O.Yu. Zakharova's book is devoted to such little-studied phenomena of the life of Russian society as imperial exits, horse carousels, court balls, diplomatic receptions, etc., which are considered as special acts of public representation. It is emphasized that the ceremonials in Russia - complex, elegant, always with subtext - represented the outer shell of the rich spiritual inner nature of public life of the 18th - early. XX century, reflected the level of morality and virtues of their participants.