The book gives a wide panorama of the state of Russian Orientalism in its heyday. For the first time, almost all information about the study of the East in Russia in those years is concentrated in a single complex. In an independent chapter, the contribution of diplomatic and military departments to the development of oriental studies is considered. The large archival (especially in chapters 4 and 5) and published material show the main stages of the formation of certain branches of domestic orientalism. The book is completed by an extensive bibliography in Russian and foreign languages.