Ivan Stepanovich Zhirkevich - officer of the guards artillery of the Napoleonic Wars, official of the artillery department (1824-1829), governor of Simbirsk (1835-1836), and then Vitebsk (1836-1838) provinces. He was a witness and direct participant in many important events of the time. The main part of the memoirs is devoted to the events of the Napoleonic Wars. The publication is provided with detailed comments.