Notes

Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (1744-1810) was one of the most prominent and extraordinary women of the 18th century, a figure in Russian culture, literature, and education, a close associate of Catherine II, and one of the first women to hold a high government position in Europe. An active participant in the 1762 palace coup that brought Catherine II to power, Dashkova soon withdrew from court intrigue and devoted herself to scholarship and public life. After many years abroad, where she met with Voltaire, Adam Smith, Diderot, and other prominent thinkers, in 1783 she became head of the Russian Academy, founded on her initiative for the study and development of the Russian language. It was thanks to her efforts that the Russian language and literature acquired new scientific and cultural significance. This edition presents Ekaterina Dashkova's celebrated "e;Notes"e; a rare example of 18th-century women's memoirs. With a brilliant mind and keen observation, the author recounts life at court, the coup of 1762, the personalities of Catherine II and Peter III, mid-century Moscow society, and the fates of prominent contemporaries both Russian and European. Dashkova's memoirs are not only a historical source but also a living literary testimony to an era when a new cultural identity for Russia was being shaped at the intersection of Enlightenment ideas and Russian statehood.