Sergey Mikhailovich Soloviev (1820 -1879) - an outstanding Russian historian; Professor of Moscow University, Academician of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy. His study dedicated to Peter I was written in 1872, on the 200th anniversary of the first Russian emperor, and made a strong impression on the reading public. Soloviev gave an enthusiastic, but at the same time balanced assessment of this ruler. According to the historian, Peter I was, first of all, a worker on the throne, a man who managed to unite disparate popular forces for a common goal - the transformation of Russia into the largest European power and empire. However, being a professional historian, Soloviev also described negative features in the character of Peter, primarily suspicion and cruelty. The scientist explained them by the difficult situation in which the future emperor grew up, who in childhood witnessed a bloody Streltsy riot and a merciless struggle for power. The book is supplemented by the stories of S.M. Solovyov about the "chicks of Petrov's nest," as well as about noteworthy episodes of Peter's reign.