Notes

For a long time, "Handwritten Notes" of Empress Catherine II were kept under the label of "Special Confidentiality," imposed on them by her son, Emperor Paul. However, he allowed his close friend, Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, to make a copy of the "Notes." Subsequently, several more copies circulated during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I (among them were historian A. I. Turgenev, N. M. Karamzin, and A. S. Pushkin).
In 1859, a significant portion of the Empress's memoirs was published in London by A. I. Herzen. They caused a real sensation throughout Europe and were translated into several languages (the original was written in French).
In the early 20th century, the Imperial Academy of Sciences decided to publish Catherine's works. Having received permission to work in closed archives, Academician A. N. Pypin, who directed the publication, discovered the originals of the Empress's "Notes" in full. "The London edition, as I am now convinced, gives barely half of the complete "Notes" and hardly a third of the entire composition of historical memoirs... – reported Pypin in a letter to the President of the Academy, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. – The historical notes of the Empress in their entirety represent a priceless monument, remarkable both in historical content and in deep psychological interest... Finally, this personal history of Catherine II... is at the same time a remarkable literary work, shining with intelligence and observation".
"Notes" were published in 1907 in the original language in the 12th volume of the Empress's works based on the original manuscripts. In the same year, A. S. Suvorin's publishing house released their Russian translation.