The book, using the example of Peter's reforms, examines the eternal problem of Russian life: does Russia need reforms, and if so, why do rivers of blood need to be shed for this? Problems of reform have always been relevant to Russian reality. In a sense, reforms are recognized as an indispensable part of the policies of the Russian government. At the same time, it is somehow forgotten that drastic transformations are not the normal state of social life, and people experience the weight of the reformers’ ideas in their own skin. Peter’s reforms are one of the clearest examples of this. They did not lead to an improvement in the life of society, but to a strengthening of the power of the state and an increase in its imperial appetites. Thanks to Peter's reforms, Russia modernized and Europeanized, but its foundations - serfdom and despotic power - remained the same. Another side of this problem examined in the book is the personality of the reformer himself. Peter the Great was an outstanding man who sincerely wished the best for Russia; it even seemed to him that he knew how to lead the country to prosperity. In his grandiose reform activities, he was a fanatical state romantic who spared neither himself nor Russia. He took as the basis for reforming the country the principle: “In Russia, progress is achieved only through violence and coercion!” and consistently put it into practice. How this was accomplished and what it led to is the essence of this book.