Potemkin, Dmitry Nikolaevich

Dmitry Potemkin was born on March 10, 1820 in the village of Leshchenka, Smolensk district, Smolensk province, in a noble family. He is a distant relative of Prince Grigory Potemkin . In 1842 he graduated from the Imperial College of Law in St. Petersburg , receiving the rank of provincial secretary . He served in the office of the West Siberian Governor General, was the head of the judicial department, later returned to St. Petersburg, where he worked as an assistant secretary of the department in the 5th Department of the Governing Senate. In February 1845, he left the civil service ^[1] .

Returning to Smolensk , he was engaged in agriculture, while continuing to study law. In 1861 - 1870 he was the Smolensk district leader of the nobility, in 1863 - 1864 - the Smolensk provincial leader of the nobility. In 1862 he entered the Smolensk provincial presence on the peasant question. He was also a member of the Smolensk Society of Agriculture ^[1] .

In 1871, Potemkin became the mayor of Smolensk. The time of his leadership of the city government is the time of the rise of the Smolensk economy. Over the six years of the leadership of Potemkin, a number of streets and squares have been landscaped, a city bank has been created, a number of gymnasiums and schools have been opened, the first bookstore in the province. Potemkin patronized patronage of art , which in turn enjoyed the active support of the governor of Smolensk province, Alexander Grigoryevich Lopatin ^[1] .

Potemkin was often ill and was forced to constantly go for treatment. In 1877, he resigned as mayor of Smolensk. In the same year he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Smolensk . He died on September 20, 1878 ^[1] .