The book of Doctor of Historical Sciences O. B. Ostrovsky traces the influence on Russian art culture of the main historical factors of the era at three stages of the reign of Alexander I: the aesthetic tastes of the emperor, empresses Maria Fedorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna, members of the royal family; public education systems; state cultural institutions (Academy of Arts, Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, Court Singing Chapel, Hermitage, Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works, etc.); censorship, book publishing and printing; literary and artistic associations, private salons and individual patrons.