Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova is known as one of the close friends of Empress Catherine II. She considered herself one of the active participants in the coup d'état of 1762, but there is no documentary evidence of this fact. Catherine herself noticeably cooled off towards her after she ascended the throne. Throughout her reign, Dashkova did not play any significant role. At the same time, she was remembered as an important figure in Russian education, standing at the origins of the Academy, created in 1783 according to the French model.
Young
Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova was born in St. Petersburg in 1743. She was one of the daughters of Count Vorontsov. Her mother, whose name was Marfa Surmina, came from a we althy merchant family.
In the Russian Empire, many of her relatives held important positions. Uncle Mikhail Illarionovich was chancellor from 1758 to 1765, and Dashkova's brotherAlexander Romanovich held the same post from 1802 to 1805. Brother Semyon was a diplomat, and sister Elizabeth Polyanskaya was the favorite of Peter III.
From the age of four, the heroine of our article was brought up by her uncle Mikhail Vorontsov, where she learned the basics of dancing, foreign languages and drawing. Then it was believed that a woman did not need to be able to do more. She became one of the most educated representatives of the weaker sex of her time quite by accident. She became very ill with measles, which is why she was sent to a village near St. Petersburg. It was there that Ekaterina Romanovna became addicted to reading. Her favorite authors were Voltaire, Bayle, Boileau, Montesquieu, Helvetius.
In 1759, at the age of 16, she was married to Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Dashkov, with whom she moved to Moscow.
Interests in politics
Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova was interested in politics from an early age. The intrigues and coups d'etat, among which she grew up, contributed to the development of ambition, the desire to play an important historical role in society.
As a young girl, she became associated with the court, becoming the head of the movement that supported Catherine II in her nomination to the throne. She met the future empress in 1758.
The final rapprochement happened at the very end of 1761 during the accession to the throne of Peter III. Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, whose biography is described in this article, made a significant contribution to the organization of the coup d'état in Russia, the purpose of which was to overthrow Peter III from the throne. Not even paying attention to the fact that he was her godfather, and her sister could become the wife of the emperor.
The future empress, planning to overthrow her unpopular husband from the throne, chose Grigory Orlov and Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova as her main ally. Orlov was engaged in propaganda in the army, and the heroine of our article - among aristocrats and dignitaries. When the successful coup took place, practically everyone who helped the new empress received key posts at court. Only Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova found herself in some disgrace. Relations between her and Catherine cooled.
Death of husband
Dashkova's husband died quite early, five years after their marriage. At first, she stayed at her estate Mikhalkovo near Moscow, and then took a trip around Russia.
Despite the fact that the Empress lost interest in her, Ekaterina Romanovna herself remained faithful to her. At the same time, often the heroine of our article categorically did not like the favorites of the ruler, she was angry because of how much attention the empress pays to them.
Her straightforward statements, neglect of the Empress's favorites, a feeling of her own underestimation created very tense relations between Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (Vorontsova) and the ruler. As a result, she decided to ask permission to go abroad. Ekaterina agreed.
According to some reports, the real reason was the refusal of the empress to appoint Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, whose biography you are now reading, as a colonel in the guard.
In 1769 she was for three yearswent to England, Switzerland, Prussia and France. She was received with great respect at European courts, Princess Ekaterina Romanovna met many foreign philosophers and scientists, made friends with Voltaire and Diderot.
In 1775, she again went on a foreign voyage to raise her son, who studied at the University of Edinburgh. In Scotland, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova herself, whose photo is presented in this article, regularly communicated with William Robertson, Adam Smith.
Russian Academy
She finally returned to Russia in 1782. By this time, her relationship with the Empress had improved markedly. Catherine II respected Dashkova's literary taste, as well as her desire to make Russian one of the key languages in Europe.
In January 1783, Ekaterina Romanovna, whose portrait photo is in this article, was appointed head of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. She successfully held this position for 11 years. In 1794 she went on vacation, and two years later she retired completely. Her place was taken by the writer Pavel Bakunin.
Ekaterina Romanovna under Catherine II turned into the first representative of the weaker sex in the world, who was entrusted with the leadership of the Academy of Sciences. It was on her initiative that in 1783 the Imperial Russian Academy was also opened, specializing in the study of the Russian language. Dashkova began to lead her too.
As director of the Academy, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, whose brief biography is in this article,organized public lectures, which were a success. The number of pupils of the Academy of Arts and scholarship students was increased. It was at this time that professional translations of the best works of foreign literature into Russian began to appear.
An interesting fact from the life of Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova is that she stood at the origins of the founding of the magazine "Interlocutor of Lovers of the Russian Word", which was of a journalistic and satirical nature. Fonvizin, Derzhavin, Bogdanovich, Kheraskov published on its pages.
Literary creativity
Dashkova herself was fond of literature. In particular, she wrote a message in verse to the portrait of Catherine II and a satirical work called "Message to the word: so".
Coming out from her pen and more serious writings. From 1786, for ten years, she regularly published New Monthly Writings.
At the same time, Dashkova patronized the main scientific project of the Russian Academy - the publication of the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. Many of the brightest minds of that time worked on it, including the heroine of our article. She compiled a collection of words that began with the letters Ts, Sh, and Sh, and worked hard on the exact definitions of words, mainly those that denoted moral qualities.
Skillful management
At the head of the academy, Dashkova proved to be a diligent manager, all funds were spent sensibly and economically.
In 1801, when the emperorbecame Alexander I, members of the Russian Academy invited the heroine of our article to return to the chair of the chairman. The decision was unanimous, but she refused.
In addition to her previously listed works, Dashkova composed many poems in French and Russian, mainly in letters to the Empress, translated Voltaire's "Experience on Epic Poetry" into Russian, was the author of several academic speeches, written under the influence Lomonosov. Her articles were published in popular magazines of the time.
It was Dashkova who became the author of the comedy "Toisekov, or a spineless man", which was written specifically for the theater stage, a drama called "Fabian's Wedding, or Greed for We alth Punished", which became a continuation of "Poverty or nobility of soul" German playwright Kotzebue.
Special discussion at court caused her comedy. Under the title character Toisekov, a man who wants this and that, the court joker Lev Naryshkin was guessed, and in Reshimova, who is opposed to him, Dashkova herself.
For historians, the memoirs written by the heroine of our article have become an important document. Interestingly, they were originally published only in 1840 by Mrs. Wilmont in English. At the same time, Dashkova herself wrote them in French. This text was discovered much later.
In these memoirs, the princess describes in detail the details of the coup d'état, her own life in Europe, court intrigues. It should be noted that it cannot be said that it is differentobjectivity and impartiality. Often praises Catherine II, without substantiating it in any way. At the same time, latent accusations of her ingratitude, which the princess endured until her death, can often be caught.
Again in disgrace
Intrigue flourished at the court of Catherine II. This led to another quarrel that arose in 1795. The formal reason was the publication of Dashkov's tragedy "Vadim" by Yakov Knyazhnin in the collection "Russian Theater", which was published at the Academy. His works have always been imbued with patriotism, but in this play, which became the last for Knyazhnin, the theme of the struggle against the tyrant appears. He interprets the Russian sovereign in it as a usurper who is under the influence of the revolution that took place in France.
The empress didn't like the tragedy, her text was withdrawn from circulation. True, at the last moment Dashkova herself managed to explain herself to Ekaterina, explain her position, why she decided to publish this work. It is worth noting that Dashkova published it four years after the death of the author, according to historians, being at that time at odds with the Empress.
In the same year, the Empress granted Dashkova's request for a two-year vacation with subsequent dismissal. She sold her house in St. Petersburg, paid off most of her debts and settled in her estate Mikhalkovo near Moscow. At the same time, she remained the head of two academies.
Paul I
In 1796, Catherine II dies. She is replaced by her son Pavel I. In it, Dashkova's position is aggravated by the fact that she is fired from all her posts. And then she was sent into exile in an estate near Novgorod, which formally belonged to her son.
Only at the request of Maria Feodorovna she was allowed to return. She settled in Moscow. She lived, no longer taking any part in politics and domestic literature. Dashkova began to pay much attention to the Trinity estate, which she brought to an exemplary state in a few years.
Private life
Dashkova was married only once to the diplomat Mikhail Ivanovich. She had two sons and a daughter by him. Anastasia was the first to appear in 1760. She was given a brilliant home education. At the age of 16, she married Andrei Shcherbinin. This marriage was unsuccessful, the spouses constantly quarreled, from time to time they parted.
Anastasia turned out to be a brawler who spent money without looking, constantly owed everything to everyone. In 1807, Dashkova disinherited her, forbidding her entry even on her deathbed. The daughter of the heroine of our article herself was childless, so she raised the illegitimate children of her brother Pavel. She took care of them, even registered them in her husband's surname. She died in 1831.
In 1761 Dashkova had a son, Mikhail, who died in infancy. In 1763, Pavel was born, who became the provincial marshal of the nobility in Moscow. In 1788 he married the daughter of a merchant, Anna Alferova. The union was unhappy, the couple parted very soon. The heroine of our article did not want to recognize her son's family, and her daughter-in-lawsaw only in 1807, when Pavel died at the age of 44.
Death
Dashkova herself died in early 1810. She was buried in the village of Troitskoye on the territory of the Kaluga province in the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity. By the end of the 19th century, traces of the burial were completely lost.
In 1999, at the initiative of the Dashkova Moscow Humanitarian Institute, the tombstone was found and restored. It was consecrated by the Archbishop of Kaluga and Borovsk Kliment. It turned out that Ekaterina Romanovna was buried in the northeastern part of the church, under the floor in the crypt.
Contemporaries remembered her as an ambitious, energetic and powerful woman. Many doubt that she sincerely loved the Empress. Most likely, her desire to stand on a par with her became the main reason for the break with the insightful Catherine.
Dashkova was characterized by careerist aspirations, which were rarely seen in a woman of her time. In addition, they extended to areas in which men then dominated in Russia. As a result, it did not bring any results as expected. It is possible that if these plans could be implemented, they would have benefited the whole country, as well as the proximity to Catherine II of such prominent historical figures as the Orlov brothers or Count Potemkin.
Among her shortcomings, many emphasized excessive stinginess. It was claimed that she collected old guards epaulettes, untwisting them into gold threads. Moreover, the princess, who was the owner of a huge fortune, did not at allwas not shy.
She died at the age of 66.
