Catherine the Great, Voltaire, and the Russian intervention in Poland, 1767–1771 Jacek Kordel Introduction In the frst years of the reign of Stanislaus II Augustus, the Tsarina of Rus- sia, Catherine the Great, undertook a diplomatic and military intervention in favour of Polish evangelicals and members of the Orthodox Church. It was covered by a large-scale publicity campaign which aimed at explaining and justifying to the European public opinion the reasons for the court in St. Petersburg to be involved in Polish afairs, as well as the undertaken measures. The most opinion-forming writers of the Republic of Letters were recruited, among them Voltaire himself at the head. In the years 1767–1771, the philosopher of Ferney, based on the materials which were provided by Russian diplomats, wrote a number of brochures in which he supported the political and military involvement of Catherine II in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Thanks to his great authority he could infuence many intellectual circles and prejudice them in favour of the Russian intervention in Poland. He could also build the authority of the Russian Empress as an enlightened ruler who put into practice the ideas of the Enlightenment. In my article I would like to, frstly, present the inside story of Voltaire’s conversations with Russian politicians (primarily with the envoy in The Hague Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov and with the Tsarina’s close col- laborator Andrei Petrovich Shuvalov, who both interceded in negotiations with the king of philosophers). Secondly, I would like to recount the materials prepared by the Russian diplomacy which, through the agency of Vorontsov, reached the philosopher of Ferney. Finally, I would like to analyse the philosopher’s texts concerning the case, namely Lettre sur les pa- négyriques, Essai historique et critique sur les dissensions des Eglises de Pologne, Le Sermon prêché à Bâle, le premier jour de l’an 1768, Discours aux confédérés catholiques de Kaminiek en Pologne, Le tocsin des rois. I intend to consider the arguments used by Voltaire to justify the Russian intervention in Poland. How did he create and defend the Russian Empress’ reputation? How did he portray Catherine the Great? This issue had already been discussed in 1. 503