Alexey Tolstoy is Peter the Great. A gift book in a leather cover. "Peter the Great" is not just a novel, it is a deep dive into the history of Russia, which has been rethought and reworked by the author himself. Alexey Tolstoy (1882-1945) was not just a writer, but also a witness to the changes that took place in the country before his eyes. He returned from exile under Lenin and Trotsky and witnessed a rapid and brutal ideological breakdown. Tolstoy was fascinated by a distant epoch, which he saw through the authentic language of time. This language turned out to be so vivid and clear that the past suddenly approached and became almost today. The fates of the fictional characters of the novel, intertwined with the biographies of authentic historical figures, allowed Tolstoy to create the illusion of the reader's presence at dramatic events. "Peter the Great" is not just a novel, it is an opportunity to plunge into the history of Russia and feel like a part of it. This is an opportunity to mix your own sorrows and joys into the thickness of history, to see the events of the past through the eyes of a writer and feel them the way he felt them.