Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1772), state and military figure, collector, patron of arts, and General-in-Chief.
Count Grigory Orlov, by Fyodor Rokotov
А. I. Chorny (Chernov). Portrait of Count G. G. Orlov. Hermitage Museum
Orlov's charter granting him the status of Count
Catherine II, most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III. Under her long reign, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Russia experienced a renaissance of culture and sciences, which led to the founding of many new cities, universities, and theatres, along with a large-scale immigration from the rest of Europe and with the recognition of Russia as one of the great powers of Europe.
Catherine the Great, c. 1780s
1764, Rouble Catherine II ММД - Krasny Mint
Young Catherine soon after her arrival in Russia, by Louis Caravaque, 1745
Portrait of the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseyevna (the future Catherine the Great) around the time of her wedding, by Georg Christoph Grooth, 1745