The book is devoted to the study of the artistic work of one of the prominent participants in the Decembrist movement - Nikolai Bestuzhev. A series of watercolor portraits and landscapes created by Nikolai Bestuzhev in the Chita and Petrovsky prison, as well as in the settlement, is a deeply exciting artistic document of exceptional historical value. These portraits were found, examined and then completely published for the first time by Doctor of Art History I. S. Zilberstein in his book on the heroic life and creative feat of Nikolai Bestuzhev. In 1979, the second, supplemented edition of the book was awarded the USSR State Prize. The book has 250 illustrations (of which 74 are colored).