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Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825
1453 Through the Reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) The Time of Troubles to the First Romanovs (1598-1682) Peter the Great and His Legacy (1682-1762) The Age of Catherine the Great (1762-1801) The Reign of Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825)

                                     

Explore this Section:

Catherine the Great, an Enlightened Absolutist Monarch
Emperor Peter III
Princess Ekaterina Dashkova
Sultan Selim III


Russia's Globalization:
A Key

Events marked Russia Symbol are specific to Muscovy/Russia's internal development.
Those marked World Symbol are important world historical or cultural events.
Engagement Symbol indicates specific points of sociocultural or military engagement between Muscovy/Russia and foreign powers or individuals.




















 

 


     

The Princess Ekaterina Dashkova (1743–1810) was one of the most accomplished women of her time. She first came to prominence because of the assistance she gave Catherine II (r. 1762–96) the night she seized the throne from Peter III (r. 1761–62). Like the empress, Dashkova steeped herself in the literature of the Enlightenment and spent several years in western Europe, where she befriended such luminaries as Voltaire (1694–1778), Diderot (1713–1784), and Adam Smith (1723–1790). In Russia, she founded and ran journals, was appointed director of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and Sciences, became president of the Russian Academy, promoted theater, and wrote about her activities in her brilliant memoirs.

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