Professor A.A. Vasiliev (1867-1953), an outstanding Russian scientist, whose works on the history of Byzantium are known all over the world from Russia to the USA. And this is not surprising, since they are among the unique phenomena in the history of Byzantinism. There are very few general stories of Byzantium written by one researcher. "The History of the Byzantine Empire" by A.A. Vasiliev is an excellent example of a general work, which describes all periods of the history of Byzantium. Until now, in Russian, there was no complete presentation of the history of Byzantium, which would be short, clearly and well written, with a modern scientific apparatus that allows you to make inquiries and realize the problems of any period of Byzantine history. These indisputable and very important advantages of the work of A. A. Vasiliev will provide her with a long life among a fairly wide range of readers.