In the Crimea, before returning from there, Segur more than once had discussions on political topics with Count Falkenstein. At this time, their usual walks along the steppe resumed, as they had done even earlier, on the way to Crimea from Kherson. [Osif P quite openly expressed to his interlocutor what he thought about Catherine’s plans, about Potemkin and about Russia in general.
"My compliance during the conquest of Crimea," said Gosie, "makes you think that I will agree to new conquests. You are mistaken: I sincerely wish to preserve peace. The occupation of Crimea by the Russians did not bother me: the only consequence of this was the death of the Turks; they were deprived of the opportunity to start an offensive war. Moreover, I found my benefits in this... But now it is a completely different matter. I am not I will allow the Russians to establish themselves in Constantinople. For Vienna, in any case, it is safer to have neighbors in turbans than in hats.”
However, [Osif paid tribute to the power of the Russian empress, and recognized that in other matters the Turks would have to yield to her demands. "You see, 'the empress is getting carried away... If the Turks refuse to arm the empress against themselves, then who can prevent her from taking revenge and taking several cities from them? She has a huge, vigorous, tireless army, It will go wherever she wants.'" - Far from the capital they make roads, arrange piers, build in swamps, erect palaces, plant parks among the steppes, and all this is done without payment, without cover, sometimes without food and always without grumbling. Of all the monarchs of Europe, the Empress is the only one who is truly rich. She spends a lot everywhere and has no debts; She values her notes at what she wants; if she wanted, she could introduce leather money. Meanwhile, Anglia is burdened with her paper money. Francia publicly acknowledged the disorganized state of her finances; and I can barely cover the costs of the new fortresses that are being built.”
“All these difficult circumstances,” said Segur, “must prompt the emperor to try in every possible way to avoid a ruinous war.”
“Since we often,” Segur continued, “talked about the same subject, I always tried to prove to him that the power of Russia is more apparent than solid. “Here there is more brilliance than strength,” I said; “everything is taken on, nothing is completed.” Potemkin easily abandons what he set about with fervor; on the m5st of Ekaterinoslav he laid a city that will be uninhabited, and a huge temple in which, perhaps, they will never pray. For the construction of this new capital, he chose a high, prominent, but completely waterless place. Kherson was built on an inconvenient area and surrounded by swamps. In the last 10 years, the steppes have been deserted more than before. ruined and will not rise.
Sevastopol alone is now quite significant; but it takes a long time for it to become a real city. They took care to decorate, dress up, revive everything for the time being, for the show of the empresses; but as soon as Catherine leaves, then all the embellishments of this vast region will disappear with her. I know Prince Potemkin. He produced a theatrical project, and the curtain comes down, and he will take up new performances in Poland or Turshi. Management and everything that requires constancy is incompatible with his character. If he started a war, “he would soon get tired of the war; having waited for the St. George’s ribbon, he would seek peace with the same ardor as he is now trying to break it.”
"I agree with this," said the emperor, "we have been distracted here from one charm to another. In essence, much is lacking here; the appearance is truly brilliant... In Rosby, the order is carried out immediately. If some Charles XI were at the head of this people, he, with 600,000 people, would make all of Europe tremble."
It wasn’t just important, political issues that occupied Catherine’s companions. Segur talks about the naive prank that he and de Ligne allowed themselves when they were still in Bakhchisaraf.
“Naturally,” says Segur, “that when we lived in the Khan's seral - the appearance, the very air of these voluptuous chambers excited our imagination. The curiosity of de Ligne, who was younger at 50 than I was at 30, drew me into a prank, which, fortunately, did not have the consequences that could have been expected; however, we received a serious and well-deserved lesson.