Commented volumes of the work of S. M. Solovyov are devoted to a very interesting and relatively little studied period in the history of Russia: they cover events from 1749 to 1761 with small excursions in the 40s of the XVIII century. when presenting the history of the colonization of the outskirts of Russia and the history of the church. Thus, the main content of these volumes is devoted to the last years of the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the twenty-fourth volume ends chronologically in 1761, the year of her death; in the following volumes, the author proceeds to describe the events of the reign of Catherine II. By dividing history according to the reigns of individual representatives of the ruling dynasty, who are given an undeservedly large place in the process of historical development, S. M. Soloviev is still closely adjacent to the positions of noble historiography. Unlike previous volumes, where the author did not consider the coverage of socio-economic problems facing the state to be a priority, in the twenty-third volume of the History of Russia, the presentation of these problems occupies more than half of the volume.