Count Stanisław Szczęsny Feliks Potocki (; 1751–1805), of the Piława coat of arms, known as Szczęsny PotockiE. Rostworowski, Potocki Stanisław Szczęsny (Feliks) herbu Pilawa, n:Polski Słownik Biograficzny, t. XXVIII, Wrocław–Warszawa–Kraków–Gdańsk–Łódź 1984–1985, p. 183. was a member of the Polish

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

and a military commander of the forces of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

and then

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in August 1775. He was named Great

Chorąży A standard-bearer ( Polish: ''Chorąży'' ; Russian and ; , chorunžis; ) is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A ''chorąży'' was once a knight who bore an ensign, the emblem of an armed troops, a voivodship, a l ...

of the Crown in 1774–1780,

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

in 1782–1791, Great Lieutenant General of the Crown since 1784, General of Artillery of the Crown in 1789–1792, ''starost bełski, hrubieszowski, sokalski, hajsyński, zwinogrodzki'', Marshal of the

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation (, , ) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Constitution of 3 May ...

in 1792. He plotted with others against the state, was convicted of treason and sentenced to death in his absence. He died in ignominy.

Biography

Early life

He was the son of Franciszek Salezy Potocki,

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

and Governor of Polish

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, of the Tulczyn line of the family. He entered the public service, and owing to the influence of his relations became grand standard-bearer of the Crown at the age of twenty-two. After the death of Prince August Aleksander Czartoryski in 1782, King

Stanisław II Augustus Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

appointed him the

Voivode of Ruthenia The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

. In 1784, he purchased the rank of a colonel from bankrupted Voivode of Kyiv, Stempkowski and soon became a

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in the Royal Army.

A "Great" nobleman

He was a great

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, grandly ruling in his vast estates in the eastern parts of the

, known as the ''

Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

''. His annual income was over 3 million zloties. Elected deputy for

Bracław Bratslav (, ; ) is a rural settlement in Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east a ...

at the famous Four-Year Sejm, he began that career of treachery which was to terminate in the ruin of his country. Yet his previous career had awakened many hopes in him. His popularity culminated in 1784 when he presented an infantry regiment of 400 men as a free gift to the Commonwealth. But he identified the public welfare with the welfare of individual magnates, his aims in seeking reforms was to transform the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the Pat ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

into a magnate

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

Family

The father of numerous children, one of his daughters, Olga, married Lev Naryshkin.

Time of the Partitions

His scheme was to divide Poland into an

of autonomous

grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

s exercising supreme power in rotation (in fact a perpetual interregnum). In 1788 he persuaded two other

magnates The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, Franciszek Ksawery Branicki and Severin Rzewuski to join the anti-royalist conspiracy. The election of

Stanisław Małachowski Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was a Polish statesman, the first List of Polish Prime Ministers, Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Poland, Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada Nieustaj� ...

and Kazimierz Lew Sapieha as marshals of the Four Years Sejm still further alienated him from the Liberals. After strenuously but vainly opposing every project of reform, he slipped off to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

whence he continued an active propaganda against the new proposals.

Protest against the Constitution

He opposed the

Constitution of 3 May The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising t ...

of 1791, and was one of the leaders of the Hetman Party. After attempting fruitlessly to persuade the

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, as well as King of Hungary, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia, and List of rulers of Austria, Archduke of Austri ...

to take up arms against the reformers, he proceeded with his co-conspirators to St. Petersburg in March 1792 and, with the connivance of the Empress Catherine II of Russia formed the

allegedly for the maintenance of the ancient and lax institutions of Poland (14 May 1792), of which he had been marshal, or rather the dictator. He continued directing the conspiracy from his castle at Tulczyn. When the May Constitution was overthrown and the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

ns were already in occupation of

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

, Potocki (March 1793) went on a diplomatic mission to St. Petersburg. There finding himself duped and set aside, he again went to Vienna until 1797, when he retired to Tulczyn and devoted himself to the improvement of his estates and large wealth for the remainder of his life. He had been sentenced to death ''in absentia'' by the Supreme Criminal Court during the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

in 1794. On 17 November 1797 he was made a general of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

, but was dismissed on 30 October 1798. He was buried with the ignominy of a "traitor" general.

Quote

After the signing of the Targowica Confederation: "Each true Pole, not blinded by the Prussian and royalist cabal, is convinced, that our Fatherland can only be saved by Russia, otherwise our nation will be enslaved". After

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

's abdication and the destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: "About past Poland and Poles don't want to talk anymore Gone is this country, and this name, as many others have perished in the world's history. I am now a Russian forever."

References

External links

* *
Article in the Russian Biographical Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potocki, Stanislaw Szczesny 1751 births 1805 deaths People from Sheptytskyi People from Ruthenian Voivodeship Voivodes of the Ruthenian Voivodeship Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish generals in the Imperial Russian Army People sentenced to death in absentia Diplomats of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Stanislaw Szczesny Targowica confederates Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)