The next volume, published as part of a grandiose project dedicated to the traditions of Russian and world culture, tells the story of the formation, flourishing and death of the Roman Empire. Its history and ideology are a kind of foundation of Western European culture; the idea of a unipolar world, so characteristic of Ancient Rome, subsequently became, according to the author of this book, the basis for any model of imperial government. This means that the majestic and tragic, sublime and vicious vicissitudes of Roman history contain, as the author claims, a certain lesson for other countries. In particular, for Russia...