Born Countess Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova, she was the daughter of Count Roman Vorontsov, a member of the Senate, and his wife Marfa Surmina. Her uncle Mikhail Illarionovich and older brother Alexander both … See more

The couple was close friends with Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alexeyevna and disliked the Grand Duke Peter, fearing for the future of Russia under the rule of the pro-Prussia future tsar. In December 1761, Empress Elizabeth became severely ill and died January 5, … See more

At the end of 1782, Yekaterina returned to Russia and was welcomed by the Empress. Her son Pavel had become an adjutant of Grigory Potyomkin and married a lower-class woman, Anna Alferova, in January 1788, later leaving her for his mistress. Her … See more

Just like her older sisters, Yekaterina went to live at the Russian court when she became a teenager and, by favour of her godmother Empress … See more

When Prince Dashkov died in 1764, Yekaterina decided to ask to leave court and was granted permission, starting in 1768 a 14 year-long journey through Europe, where she … See more

When the Empress died in 1796 and her son Emperor Paul I succeeded her, Yekaterina was sent into exile by the new tsar "to meditate on the events of 1762". Eventually, the exile … See more

Besides her work on the 6-volume dictionary of the Russian Languages, Yekaterina edited a monthly magazine, and wrote at least two novels: The Marriage of Fabian and a comedy entitled Toissiokoff. The University of Edinburgh opened in 2010 the … See more