Pyotr Zavadovsky (1739–1812) was a Russian Imperial statesman of

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

origin. He was a favourite (lover) of Russian Empress

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

from 1776 to 1777. Count Zavadovsky was named official secretary to Catherine in 1775 and became her lover on 2 January 1776. He is described as serious and cultivated and he is regarded to have been genuinely in love with Catherine. Their relationship was tense because of the jealousy he felt toward Grigory Potemkin, who still had a relationship with Catherine, although Zavadovsky had replaced him in a sexual sense, and Potemkin was also said to have had difficulties accepting the situation. The relationship was ended because of the continuing pressure. In 1778, Catherine contemplated recalling him, but was then introduced to

Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov Ivan Nikolajevich Rimsky-Korsakov, né ''Korsav'' (29 June 1754 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire – 31 July 1831 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire) was a Russian courtier and lover of Catherine the Great from 1778 to 1779. He was a memb ...

. Zavadovsky became the highest official in the empire’s educational system. In 1780 he was appointed a

privy councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

; in 1781, he became the director of the state bank. He later became a senator and, at the end of his life, the minister of education under

Czar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

In popular culture

In the 2019 HBO miniseries ''

'' Zavadovsky is portrayed by Thomas Doherty.

References

* Simon Sebag Montefiore : ''Potemkin och Katarina den stora - en kejserlig förbindelse'' (Potemkin and Catherine the Great - an imperial commitment) (2006) (In Swedish) 1739 births 1812 deaths 18th-century people from the Russian Empire Russian people of Ukrainian descent Lovers of Catherine the Great Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Russian royal favourites {{Russia-hist-stub