at a time when the Russian Empire was expanding rapidly by conquest and diplomacy. In the west, she installed her former lover to the throne of Poland, which was eventually partitioned. In the south, the Crimean Khanate was annexed following victories over the Bar Confederation and the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War. With the support of Great Britain, Russia colonised the territories of New Russia along the coasts of the Black and Azov seas. In the east, Russians became the first Europeans to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America.

Many cities and towns were founded on Catherine's orders in the newly conquered lands, most notably Yekaterinoslav, Kherson, Nikolayev, and Sevastopol. An admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European culture. However, military conscription and the economy continued to depend on serfdom, and the increasing demands of the state and of private landowners intensified the exploitation of serf labour. This was one of the chief reasons behind rebellions, including Pugachev's Rebellion of Cossacks, nomads, peoples of the Volga, and peasants.

The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the short reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine, freed Russian nobles from compulsory military or state service. The construction of many mansions of the nobility in the classical style endorsed by the empress changed the face of the country. She is often included in the ranks of the enlightened despots. Catherine presided over the age of the Russian Enlightenment and established the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens, the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe.