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Grigory Orlov came from an undistinguished family of noblemen and served in the guards. He and his brothers helped Catherine the Great to seize the throne from Peter III in 1762. Orlov was awarded the titles of count of Russia and prince of the Holy Roman Empire and the rank of master of the ordnance (1765–75). He was the first president of the Free Economic Society and was sent to Moscow to quell the disorders following an outbreak of plague (1771).