The proposed book is the first political biography in Soviet literature of the outstanding statesman of France Arman Jean du Plessis - Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642). The cardinal's political activities included diplomacy, military affairs, domestic politics, economics and culture. The author talks about this, relying on a lot of factual material, in his book. He emphasizes that the activities of the cardinal, like any major reformer, caused a contradictory attitude towards him not only during his lifetime, but also after his death.