To stop further dissent, Holovaty headed another delegation to St. Petersburg to petition the Empress for the promises Potemkin had guaranteed. The delegation left in March, 1792 arriving in St. Petersburg a month later. Dressed in Cossack attire and with characteristic Zaporozhian haircuts were treated by the Russian court like a group of barbarians, however, Holovaty was able to obtain an audience before the Empress. He stunned the court by speaking to the Empress in French and immediately gained her sympathies. The concerns of the Cossacks were stated and the terms and conditions for the famous tsarist edict granting the Zaporozhians the lands on the Taman Peninsula in perpetuity were negotiated. Holovaty became a popular figure in Petersburg, often entertaining the nobility at various functions with Cossacks songs accompanied by his bandura playing. He left Petersburg in July with the now famous edict and numerous gifts.