Notes

For a long time, "Autographed Notes" of Empress Catherine II were kept under the label "Top Secret," imposed by her son, Emperor Paul. However, he allowed his close friend, Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, to take a copy of the "Notes." Subsequently, several other copies appeared, circulating during the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I (among them were the 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 writings. Having received permission to work in closed archives, academician A. N. Pyapin, who led the publication, discovered the originals of the "Notes" of the empress in full. "The London edition, as I have now confirmed, gives barely half of the whole "Notes" and hardly a third of the entire historical memoirs... – Pyapin reported in a letter to the president of the Academy, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. – The historical notes of the empress in their full composition represent a priceless monument, remarkable both in historical content and deep psychological interest... Finally, this personal history of Catherine II... is at the same time a remarkable literary work, shining with intellect and observation".
The "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, the publishing house A. S. Suvorin released their Russian translation.