The work of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy is truly multifaceted: a master of science fiction prose, the creator of the beloved fairy tale "The Golden Key", the author of the epic "Walking through Torments" and numerous novels, short stories and plays. The key theme uniting the variety of subjects in Tolstoy's work turned out to be the theme of Russia. The novel Peter the Great, the best example of the historical novel genre in Soviet literature, is also imbued with reflections on its purpose. Tolstoy carefully studied documentary sources, but said that "a historical novel cannot be written in the form of a chronicle." At the center of the novel is the image of Peter the Great, the ruler of a huge country, who has a strong and stubborn character and seeks to fulfill his decisions. In this edition, the text of the novel is accompanied by magnificent illustrations by Dementiy Shmarinov.