A woman of letters and the first woman member of the Amer. Philos. Soc., Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (nee Vorontsova) was also the first modern stateswoman in Russia. Dashkova was appointed director of the Acad. of Sciences by Catherine II and she founded and became Pres. of the Russian Acad. For 12 years, she headed both these prestigious academic institutions. She was a leading figure in 18th-cent. Russian culture as she strove to institute reforms, to adapt and apply the ideas of the Enlightenment, and to establish new approaches to the educ. of Russia's youth. 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. Illus.