The new book of the doctor of historical sciences B.S. Ilizarov is dedicated to a tragic page in the history of our culture of the Stalinist era. Historical science, literature, theater, cinema, poetry - everything was subordinated to the will of the leader, who directed them to develop new historical myths. On the basis of archival documents, the author reveals the mechanisms of formation in the bowels of the party-state apparatus of myths of history associated with the images of Ivan the Terrible, Alexander Nevsky, Stalin. Particular attention is paid to the role of Stalin himself in the formation of a new mythology of history. Unknown materials from the archives of historians R.Yu. Wipper, M.V. Nechkina, writer Al. N. Tolstoy, film director S. Eisenstein and others. The author is known for polemical books about the first Soviet leaders: Lenin, Stalin, who run counter to the prevailing ideology. The book is written in a scientific but accessible language. For those interested in the origins of the history of our time.