Catherine the Great. A Life Told by Herself

“Happiness is not as blind as it is imagined. And especially the happiness of individual personalities is often a result of their qualities, character, and personal behavior…” — with these words, Catherine the Great summarized the results of her long life and many years of rule (a full 34 years — longer than any leader in domestic history). A princess from a remote German principality seized the crown of the Russian Empire by overthrowing her husband but managed to transform the country into a superpower, in which, according to the “Catherine's eagles,” “not a single cannon in Europe dared to fire without our permission.” For three decades, until her death, Catherine constantly returned to the notes about her life, clarifying and adding to them. The manuscript of the empress's secret memories was kept under the label “Top Secret,” imposed by her son Paul, and Nicholas I commanded the destruction of all copies of the “dishonorable document,” strictly prohibiting even the royal dynasty from reading it. The forbidden memoirs of Catherine II are remarkably candid even for today, this is a true confession, a self-analysis, and a self-portrait of a strong woman, much more realistic than the famous ceremonial portraits, as well as a broad panorama of the life of the brilliant court, the morals of the high nobility, the “cares” and entertainments of courtiers. This edition includes not only the memoirs of Catherine II but also personal letters from the great empress to her favorites — Count Joseph Poniatowski and the Most Serene Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tauride.