Under the heading "Political murders in Russia," journalistic investigations of the two most brutal crimes of the century are presented - the brutal murders of Grigory Rasputin and the last Russian emperor Nicholas II, his wife and young children. The author of the essay "The Legend of the Royal Head" talks not only about the massacre of the royal family, but also cites facts about how the killers did with the remains of their victims, as well as about the tragic fate of the organizers of this crime themselves. Reflections on "Who did the Baron serve?" bring readers back to events further afield. The author cites a chain of "accidents" as a result of which the Russian army, at a time when Baron L. Bennigsen intervened in its military affairs, failed, or did not achieve major successes when these successes were possible due to the high skill and courage of the troops. The historical narrative "Danzig Seat" is dedicated to the actions of Russian intelligence in 1813. Under the heading "Strokes to the portraits of the great" there are miniatures telling about little-known episodes from the life of Catherine II, G.A. Potemkin and P.A. Rumyantsev. For the general reader.