The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova/Russia in the Time of Catherine the Great

by E. R. Dashkova, ., Kyril Fitzlyon

Release Date: June, 1995

Edition: Paperback

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A fascinating look through 18th century eyes

The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova are unique in that they are a first hand account of eighteenth century Russia from the point of view of a noblewoman close to the centers of power at the court of Catherine the Great. As all memoirs do, Dashkova's words present a particular bias-that of an intelligent and privileged upper-class woman in a deferential society who has an agenda she wishes to impress upon the reader. Yet within this memoir are glimpses of Russia in a time of radical and fast-paced changes, in some of which Dashkova herself has a hand.

It is difficult to credit Dashkova's convictions that she was the first to even conceive of the possibility of Catherine's overthrow of Peter III since Dashkova was eighteen and one of the younger members of Catherine's circle. Although Dashkova was a supporter of Catherine and did have a hand in the plot to over throw the czar, Catherine's memoirs imply that such a coup was envisioned long before the death of the Empress Elizabeth and that Catherine herself was merely waiting for the right moment to act. More plausible is the idea that Catherine had cultivated the young Princess purposely to have a ear in the Vorontsov camp. Dashkova's rendition of events would have her personally picking the conspirators, sending for Catherine's carriage, ordering the Orlovs to bring Catherine to speak to the regiments and almost single-handedly arranging the entire series of events. The most noteworthy point in this account of the coup of 1762 is the fact that it could take place at all in a monarchial state. That the Emperor with the appropriate Russian bloodline could be overthrown by his wife, a Princess of Germany, is remarkable in itself and speaks more of Catherine's perspicacity than of Dashkova or any other supporter.

Dashkova paints a picture of the Russian court under Catherine as both a place of sycophants and personal favor seekers and of great new ideas and plans for the state as a whole; of wealth and luxury taken for granted by the aristocracy while at the same time there are ongoing economic problems of national significance. Dashkova's Russia has two faces-that of an elegantly coifed and gowned Europeanized noblewoman and that of the peasant-serfs, themselves living in hovels, who out of gratitude for being allowed to work volunteer their labor so that she could build a fine house. The clearest impression of Dashkova and her contemporaries is that typical of the majority of eighteenth century aristocracy-of the disparity between the classes and of the general obliviousness of the upper-class to the misfortunes of the lower.

Dashkova's lesson to Diderot of the importance of serfdom-as a method by which the enlightened aristocracy protects the hapless peasants for their own good-gives a clear perspective of the hierarchy between the social classes in eighteenth century Russia. Whether the conversation actually took place is less believable than the fact that she, like the vast majority of Russian aristocracy, wholeheartedly subscribed to the theories of absolute sovereignty and enlightened despotism. Even less believable are Diderot's thanks to Dashkova for educating him on the advantages of serfdom. When she meets Voltaire she describes him as being infatuated with her and begging her not to leave. A possible explanation of Dashkova's need to portray herself as such a close confidante and friend to Diderot and Voltaire may lie in a desire to be seen in some respects as Catherine's equal.

The Princess portrays herself as a highly-educated liberal thinker about ideas she is not willing to put into practice; while at the same time her intention is obviously self-serving propaganda and a desire to share with her audience the esteem she feels she is held in by nearly everyone she meets. In one aside she states: "I would remind my readers that this will only appear after my death, so they cannot tax me with vanity because I repeat things as they were said." This intent to impress is typical of the Russian Court as a whole, especially in their pursuit of Western European approval.

To give Dashkova some benefit of the doubt it must be pointed out that much of the style of her writing, particularly the overt humility that comes across as insincere, is actually an affectation typical of women writers of the eighteenth century. For women to be accepted as authors or thinkers of any note was rare indeed, and most women of that period, whether writing on political issues like Mary Wollstonecraft or on women's lives like Frances Burney, found it necessary to preface much of what they had to say with some apologizing for simply being female. In that respect Dashkova's memoirs are fairly similar to some of her contemporaries. Where Dashkova must be taken with some skepticism is in those areas where her own accounts differ with the historical record and fortunately Jehanne Geith, Kyril Fitzlyon, and A. Woronzov-Dashkoff have done an admirable job of reporting such issues in the introduction, afterword, footnotes and index of the text. To them belongs the real praise for this fascinating glimpse into eighteenth century aristocratic Russia.