Alexandra von Engelhardt

Countess Alexandra Branitskaya (née von Engelhardt, Russian: Александра Васильевна Браницкая, Polish: Aleksandra Branicka [Braɲit͡ska]; 1754 – 15 September 1838), also known as Sanecka and Countess Branicka, was a leading Russian courtier. She was the niece and confidante of Grigory Potemkin, and Catherine the Great’s lady-in-waiting. She was one of the most notable socialites at the Russian Imperial court during Catherine’s reign, and was conspicuously treated as a virtual member of the Imperial family. Through her marriage to Branicki she became administrator of the immense estate of Biała Cerkiew (today Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine).