This book does not aim to defame anyone. It is dedicated, of course, to bright and extraordinary personalities who not only left a noticeable mark on Russian history, but were also elevated to sainthood by the Russian Orthodox Church. Who can be canonized and who not is a purely personal matter of the church, and therefore the author in his research did not touch on church methods and principles for determining the spiritual merits of a particular character. It relies exclusively on facts proven and confirmed by the most authoritative world-famous historians. And many characters of the Orthodox Pantheon seem to us to be strong, heroic, the greatest fighters and reformers, on the one hand, and living people to whom nothing human is alien, on the other. This perspective allows you to get as close as possible to the truth and get a comprehensive answer to the question: who were they really, the saints?