Since ancient times, the sacrificial knife - tumi, decorated with the image of a mythical deity, has served as the main national symbol of the Peruvians. Having survived the Spanish conquista and the domination of the imperialist neocolonizers, the tumi still personifies the desire of the Peruvian people for freedom and independence. In the book of international journalist V. Listov, who worked for many years in Peru as his own correspondent for Pravda, an essay tells about the nature of this Latin American country, its people, history and culture of the people, about the socio-economic changes that have occurred over the past decade in the life of Peruvian society.