Among his lyceum comrades, Pushkin especially appreciated the young prince Alexander Gorchakov. The poet managed to somehow predict his brilliant future. Foreign Minister, and then Chancellor, Gorchakov with a brilliant mind and amazing efficiency stood out both among Russian ministers and among European politicians. The implementation of the liberal reform policy of Alexander II became for Gorchakov the meaning of life and the goal of public service. The plan was given in a difficult struggle: the intensity of public passions, the confrontation of political groups, provocative speeches of the press, attacks by radicals who relied on terrorism... The reader himself has comparisons with modern Russia, unexpected and very curious, which gives the book a special relevance.