‘Twists of Fate and Arbitrariness’ is a book of memoirs by Grigory Grigorov, a contemporary of the 20th century, who lived an unusual, complex and eventful life. He was a witness and direct participant in the events of the first half of the century – revolutions, the Civil War; in the twenties he took a direct part in political life, many of his testimonies about the inner life of the top of...

The subject of his new book is perestroika, which ushered in a democratic era in our history. In his capacity as First Deputy Head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and later as an advisor to the President of the USSR, the author was largely 'inside' the events unfolding, closely interacting with the 'architects' of perestroika and aware of the reactions of...

The book by the famous researcher of the history of the Russian fleet I. I. Firsov is dedicated to Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, who belongs to the glorious tribe of discoverers and trailblazers. His name is mentioned eight times on the world map. He was three times the first: he was the first to sail around the world under the Russian flag, the first to pave the way across the seas and oceans...

Nina Serpinskaya's ‘Flirting with Life’ is a personal document that captures the daily life of the bourgeoisie and intelligentsia of the Silver Age. The author, embodying the image of a ‘starlet’ of the Moscow bohemia of the early 20th century, describes her life in art and everyday life. Her observations on the socialist transformations after the revolution are particularly interesting. The...