Princess of the Revolution: Yekaterina Dashkova

Born: March 28, 1743 or 1744

Died: January 16, 1810

Country: Russia

Culture: Russian Enlightenment 

Pietro Antonio Rotari, Young Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova, Future Princesse Dachkova (18th Century)

Yekaterina lived a remarkable life. She was born into a wealthy and powerful family, and after her mother tragically died when Yekaterina was two, she was sent to live with her uncle who made sure she had the best education available to girls at the time. 

Her uncle was a diplomat, and Yekaterina was a curious girl. She asked frequently about his travel and meetings, and her uncle allowed her to look through his letters, allowing Yekaterina a glimpse into political happenings from faraway countries like France and China. When foreign politicians came to visit, she peppered them with questions about their countries and cultures. As a teenager she developed a strong passion for learning, and was especially excited about the new philosophical theories coming out of the Enlightenment Age by scholars like Voltaire and Montesquieu in France. Throughout her long life, Yekaterina never lost her passion for learning. 

Anna Rosina Lisiewska, Peter III and Catherine II of Russia with Their Son Paul (1756)

When she was 14, two important things happened that would change Yekaterina's life forever. First, her uncle invited Russia’s Grand Duke and Grand Duchess over for a formal dinner party. The couple, Peter and Catherine, were next in line for the throne. Catherine had heard of the mysterious Yekaterina who spent all of her time reading and was curious to meet her. Even though Catherine was twice Yekaterina’s age, when they met the two women immediately became friends. They were both smart, strategic, insightful, and loved to learn. They quickly developed a kinship over their shared love of reading Voltaire and other Enlightenment authors. The two were also exasperated at the lack of educational opportunities for women, and found twin souls in each other. Yekaterina and Catherine became fast friends. As Yekaterina later bemoaned with a bit of exaggeration in her autobiography,

“there were no other two women at the time … who did any serious reading." 

Another thing the two had in common? They both hated Catherine’s husband, Peter. Catherine had been forced to marry Peter for political purposes, and although they were powerful, Peter was foolish, selfish, arrogant, rude, and had no interest in intellectual pursuits. He regularly insulted and yelled at his wife in public, and all of Russia knew he was a terrible husband. Catherine resented her husband, but as Peter was next in line for the throne, there was nothing Catherine (or anyone else) could do. 

Prince MIkhail Ivanovich Dashkov, future husband to Yekaterina

The second important thing that happened that year? Yekaterina got married. Like a lot of wealthy women from powerful families at the time, teenage Yekaterina was married off to secure greater wealth and status for her family. Her new husband was Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Dashkov, and Yekaterina became Princess Dashkova, one of the most powerful women in the Russian Empire. Though Yekaterina was luckier than most: her husband was also relatively young, and she and Prince Mikhail genuinely liked each other. The two quickly fell very in love, and would have a happy marriage.

Yekaterina and Catherine kept in close correspondence with each other, often writing and meeting whenever their paths crossed. Yekaterina often turned to Catherine for advice, and they still loved to discuss politics and philosophy together whenever possible. Catherine came to trust Yekaterina and trusted her as one of her advisors. Yekaterina, not controlled by the same expectations as Catherine, often butted heads with Peter and called him out when he was being rude or ridiculous. One one occasion during a court event, Peter was calling for one of his soldiers to be decapitated for a minor crime, something that had been illegal in Russia for years. When Yekaterina called the notion ridiculous, Peter stuck his tongue out at her. 

When Yekaterina was 17, the ruler of the Russian Empire, Empress Elizabeth, died. Peter, the heir, took the throne and began to rule. But Yekaterina did not think that Peter should be in charge. Besides his terrible personality, Peter was making decisions that were weakening the empire. You see, Peter was originally from a different empire, the Prussian Empire in Europe, and instead of strengthening the Russian Empire he wanted it to come under the control of Prussia. Obviously, the Russians were entirely against this. It was unthinkable to bend the great Russian Empire and make it subservient to another, smaller empire. 

Instead, Yekaterina thought that Catherine would make an excellent ruler. But an opinion is a far cry from actually making it happen. Yekaterina, always shrewd, realized that she needed a few more people on her side to make that happen. Catherina, knowing the weakness of her husband, also wanted to be on the throne, so the two friends got to work.

Yekaterina subtly asked around the royal court for others’ opinions, and found many that also opposed the Emperor. When she met with them, Yekaterina started dropping hints that Catherine might be a good replacement as ruler of Russia. While most agreed that Peter should not rule, it took some time to convince them that Catherine should replace him. Yekaterina told personal stories that highlighted Catherine’s great intellect, her mind for strategy, her controlled temper, her political acumen, and all other virtues that made her the opposite of her ridiculous husband. Through hosting strategic dinner parties, soirees, and through being very involved in life in the royal court, Yekaterina, together with her husband, planted some of the seeds that started a swell of public opinion favoring Catherine to take the throne. 

They also raised significant military support, finding soldiers and generals who were patriotic Russians that also opposed Peter’s policies. Support from the soldiers grew even more when Peter promised to give Prussia more than 10,000 of Russia’s own soldiers as a gift, betraying his own soldiers. The proud Russians could not stomach such an idea, and increasingly favored staging a revolution. 

In the shadows, Yekaterina and her husband hosted secret meetings, sent coded correspondences, and strategically inducted other influential thinkers into their circle of revolutionaries. For six months, they gathered support so that when the time was right, they would be ready to strike. Catherine, too, was in on the plan, and was making her own moves to finally be rid of her husband. 

On June 28, 1762, when Yekaterina was 19, that day came. In the early hours of the morning, she got word that one of their spies had been arrested and was being taken in for questioning. If their spy betrayed them, there was no hope of a revolt. Yekaterina and her husband sprang into action, dispatching letters and activating their network of loyal supporters. The courtiers, officials, and soldiers all responded, and started a march toward the palace. Catherine, who lived in a separate palace from her husband, was also shaken awake and informed of the situation. She quickly dressed, and opted to don a men’s military uniform. As Catherine passed military barracks on her route, the soldiers there fell into step behind her, becoming her escorts to the grand Winter Palace. Roused by the ruckus, citizens asked what was happening, and when they realized Catherine was soon to be named empress, they joined right in, chanting and singing. By the time Catherine arrived at the palace, she led a grand procession of Russia’s greatest and mightiest. When she arrived and met with the rest of the forces, the soldiers surrounded all entrances to the palace. 

After Joachim H. Kaestner, Procession with Catherine II on the Peterhof Road on the Day of the Palace Coup D'etat on June 28, 1762

Peter, who had been informed of the plot against him, had tried to escape the palace that morning by boat, but was obstructed by his own ships, manned by his own soldiers who had turned against him. The ships opened fire on Peter’s boat, and although he wasn’t killed, the sound of cannon fire brought curious citizens to the shore and, when they saw it was the emperor trying to escape, armed themselves with rocks and sticks to prevent him from returning to the palace by shore.

Vigilius Eriksen, Catherine II, Empress of Russia (c.1765), Royal Collections Trust

Peter was held on the shore for twenty-four hours. In that time, back in the capital city, Catherine had been sworn in as the new and fully-fledged ruler of Russia, and the politicians, military, and navy had all sworn allegiance to her. Peter was arrested and died eight days later. 

Catherine, now known as Empress Catherine the Great, went on to rule for thirty-four years. She is still recognized as one of the greatest rulers in all of history, and her succession to the throne is due in no small part to the ambition, strategy, and smarts of a teenage girl—Yekaterina. 

When Catherine took to the throne, she lavished many gifts upon Yekaterina in gratitude for her service and loyalty. The two remained close friends for many years. 

Later in Life 

Yekaterina continued her love for learning and, after tragically losing her husband when she was just 21, fueled her grief into studies and travel. She never married again, and spent the next 14 years traveling extensively throughout Europe. She even met many of the scholars whose works she so admired like Diderot, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Adam Smith. She became particularly close with Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin, and corresponded with them frequently.

Dmitry Levitzky, Princess Vorontsova Dashkova (1784), approximately age 40, Hillwood Museum & Gardens, Washington D.C.

She moved to Scotland when her son attended university there, and apparently got injured in a sword duel with another woman in Edinburgh. She eventually returned to Russia and reunited with her dear friend Catherine. In 1783, Catherine appointed Yekaterina (now 40) as director of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences (now the Russian Academy of Sciences), becoming the first woman in the world to head an academy of sciences. The academy was failing, in debt and lacking intellectual prestige. Yekaterina turned it around and made it a bastion of Enlightenment thinking, bringing new, progressive ideas to Russia. In 1789, she was invited by her friend Benjamin Franklin to become the first woman to join the American Philosophical Society. In 2006, the American Philosophical Society put on an exhibition about her: The Princess and The Patriot: Ykaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin, and the Enlightenment. In her 50s, Yekaterina retired to the countryside and wrote a memoir of her life. Her autobiography, Memoirs, has been translated and is available to read online for free on the Internet Archive. 

You can still visit the countryside home where Yekaterina lived out the rest of her years, the Kiryanovo Estate, just outside of St. Petersburg in Russia. Portraits of Yekaterina from her later years hang in the Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens near Washington, D.C. and the State History Museum in Moscow, Russia.