"A woman of letters and the first woman member of the American Philosophical Society, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (nee Vorontsova) was also the first modern stateswoman in Russia. Early in her life she dressed in an officer's uniform and boldly stepped forward to play an active role in the political arena, where she participated in the palace revolution of 1762. Subsequently, Dashkova was appointed director of the Academy of Sciences by Catherine II and she founded and became president of the Russian Academy. For close to twelve years, she headed both these presitious academic institutions. she was a leading figure in eighteenth-century Russian culture as she strove to institute reforms, to adapt and apply the ideas of the Enlightenment, and to establish new approaches to the education of Russia's youth. Sadly, her relationship with her own children was deeply tragic, and later in life she was exiled to the north of Russia. This biography focuses on Dashkova's efforts in her life and works to isolate, clarify, and define patterns of action, identity, and gender for herself as well as for other women."-- p. 4 of cover.