--- title: "3 Catherine Quotes By Robert K. Massie" description: "3 Catherine quotes by Robert K. Massie. Plus more from Robert K. Massie and more Catherine sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/robert-k-massie-19874_books_she-was-intelligent-well-read-and-a-shre_709267.jpg" --- > [“She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character. During the coup, she had shown determination and courage; once on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/she-was-intelligent-well-read-and-a-shrewd-judge-of-character-during/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/robert-k-massie-19874_books_she-was-intelligent-well-read-and-a-shre_709267.jpg) > [“For Catherine, the lesson was that more than intelligence and goodwill were needed to break down the traditions, prejudices, and ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/for-catherine-the-lesson-was-that-more-than-intelligence-and-goodwill/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f5/robert-k-massie-19874_catherine_for-catherine-the-lesson-was-that-more-t_2270009.png) > [“Catherine, who knew little about sex, about erections and foreskins, and, certainly, nothing about phimosis, knew well what was expected of wives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/catherine-who-knew-little-about-sex-about-erections-and-foreskins-and/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/robert-k-massie-19874_catherine_catherine-who-knew-little-about-sex-abou_2292858.png) ## Other authors on Catherine ## More by Robert K. Massie > [“Petersburg to examine the uniforms, dresses, helmets,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/petersburg-to-examine-the-uniforms-dresses-helmets/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“I used to say to myself that happiness and misery depend on ourselves. If you feel unhappy, rise above it and act so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/i-used-to-say-to-myself-that-happiness-and-misery-depend-on-ourselves/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [Four of my children are daughters, and I've watched them devote themselves to reading books about how little girls learn to become women -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/four-of-my-children-are-daughters-and-i-ve-watched-them-devote/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“For twenty years, Peter had been playing with soldiers; first toys, then boys, then grown men. His games had grown from drills involving a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/for-twenty-years-peter-had-been-playing-with-soldiers-first-toys-then/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Charles arrived around eight a.m. with a squadron of Drabants and began riding along the bank at the water’s edge to inspect the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/charles-arrived-around-eight-a-m-with-a-squadron-of-drabants-and/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Books were her refuge. Having set herself to learn the Russian language, she read every Russian book she could find. But French was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/books-were-her-refuge-having-set-herself-to-learn-the-russian/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“In January in Northern Russia, everything vanishes beneath a deep blanket of whiteness. Rivers, fields, trees, roads, and houses disappear, and the landscape becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/in-january-in-northern-russia-everything-vanishes-beneath-a-deep/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Why Lenin triumphed, why Nicholas failed, why Alexandra placed the fate of her son, her husband and his empire in the hands of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/why-lenin-triumphed-why-nicholas-failed-why-alexandra-placed-the-fate/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“This marriage had resulted from impulse: he had seen her on a high-flying swing at Tsarkoe Selo and her skirt, flared by the breeze,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/this-marriage-had-resulted-from-impulse-he-had-seen-her-on-a-high/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [ “To prove to \[her friend, Swedish diplomat Count\] Gyllenborg that she was not superficial, Catherine composed an essay about herself, "so that he would… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/to-prove-to-her-friend-swedish-diplomat-count-gyllenborg-that-she-was/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character. During the coup, she had shown determination and courage; once on the throne,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/she-was-intelligent-well-read-and-a-shrewd-judge-of-character-during/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Don't worry. Don't worry. The Devil does none of these things. He neither smokes nor drinks nor engages in revelry, and yet he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/don-t-worry-don-t-worry-the-devil-does-none-of-these-things-he/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Only one further prize remained on the entire North Pacific coast, the peninsula of Korea. Although Japan clearly regarded Korea as essential to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/only-one-further-prize-remained-on-the-entire-north-pacific-coast-the/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“Gregory Rasputin, his bloodstream filled with poison, his body punctured by bullets, had died by drowning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/gregory-rasputin-his-bloodstream-filled-with-poison-his-body/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) > [“One sultan, Ibrahim the Mad, encased his beard in a network of diamonds and passed his days tossing gold coins to the fish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-massie/one-sultan-ibrahim-the-mad-encased-his-beard-in-a-network-of-diamonds/) [Robert K. Massie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-massie/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catherine/robert-k-massie/#itemlist", "name": "3 Catherine Quotes By Robert K. Massie", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was intelligent, well read, and a shrewd judge of character. During the coup, she had shown determination and courage; once on the throne, she displayed an open mind, willingness to forgive, and a political morality founded on rationality and practical efficiency. 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