There were many sharp turns in the fate of Anna Ioannovna: a natural Russian princess, the niece of Peter I, at his will, was married to a foreign prince, she spent half her life as a poor dowager duchess in the European outback, became the Russian empress at the invitation of nobles who tried to make her a figurehead figure on the throne, but soon managed to restore autocracy. Anna was not a great commander, a visionary legislator or a brave reformer, but to the best of her ability she contributed to strengthening the greatness of the empire created by Peter, expanded its borders and formed a reliable and efficient governance structure. Under the uneducated empress, a cadet corps was founded, a ballet school was opened, and the creation of the Russian literary language began. The book by Doctor of Historical Sciences Igor Kurukin, written on the basis of documents, tells about the reign of the only Russian empress, ironically traditionally called the era of foreign dominance.