The book of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor L.V. Belovinsky “The Life of a Russian Everyman. Izba and Mansions" covers almost all aspects of the daily life of people in pre-revolutionary Russia: social and financial status, occupation and entertainment, housing, tools and food, appearance and forms of address, education and the penal system, psychology, morals, norms of behavior, etc. d. Chronologically, the book covers the end of the 18th – beginning of the 20th centuries. Based on a large number of documents, mainly memoirs, the life of the Russian village is described - and not only the peasantry, but also other permanent and temporary inhabitants: landowners, including small estates, rural clergy, police, and a small intelligentsia. The author’s task is to debunk stereotypes about the past, “the deception that elevates us.” The book is addressed to specialists involved in the history of culture and everyday life, cinema and theater and artists, students of cultural studies, and will also be of interest to a wide range of readers.