Summary of the book 'Notes' Catherine II the Great:For a long time, the "handwritten notes" of Empress Catherine II were kept under the stamp of "Special Secrecy" imposed on them by her son, Emperor Paul. However, he allowed his close friend, Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, to take a copy of the "Notes". Subsequently, several more lists appeared, already in the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I (they, in particular, were known by the historian A. I. Turgenev, N. M. Karamzin and A. S. Pushkin).In 1859, a significant part of the memoirs of the Empress was published in London by A. I. Herzen. They made a splash all over Europe and were translated into several languages (the original is written in French).At the beginning of the XX century, the Imperial Academy of Sciences decided to publish Catherine's works. Having received permission to work in closed archives, academician A. N. Pypin, who led the publication, discovered the originals of the Empress' Notes in full. "The London edition, as I am now convinced, gives barely half of the whole 'Notes' and barely a third of the whole composition of historical memoirs..." Pypin reported in a letter to the president of the Academy, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. —The historical notes of the Empress in their entirety represent a precious monument, remarkable both for its historical content and for its deep psychological interest... Finally, this personal history of Catherine II... is at the same time a remarkable literary work, shining with intelligence and observation."The Notes were published in 1907 in the original language in the 12th volume of the Empress's works on the basis of original manuscripts. In the same year, the publishing house of A. S. Suvorin published their Russian translation. Read more…