“Grigory, it’s fantastic! Look at the turrets and bulwarks, the might of the walls and the moats, Russia will conquer and win”
Potemkin looked at his empress, his mistress, and smiled.
“You highness, look at Comte de Segur, I can almost see his report.”
“We will leave tomorrow at nine”, Catherine replied.
“Good, I will tell my men to prepare for tomorrow.”
Grigory knew that the soldiers would work through the night, disassemble and transport, then rebuild the setting downstream the Dnjepr. He wondered if Catherine knew what they did. An empress should never be forced into lying for ambassadors.
For those who have never heard about a Potemkin Village and the fascinating story of Potemkin and Catherine the great you can find more here. Most likely large part of the story is myth, but the relationship between Catherine and Potemkin is not. Why the clock first looked like a fake mansion I can only blame on bad eyesight.
Friday Fictioneers is a great Wednesday activity hosted by Rochelle, the challenge is simply to write a story of 100 words to the seme picture.
September 13, 2018
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Fascinating story. Thanks for educating.
It is… and imagine how forceful the term still is… even today.
Wow – that was an unexpected take on the photo prompt. Nicely done!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Nice to be able to surprise…
Oh! Thanks for the history lesson and a great story!
And we still talk about Potemkin is terms of propaganda and faked news… from Goebbels to Baghdad Bob, the term Potemkin Villages has been used…
How fascinating. Thanks for the interesting snippet of history.
Really is, and also remember that Catherine was a German princess who married Peter III and then had him thrown from power by a former lover… really interesting.
Fascinating Bjorn. Thank you.
Catherine II and her time in Russia is extremely interesting.
Thank you, I learnt something new. Historical bits are always fascinating. It is somewhat risky to sleep with ones boss, who happened to be empress. Like everything, Potemkin managed it.
It is also risky for the empress… remember that she had her husband thrown from power… she was just a German Princess.
An imaginative take, Bjorn, with the bonus of some learnin’.
Thank you… it is interesting… and the more you read about that time the more interesting it gets.
My favorite, a history snippet.
It is my favorite too.
Love stories where I learn something new! Thanks.
Haha Potemkin was a tryhard wasn’t he? I really do appreciate the context, it gave the characters so much more life the second read-through. Great read man!
Fascinating. I hope it is all real, though I feel sorry for the poor souls who had to cart the village around and rebuild it every night!
Thanks for the historical snippet. Fascinating indeed.
An interesting tale with an informative footnote.
Dear Björn,
Fascinating bit of history. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Interesting story. Those long-ago emperors could demand anything and get it!
and the empresses could get even more.
Fake views and fake news, it seems they have a long history. And I love learning about history when it is new to me.
Interesting, fascinating history.
Learned so much. Great read.
history coming to life. well done.
What a fascinating story – a fake village. Beats ‘fake news’ !
A fascinating historical take this week. That is some dedication, and canniness, Catherine’s lover and soldiers showed.
I had to laugh at your eyesight comment. I suffer from the same malady. But sometimes it makes for a great story as is the case here.
I loved the story, and the background. Poor vision paid off this time. Your comment about the vision reminded me of the cartoon series Mr. Magoo. 🙂
Great story. I knew about the villages but not about the affair.
Fascinating Bjorn as everyone has already said
I love where you went with this Björn! And I learned something to boot. Wonderfully done.
Fascinating.
Sorry this is late.