Ernst Johann Biron is an iconic figure in Russian history of the 18th century. The name of the successful courtier is inextricably linked with the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, often called the “Bironovschina” - the power of the queen’s favorite seemed so immense to the descendants. But was it really so? Were there many or few “Germans” in Russia under Anna Ioannovna? What place did Biron occupy among them and what was the role of the favorite in the management system of the autocratic monarchy? This book is devoted to the answers to these questions. The famous historian Igor Kurukin, on the basis of surviving documents, tried to restore the real biography of a poor Courland nobleman who managed to become an important political figure, survive disgrace and exile and twice become a sovereign duke.