The historical event involving Russian General Potemkin constructing fake villages to deceive Empress Catherine the Great as she traveled along a nearby road is known as the "Potemkin villages" or "Potemkin villages legend". It occurred in 1787 during a visit by Catherine the Great to Crimea, with the purpose of showing her the rapid progress made in the area under her reign. According to the legend, Potemkin had fake portable villages built, which were put up and removed as soon as the empress passed by. The idea was to make it appear that the region was richer and more developed than it actually was, in order to exaggerate its progress under Catherine's rule. The true extent of the deception is still debated by historians.