Catherine the Great's Favorites: Those Who Lacked Their Own Opinion

The reign of Catherine the Great was a time of brilliant decline of favoritism in Russia, and the name of the empress is firmly associated with her "ministers of pleasure." Young guards officers succeeded one another in the empress's chambers, entertained her in the capital and at country residences, accompanied her on trips, received ridiculously expensive gifts, titles, ranks, orders, and estates with thousands of serfs, but quickly faded from the historical stage. How was favoritism integrated into the system of state governance? What are the reasons for the emergence of a series of royal favorites? What, besides close relationships with the ruler, did they do in their "known position," and what role did they play in court life and high politics?
Essays by Doctor of Historical Sciences Igor Kurukin, based on archival and published sources and scientific research, are dedicated to the favorites of Catherine II, who to the best of their abilities shared her interests and aspirations, but lacked their own opinion