The book includes works by L. N. Gumilyov on the problem of bias towards the nomadic peoples of the Great Steppe, which were conceived as initially wild, cruel and backward. The collection reveals the historical roots of this myth, called by L. N. Gumilyov a "black legend," debunks exaggerated ideas about the horrors of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Russia, shows the true complex relationship between Russia and the Horde and their consequences. The sources of European Russophobia, expressed by the phrase "scrape the Russian and you will find a Tatar," will also become clear to the objective reader.