Fortunately, the two princesses did not kill each other, because in this case we wouldn't have Catherine II the Great, who was Sofia Frederica at that time. After ascending the throne, this great queen began the boom of duels between Russian ladies. Russian ladies fought ecstatically, there were 20 duels only in 1765. The queen was a witness of 8 of them. By the way, despite of her promotion of armed duels between Russian ladies, Ekaterina was strongly against fatal outcomes. Her slogan was: "Until the first blood!" Therefore during her reign there were only three mortal duels.
In 1770 an unpleasant story happened to princess Ekaterina Dashkova. It took place in London, in the house of countess Pushkina, the wife of the Russian ambassador. Countess Foxon, who was considered to be one of the best-educated women of England, was visiting Pushkina. The reason of her arrival was an ardent desire to talk to Dashkova, and if possible to have a discussion with her. After half an hour of conversation between the ladies, a heated argument was in progress. The competitors appeared to be equally skilled, and the situation soon went out of control. At one point, the Englishwoman made an offensive remark about her opponent and there was an ominous silence. The princess got up slowly and with a gesture invited the English lady to rise. When she followed the request, Dashkova approached her and slapped her in the face. The English lady did the same without hezitation. The countess Pushkin only came to her senses when the competitors demanded swords. After unsuccessful attempts to calm the women down, she gave them the weapons and led them to the garden. It was over when Dashkova was wounded in her shoulder. After the epoch of Ekaterina II duels between Russian ladies have changed considerably.