This collection includes works by L. N. Gumilyov, devoted to one of the most pressing historical problems - the problem of prejudice against the peoples of the Great Steppe, who were perceived as inherently wild, cruel and backward. The book reveals the historical roots of this myth, called by L. N. Gumilev the “black legend”, debunks exaggerated ideas about the horrors of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Rus', shows the true relationship between Rus' and the Horde and their consequences. The objective reader will also understand the origins of European Russophobia, expressed in the phrase: “scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar.” The book ends with a panorama of opinions expressed on the “sore” issue under discussion by historians and thinkers of different, including directly opposite, directions.