Russian history in faces. History of Russia in faces

Many decades in educational and scientific literature historical figures a modest role was assigned: the events that took place were explained by the development of the productive forces and production relations, the class struggle and other factors. There was no place for specific people in it. In fact,

Russian history

generously animated by statesmen and public figures, military leaders, spiritual mentors. All of them are "the living face of Russian history," and without them, history is just a list of events.
In the encyclopedia section

History of Russia in faces

an alphabetical construction is used, in which a mixture of events that occurred in different eras inevitably arises. But the user has the opportunity to quickly find the historical character of interest to him. If it is the integral picture of some era that is important, it is better to use the "" section.

The section includes materials prepared by remarkable Russian historians, including: Rapov O.M. (Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor), Vdovina L.N. (candidate of historical sciences, associate professor), Fedorov V.A. (Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor), Tereshchenko Yu.Ya. (candidate of historical sciences, associate professor), Kargalov V.V. (Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor).

Vladimir Valentinovich Fortunatov

Russian history in faces

... The study of the history of one's country is necessary for those who govern - and those who cover it bring true benefit to the state.

Prince M. M. Shcherbatov

Introduction

In 1862, the Millennium of Russia monument was unveiled in the city of Novgorod. The creators of the monument M. O. Mikeshin and I. N. Schroeder immortalized 109 figures of enlighteners, statesmen and military figures, writers and artists in the high relief of the monument. The list of names of those who were honored with a monumental incarnation was widely discussed and approved "at the highest level", that is, by Emperor Alexander II.

In his "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures", published in 1873, N. I. Kostomarov included essays on more than 40 characters in Russian history from the 10th to the 17th centuries. - from Prince Vladimir the Holy to Stenka Razin.

Hundreds, if not thousands of detailed personalities and brief biographical notes were published in well-known pre-revolutionary and Soviet encyclopedias.

From the second half of the 1980s. began a real "boom" of biographical literature. Biographical articles were regularly published by the journals Otechestvennaya istoriya, Voprosy istorii, Novaya i neishaya istoriya, Rodina, and others. Often they preceded the appearance of monographs, brochures, and collections of biographies. Along with the central publishing houses, many unique biographical books were published by local publishers.

Popular magazines and newspapers began to publish "ratings" of historical figures, compiled on the basis of special sociological surveys.

It is impossible not to recall the great resonance that the exhibitions of the artist I. S. Glazunov had. The author himself assigned a central place in the expositions to the large-scale canvases “Thousand-Year-Old Russia” and “Russia. Twentieth century. More than 200 persons of Russian history were presented on two canvases.

The "personal question" does not leave the agenda of Russian social and political life. The reburial of the remains of the Romanov family and their canonization by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000 took place. However, the issue of the Lenin Mausoleum on Red Square has not yet been resolved. The remains of the philosopher I. A. Ilyin, the leaders of the white movement, Generals A. I. Denikin and V. O. Kappel, were reburied, and at the same time, cases of destruction or desecration of memorial sites are known.

In the conditions of the new Russia, over the past 15-20 years, many new monuments, memorial museums, and plaques have appeared. But the opening of new or restoration of old memorial museums is often either hopelessly delayed or even in doubt due to the fact that some "very important people" of Russian history "had the imprudence" to be born or live in houses, places or on land that they liked modern influential and also rich people.

Mention should also be made of the powerful stream of feature films and documentaries centered on hundreds of famous figures of the past.

“... Only in recreating the destinies, behavior, consciousness of historical figures is it possible to represent the course of history in its entirety. multilateral integrity. After all, this move in any of its most diverse manifestations - from shifts in the economy to the acquisition of a new religion - is embodied in nothing but the actions of people although this does not at all mean that individual people, individuals act entirely consciously and purposefully; in the end they are just live - moreover, jointly, in unity with many of his contemporaries, ”wrote V.V. Kozhinov.

Everyone has heard that the history of any country is primarily affected by objective factors: climate, terrain, access to the seas, geopolitical position, availability of minerals and other material resources. It is these factors in one or another combination that to a decisive extent influence the fate of peoples and people who find themselves in a certain territory in a certain historical period. But for some peoples, favorable objective conditions turn out to be clearly insufficient for organizing a full-fledged social life, for progressive development. Indian tribes could have occupied the vast expanses of North America for centuries, being in unity with the surrounding nature. The white people who came to the lands of the Indians for several centuries changed the face of North America, and the world as a whole.

Man relatively recently separated from nature, took a special place in it, created his own special extra-natural world. The conscious activity of people marked the beginning of history as such. The emergence of various forms of a community of people, the relationship between these communities, the ways people interact with nature, the whole vast world of the new, which did not previously exist in nature itself, which in the broadest sense is sometimes called culture, was the result of a person using his intellect, will, energy, muscular strength and movement of the soul. At the heart of any historical event, process, transformation is the movement of human thought, a certain idea. Most often, a specific historical person who put forward a particular project, innovation, idea, expresses the general aspirations of his contemporaries or, as they say, the objective needs of the time, urgent tasks. The objectivity of the so-called historical premises actually turns out to be imaginary, since it represents only a high concentration of desires, aspirations, readiness for action of many people. Therefore, any fragment of historical development, any historical event, historical fact is a manifestation of subjective factor, that is, the subject-practical activity of individuals or entire groups of people, which constitutes the active beginning of history.

Historical science operates with a variety of tools to describe its subject of study. Using a huge number of designations for specific objects, general concepts and particular characteristics, historians sometimes forget that modern man operates in a different objective world and is not always able to delve into the realities of the past. Perhaps in our country, many people do not know history well because, in the form in which it is presented, it is difficult to understand. However, if you focus on destinies people who made national history and entered its annals, then such an approach can contribute to the formation of a different understanding of the events of the past. Indeed, in the actions of many historical figures, not only a certain historical predestination, an “iron” regularity, due to “objective prerequisites”, was manifested, but also the peculiarities of education, personal psychology, a combination of human qualities, the influence of other people and much more.

... The study of the history of one's country is necessary for those who govern - and those who cover it bring true benefit to the state.

Prince M. M. Shcherbatov

Introduction

In 1862, the Millennium of Russia monument was unveiled in the city of Novgorod. The creators of the monument M. O. Mikeshin and I. N. Schroeder immortalized 109 figures of enlighteners, statesmen and military figures, writers and artists in the high relief of the monument. The list of names of those who were honored with a monumental incarnation was widely discussed and approved "at the highest level", that is, by Emperor Alexander II.

In his "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures", published in 1873, N. I. Kostomarov included essays on more than 40 characters in Russian history from the 10th to the 17th centuries. - from Prince Vladimir the Holy to Stenka Razin.

Hundreds, if not thousands of detailed personalities and brief biographical notes were published in well-known pre-revolutionary and Soviet encyclopedias.

From the second half of the 1980s. began a real "boom" of biographical literature. Biographical articles were regularly published by the journals Otechestvennaya istoriya, Voprosy istorii, Novaya i neishaya istoriya, Rodina, and others. Often they preceded the appearance of monographs, brochures, and collections of biographies. Along with the central publishing houses, many unique biographical books were published by local publishers.

Popular magazines and newspapers began to publish "ratings" of historical figures, compiled on the basis of special sociological surveys.

It is impossible not to recall the great resonance that the exhibitions of the artist I. S. Glazunov had. The author himself assigned a central place in the expositions to the large-scale canvases “Thousand-Year-Old Russia” and “Russia. Twentieth century. More than 200 persons of Russian history were presented on two canvases.

The "personal question" does not leave the agenda of Russian social and political life. The reburial of the remains of the Romanov family and their canonization by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000 took place. However, the issue of the Lenin Mausoleum on Red Square has not yet been resolved. The remains of the philosopher I. A. Ilyin, the leaders of the white movement, Generals A. I. Denikin and V. O. Kappel, were reburied, and at the same time, cases of destruction or desecration of memorial sites are known.

In the conditions of the new Russia, over the past 15-20 years, many new monuments, memorial museums, and plaques have appeared. But the opening of new or restoration of old memorial museums is often either hopelessly delayed or even in doubt due to the fact that some "very important people" of Russian history "had the imprudence" to be born or live in houses, places or on land that they liked modern influential and also rich people.

Mention should also be made of the powerful stream of feature films and documentaries centered on hundreds of famous figures of the past.

“... Only in recreating the destinies, behavior, consciousness of historical figures is it possible to represent the course of history in its entirety. multilateral integrity.

After all, this move in any of its most diverse manifestations - from shifts in the economy to the acquisition of a new religion - is embodied in nothing but the actions of people although this does not at all mean that individual people, individuals act entirely consciously and purposefully; in the end they are just live - moreover, jointly, in unity with many of his contemporaries, ”wrote V.V. Kozhinov. 1
Kozhinov V.V. History of Rus' and the Russian Word. Modern look. M.: Charlie, 1997. S. 282.

Everyone has heard that the history of any country is primarily affected by objective factors: climate, terrain, access to the seas, geopolitical position, availability of minerals and other material resources. It is these factors in one or another combination that to a decisive extent influence the fate of peoples and people who find themselves in a certain territory in a certain historical period. But for some peoples, favorable objective conditions turn out to be clearly insufficient for organizing a full-fledged social life, for progressive development. Indian tribes could have occupied the vast expanses of North America for centuries, being in unity with the surrounding nature. The white people who came to the lands of the Indians for several centuries changed the face of North America, and the world as a whole.

Man relatively recently separated from nature, took a special place in it, created his own special extra-natural world. The conscious activity of people marked the beginning of history as such. The emergence of various forms of a community of people, the relationship between these communities, the ways people interact with nature, the whole vast world of the new, which did not previously exist in nature itself, which in the broadest sense is sometimes called culture, was the result of a person using his intellect, will, energy, muscular strength and movement of the soul. At the heart of any historical event, process, transformation is the movement of human thought, a certain idea. Most often, a specific historical person who put forward a particular project, innovation, idea, expresses the general aspirations of his contemporaries or, as they say, the objective needs of the time, urgent tasks. The objectivity of the so-called historical premises actually turns out to be imaginary, since it represents only a high concentration of desires, aspirations, readiness for action of many people. Therefore, any fragment of historical development, any historical event, historical fact is a manifestation of subjective factor, that is, the subject-practical activity of individuals or entire groups of people, which constitutes the active beginning of history.

Historical science operates with a variety of tools to describe its subject of study. Using a huge number of designations for specific objects, general concepts and particular characteristics, historians sometimes forget that modern man operates in a different objective world and is not always able to delve into the realities of the past. Perhaps in our country, many people do not know history well because, in the form in which it is presented, it is difficult to understand. However, if you focus on destinies people who made national history and entered its annals, then such an approach can contribute to the formation of a different understanding of the events of the past. Indeed, in the actions of many historical figures, not only a certain historical predestination, an “iron” regularity, due to “objective prerequisites”, was manifested, but also the peculiarities of education, personal psychology, a combination of human qualities, the influence of other people and much more.

In the book offered to the reader, for the first time in historical popular science literature, an attempt is made to present the events of national history through the biographies of specific people at all stages of our historical development "from Rurik" to the present day. Against the backdrop of the modern “desertion”, the history of Russia is striking in the multitude of people, the wealth of human destinies. However, back in the century before last it was said: "Yes, there were people in our time, not like the current tribe ...". Not even hundreds, but thousands of people “ask” for this book. But the volume of the book is limited. In such a situation, it is impossible not to resort to some systematization, structuring of the material used.

Firstly, there is a well-established periodization of national history, which has fully justified itself in the organization of the educational process. 2
See: Domestic History: Textbook for technical universities / Ed. V. V. Fortunatova. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006; Fortunatov V.V. Domestic history: Textbook for humanitarian universities. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2007; Fortunatov V. V., Snigirev S. F., Firsova A. G. Domestic history in diagrams and comments: Textbook. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006; Fortunatov V.V. Domestic history: examination answers for university students. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2006.

In accordance with the nature of the political system in Russia, the following historical periods in the development of our Fatherland are usually distinguished:

1) pre-state period (until the 9th century);

2) Ancient Rus' - an early feudal state (862-1237);

3) Russian lands within the Golden Horde (1243-1480);

4) Muscovy - a class-representative monarchy (1480-1700);

5) Russian Empire as an absolute monarchy (1700-1860);

6) The Russian Empire on the way to capitalism and constitutional monarchy (1861-1917);

7) Soviet Russia - USSR (1917-1991);

8) post-Soviet Russia (1991-2008). Secondly, within each historical period, all "actors" are classified. There is a danger of repeating some information, which the author, contrary to the saying “repetition is the mother of learning”, will try to avoid. This book proposes the following division of historical persons into groups:

1. The first persons of the state, the highest leaders of the country (grand dukes, kings, emperors, general secretaries, presidents).

2. Statesmen (we will not add the epithet "outstanding"),

3. Generals, military leaders (also without adjectives "great", "famous", etc.).

4. Leaders of political, social movements.

5. Figures of the Russian Orthodox and other churches (sometimes they talk about religious figures).

6. Leaders, creators in the field of culture (thinkers, philosophers, figures of literature and art, etc.).

7. Women in the history of Russia (of course, we will talk about the most famous, prominent, famous female representatives).

8. Heroes and anti-heroes.

Thirdly, in approaching each historical person, the author is accustomed to being guided by an analytical scheme that allows him to form the most complete picture of a particular person. In its most truncated form, this scheme looks like this:

1. Dates, main circumstances of life and death of a particular person, place of burial.

2. Parents, features of the formation, upbringing of personality, family.

3. The main activities in chronological order (infinite detailing and differentiation of the material is possible).

4. Personality in the assessment of contemporaries and descendants, unique features, "memorial trail" (monuments, names, etc.).

It should be recognized that there are not enough materials about some of the actors in the national history, and there are not many chances to fill in some of the "blank spots" in a number of biographies. In this book, the author was not always able to follow the proposed scheme in full, and inquisitive readers will have to look for detailed information in special works. Therefore, in the text itself, in page references and lists of references, the relevant literature is recommended.

Research on the subjective factor in Russian history cannot but be subjective, cannot but reflect the personal experience, life position of any author who undertakes the collection, classification and interpretation of biographical material. Apparently, one should come to terms with the fact that history can never be fully objective, if only because, as a rule, some part of the material necessary for a complete, exhaustive analysis is not available to the historian. In this regard, it is much easier to operate with mathematical formulas and physical laws than to “get into the head” of some historical figure in order to understand his actions. Historical reconstruction is complex in itself. And the understanding and evaluation of people of past centuries cannot but be influenced by the worldview, value system, personal experience of each historian, including the author of the work offered to readers.

The book offered to the attention of readers is called “Patriotic History in Persons”. National history refers to the history of our country, Russia. The name "Patriotic History" today appears in the record books of all graduates of Russian universities, since the subject under this name is one of the federal disciplines and is mandatory for study in all Russian universities. The reference point for the study of "Patriotic History" is the State Standard, which has been in force since 1998.

The name "Patriotic History in Persons" means the author's desire to personify our history, to show it through people who left a certain mark on it. The Russian language is rich, emotional and expressive. The words themselves, attached to various historical characters, usually already contain a very definite assessment. For the Russian people, it has always been important to assess the moral character of this or that historical “person”. Therefore, behind the "faces" and "masks" can be hidden "faces" and "persons" that are directly opposite in their human content. In Russian history, as in the history of any other country, there were disgusting, vile people for whom there were biting and even rude definitions in the Russian language. The author of this work openly declares the “subjectivity” of his attitude to various characters in Russian history, but he will try not to impose it. In any case, the way out for any honest historian who claims to be objective is to mention other, including opposing, points of view; if not an exact citation or statement of a different opinion in the main text, then at least a reference to the works of other authors in the notes and lists of references.

All of the above suggests that this book is addressed to the widest range of readers: high school students, students, teachers, politicians - anyone who is interested in national history.

First of all, of course, “Patriotic History in Faces” is offered to beloved students with the hope that, in parallel with the main textbook on this subject, they will read “subjective history” and look at their past, so to speak, in the “human dimension”. And when preparing essays, they will not primitively “download” texts from the Internet, but will turn to the recommended literature in order to independently delve into the life vicissitudes of some hero or monster of their native history.

The work is addressed to lovers of historical reading with the hope that on their shelves, already full of historical literature, they will find a place for this book, which, after being read, can subsequently be used as a reference, or by children and grandchildren, or for solving crossword puzzles, etc. d.

I would like to hope that this book will be acquired by Russian libraries, which, in spite of everything, continue to sow good, eternal and wise things.

Maybe someone will leaf through this book before the next election, look at the next "face" and make a really right choice.

Among the readers, perhaps, there will be future "faces" of Russian history. Welcome!

Section I
Ancient Rus'
(862-1237)

1.1. First persons of the state, top leaders of the country

1.1.1. Was it Rurik?

In a small cozy Priozersk, a city on the shores of Lake Ladoga in the Leningrad region, no one doubts that the first Russian autocrat found his last refuge somewhere in the vicinity.

In Staraya Ladoga, in the first stone fortress and the first capital of Ancient Rus', they will show where Rurik sailed from. Those who wish can take a picture on Varyazhskaya Street, on which, perhaps, the foot of the legendary founder of the Old Russian state stepped. In Staraya Ladoga (otherwise - Nevograd; Lake Nevo - Lake Ladoga), in accordance with the data of Russian chronicles and other sources, it is suggested that Rurik could be a Scandinavian (Swede, Norwegian or Dane 3
Cm.: Azbelev S. N. On the question of the origin of Rurik // Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature: Collection 7. Part P. M., 1994. P. 369.

) and the leader of the Eastern Slavs-Rus, who lived on the Karelian Isthmus and controlled the trade routes "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and "from the Varangians to the Arabs."

Visitors to Veliky Novgorod are shown Rurik's settlement - the remains of a settlement near Novgorod, on the banks of the Volkhov River, along which Rurik came from Staraya Ladoga to Novgorod, which became the second capital of our state. Novgorodians claim that Rurik was the grandson of the Novgorod elder Gostomysl, the son of his daughter Urmila, a local native, from the local Ilmen Slovenes.

A brief biographical note of Rurik may look as follows. Rurik (Rorik), a completely reliable person, was born around 817. The son of the Danish (Jutland) king Haldvan, he ruled a number of territories in Western Europe.

In the "near abroad", in the modern capital of Ukraine, the ancient city of Kiev, which became the third capital of Ancient Rus', they issue money, which depicts the ancestral totem of the Rurik family - a falcon falling on prey with folded wings. In Ukraine, Rurik is considered his own, from the tribal nobility of the "Venedi" - the Western Slavs, the founder of the Ukrainian state, on the territory of which the Muscovite principality was formed during the Horde period.

In the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) they say that the indomitable Rurik, who had beaten various Western countries to his heart's content, found his “promised land” in the east of Europe at the end of his life and became the founder of one of the most powerful states in the world. And this cannot but amuse the vanity of the inhabitants of the small “Tishlands” in the north of Western Europe.

Rurik. Monument "Millennium of Russia". 1861-1862 Novgorod .

Disputes around the "calling of the Varangians" led by Rurik, Sineus and Truvor have been going on for at least two centuries.

At the moment, we can talk about some more or less indisputable things.

Firstly, from 862 to 1598 the Russian lands were ruled by the Rurik dynasty. The last Rurikovich was Fedor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible.

Secondly, Rurik was invited or, according to H. M. Karamzin, two Slavic (Ilmen Slovenes and Krivichi) and two Finnish (Ves and Chud) tribes were elected to rule. Rurik was a real ruler. He annexed some other tribes to his territory (Meryu, Muromu, Korela, etc.), organized administration, collection of tribute in controlled territories.

Thirdly, the modern population of the Russian northwest keeps the memory of Rurik (Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod, Priozersk), Sineus (Beloozero) and Truvor (Izborsk), although the Varangian influence on the original local Russian culture is recognized as very insignificant. Apparently, the Varangians "lived themselves and let others live." And very quickly they dissolved, assimilated in the warm atmosphere of Slavic hospitality.

Fourthly, the “Norman theory”, the legend of the “calling of the Varangians” is no better and no worse than the various options for embodying the “social contract” model: a compromise with the invitation of an authoritative outside arbitrator is better than an endless war of all against all (“a clan arose on genus,” says the Tale of Bygone Years).

To the question "Was there Rurik?" an unequivocal answer can easily be found by politicking amateurs or amateurish politicians. Professional historians, on the other hand, can characterize the available sources, present various options and limit themselves to a philosophical conclusion: “If Rurik did not exist, he should have been invented!”

In any case, Rurik took his place in the monument "Millennium of Russia", which was opened in Novgorod in 1862 by Alexander II. Since 1895, the Russian Navy has included the cruiser Rurik, which died in an unequal battle with four Japanese cruisers in August 1904. Images of the Rurik are given in many biographical and illustrated publications. Regardless of whether Rurik's grave is found in the vicinity of Priozersk, and what the objects found will tell archaeologists and anthropologists, the history of the Russian state will begin with this short and sonorous name - Rurik.

The calling of the Varangians. Miniature from the Radziwill Chronicle .

1.1.2. Prophetic Oleg: prince or governor?

Oleg reigned for 33 years: from 879 to 912. Many legends and traditions are associated with his name and origin. He, being a governor or a relative of Rurik, began to rule as a regent under his young son Igor. Oleg remained in Novgorod for three years. Then, having recruited an army from the Varangians and the Chud tribes subject to him, the Ilmen Slavs, Mary, Vesi, Krivichi, he moved south. First, he occupied Smolensk and planted "his husband" there, then he moved to the land of the northerners and here, in Lyubech, he also "planted his husband." Then Dulebs, Tivertsy and Croats on the left bank of the Dnieper obeyed Oleg. Askold and Dir reigned in Kyiv. According to legend, Oleg tricked them out of the city and killed them. He not only extended his power to Kyiv, one of the largest cities in Eastern Europe at that time, but also made it the official capital of the emerging Old Russian state. “Behold the mother of a Russian city,” Oleg’s words are conveyed by The Tale of Bygone Years.

Prophetic Oleg .

He built cities, using them to keep conquered peoples in his hands and protect them from attacks by nomads. They imposed tribute on the Ilmen Slavs, Krivichi and Measure. Novgorodians had to pay 300 hryvnias annually for the maintenance of a squad of Varangians. Oleg constantly expanded the limits of his possessions, conquered the tribes living to the east and west of the Dnieper. In 883, he conquered the Drevlyans, who were at enmity with the glades, and imposed on them a tribute of black marten from their homes. The northerners paid tribute to the Khazars; Oleg told the northerners: “I am an enemy to the Khazars, and not to you at all,” and the northerners, apparently, without resistance, agreed to pay tribute to him. Radimich Oleg sent to ask: "To whom do you give tribute?" They answered: "Khazars." “Don’t give it to the Khazars, but give it to me,” Oleg ordered to tell them. Radimichi began to pay tribute to him by two shelyags from the ral, as they used to pay the Khazars. It took Oleg a longer time to conquer the Dulebs, Croats, Tivertsy, and also the Uglichs.

In 907, Oleg undertook a campaign against the Greeks, leaving Igor in Kyiv. At the head of a huge united army of almost all Slavic tribes: the Ilmen Slavs, Chuds, Krivichi, Meri, Polyans, Severians, Drevlyans, Radimichi, Croats, Dulebs and Tivertsy, as well as the Varangians, Oleg made a successful trip to Tsar-grad (Constantinople). When the Russians approached Constantinople, the Greeks closed the harbor and locked the city. Oleg, whose army moved on ships (according to the annals, up to 2000 ships), went on land and began to devastate the surroundings, destroy buildings and temples, torture, beat and throw residents into the sea. Further, the chronicle story takes on a completely fantastic character, poorly conforming to the laws of physics. Oleg allegedly ordered the boats to be put on wheels and, with a fair wind, moved towards the city. The Greeks were frightened and asked not to destroy the city. They agreed to pay whatever tribute Oleg appointed. Oleg also showed his wisdom when the Greeks, having decided to poison Oleg (and they were great masters in the manufacture of poisons), sent him food and drinks. He did not accept them, and the plan of the insidious Romans failed.

The book presents biographical portraits of the main characters of Russian history.

The first persons of the country from Rurik to Putin, brave generals, including Suvorov, Kutuzov, Skobelev and Zhukov, political leaders from Vadim Novgorodsky to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, religious figures - Metropolitan Hilarion, Xenia of Petersburg, Alexy II and many others, creators of national culture from Nestor to Likhachev, famous women, heroes and anti-heroes of our history will appear before readers. Cruel and just, wise and reckless, praised and hated, fanned by legends, they created and are creating our history. An impressive gallery of stars of Russian history is designed to help not only better understand our past, but also understand modern life.

The book is built on a chronological basis, each era is represented by fascinating stories about the most significant characters in our history.

The publication is intended for the widest range of readers interested in the history of Russia.