Those who say that the situation in Ukraine is unique and this happened for the first time are very mistaken, or simply do not know history. Uprisings supported by external forces arose in other countries and at other times. Yes, people there were running not with Kalashnikov assault rifles and cell phones, but with pikes and swords, but the events were very much reminiscent of everything that happened on the Maidan in February 2014, and the consequences for these countries were catastrophic. For example, let's remember May 12 1588 in France, which went down in history as the “Day of the Barricades.” “Condé will come and restore order,” “Protestants against the Gilyaks,” violent Navarrese titushki, intrigues of “Muscovites” from England, Spain and the United Provinces, regional “kings” with their armies and, of course, a revolution of dignity with the slaughter of opponents. All this is in the thriller of Samara historian Sergei Makhov about the Maidan of 1588 in France. After the murder of the Duke of Guise, the struggle between Catholics and Protestant “titushki” flared up in France with renewed vigor, and England tried to finish off Spain with a raid of its fleet. What came of this, we will find out below. In the first part of the series “Club Dumas” there are some details about the troubled times in France at the end of the 16th century and their analogies in modern times. And why “Club Dumas”? Aren’t you interested in the historian’s stories about the real lives of famous book characters and is it possible to learn history from the books of Alexandre Dumas?