The name of Novikov-Priboy, an original marine writer, is familiar not only to sailors. A peasant who dreamed of serving in the navy, who went through Tsushima hell and Japanese captivity, ravaged many seas and oceans, became a writer. Critics reproached him for the flowery language and fiction cliches, and readers swept off the shelves multimillion copies of his books. The creation of the epic novel "Tsushima" required no less courage from the writer than the one shown by the Russian sailors in the battle with the Japanese fleet, the history of its creation is complex and dramatic, full of bright, sharp collisions. "I can't stand the flabby nature of the human soul" - these words of one of his heroes can become an epigraph to the biography of the writer himself, who forged his character, conquering and defeating fate, which did not always favor him.