Download or read book The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova written by Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova and published by Ravenio Books. This book was released on 2014-03-08 with total page 671 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Princess Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova (1743 – 1810) was a leading figure of the Russian Enlightenment and the closest female friend of Empress Catherine the Great. By her own account, she played a critical role in the coup d'état by which the autocratic Peter III was overthrown and Catherine was raised to the throne. In her travels abroad, she met Diderot, Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin. Catherine later named her the first female head of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences, and then the Russian Academy.