The library of the project “History of the Russian State” is the best monuments of historical literature recommended by Boris Akunin, which reflect the biography of our country, from its very origins. The book you hold in your hands allows you to hear the living voices of the “pre-Mongol” era - not far from the bustle of scribes and chroniclers, but rather poets, thinkers, preachers and legislators. The excited speech of the educated and moral politician Metropolitan Hilarion in “The Sermon on Law and Grace.” A classic medieval conversation between a highly experienced person and his descendants in the “Collection of 1076” compiled by Deacon John and the “Teachings” of Vladimir Monomakh. A person of the 21st century will appreciate the lyricism of “The Tale of Boris and Gleb”, the aphorism and “buffoonery” of “The Words of Daniil the Zatochnik” - a masterpiece of the epistolary genre, - the beautiful laconic language of “Russkaya Pravda” - the most valuable evidence of Russian legal thought. The psychologism of “The Tale of the Murder of Andrei Bogolyubsky” forces us to rethink the genre of hagiographies, and the plot of “The Strands of Eymund” forces us to compare the interpretations of the same events by monastic scribes and the compilers of Western secular sagas. And the voice of the most mysterious and famous anonymous person of Ancient Rus', the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” sounds especially familiar. The publishing design is preserved in pdf A4 format.