Myths about Peter the Great, a brilliant reformer who saved the Russian state from inevitable destruction and at the same time “an apostate who tore Russia from its circular orbit in order to throw it into space like a comet,” almost the Antichrist, who overthrew all moral foundations and centuries-old traditions continue to excite minds and cause controversy today. Why is Ivan the Terrible in people’s memory as a “mad monster”, while Peter the Great, who surpassed him in his cruelty, remains an “unblemished genius”? The famous French historian Henri Troyat reflects on all this and offers readers his version of the history of Peter’s life and reign.