The book by the French conservative thinker and royalist statesman Count de Maistre (1754–1821) is one of the first attempts in world literature to critically philosophical and politically understand the revolution of 1789, its origins and causes, the role of leaders and masses, nature and consequences . The author’s thoughts about the significance of revolutions in human history in general, and about the burning problems that arise after “Thermidorization” remain relevant to this day. This considered classic work is being published in Russian for the first time in two hundred years after its “underground” appearance in 1797. De Maistre’s work has always been too inconvenient for the domestic ruling elite: first with its commitment to Catholicism, then with its glorification of the monarchy, counter-revolutionism, idealism, but above all with its intellectual openness and honesty. The publication includes articles about the work of de Maistre by the Russian philosopher V.S. Solovyov and the French historian J.-L. Darcel.