Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov is quite rightly called a political “heavyweight”. His activities in the public sphere are impressive both in their versatility and scale. A talented orientalist and economist, a brilliant analyst and a wise pragmatist, he carried out very complex diplomatic missions during the most acute conflicts in the Middle East and was in demand for high government positions in crisis situations during the difficult, dramatic period of reform of the country. In this book, E.M. Primakov talks about his life, about the events of which he was a witness and participant, about meetings with leaders of various countries of the world, about controversial processes in international politics, about his vision of Russian reality.