Catherine II. Notes

For a long time, the "Handwritten Notes" of Empress Catherine II were kept under the label of "Special Secrecy", 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 other copies appeared, circulated during the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I (among those who knew 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 writings. Having received permission to work in closed archives, Academician A.N. Pyppin, who led the publication, discovered the originals of the empress's "Notes" in their entirety. "The London edition, as I now confirmed, provides barely half of the entire "Notes" and barely a third of the complete composition of historical memoirs… - Pyppin reported in a letter to the president of the Academy, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. - The historical notes of the empress in their complete form represent a precious monument, remarkable both for its historical content and deep psychological interest… Finally, this personal history of Catherine II… is also a remarkable literary work, shining with intellect and observation."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 authentic manuscripts. In the same year, the publishing house of A.S. Suvorin released their Russian translation.