In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

Working together as a proper team at last, Catherine and Dashkova also established the Russian Academy, which was devoted to preserving and promoting Russian dialects and literature. As president ...

For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment. The formidable Russian empress — who reigned from 1762 to 1796 after overthrowing her own husband, Peter III — understood that ...