Platon Zubov

April 7] 1822) was the last of Catherine the Great's favourites and the most powerful man in the Russian Empire during the last years of her reign.

The prince was a member of the Zubov Russian noble family and had several siblings, including Nikolay, Valerian, and Olga Zherebtsova.

In 7 years, he was made a Count and then a Reichsfürst, or Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the fourth (and last) Russian to receive the title.

He patronized Suvorov and Denis Fonvizin, and yet he is thought to have instigated the persecution of Alexander Radishchev and Nikolay Novikov.

On the 11th day, he was visited by Emperor Paul who drank to his health and wished him "as many years of prosperity as there are drops in this beaker".

In Teplitz, he fell in love with the Countess de la Roche-Aymon, then proposed to the Princess of Courland but was refused.

Following one obscure duel, in which he refused to take part and which resulted in his aide's killing Chevalier de Saxe, son of Prince Francis Xavier of Saxony and cousin of Louis XVI, Zubov withdrew to his Rastrelliesque Rundale Palace in Courland, formerly the seat of the House of Biron.