Three centuries later, a rare event continues to live in the stories of the local population, gives rise to heated debate among historians and worries the public. This is the epic of the Osudareva (or Tsar’s) Road of 1702. These are its popular names, entrenched in the literary tradition. M.V. Lomonosov dedicated many sublime lines to those long-ago deeds of the northern peasants and the great Transformer. The route was laid from the shore of the White Sea to Lake Onega, a distance of 160 miles, by local Pomor residents in the shortest possible time. To this day, people tell legends about the great king, who led the dragging of the hulls of two warships, weighing one hundred tons each, along the road. On each new section of the path, according to popular legend, “the first bridge, with his blessing, was laid by Osudar himself.” The result of the heroic royal procession at the head of the people and the guard through the wilds, swamps and mountains was the founding of St. Petersburg and the birth of the Russian fleet on the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, to this day not a single scientific monograph has been published about Osudareva Road. The book by P.A. Krotov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Faculty of History of St. Petersburg State University, based mainly on materials extracted from archives for the first time, is addressed to readers interested in the heroic era of transformations of Peter the Great. Table of contents: What is the epic of the Osudareva Road? P. 6. The royal plan. Hike to Arkhangelsk and Solovki. P. 14. History of the study of the Osudareva road. P. 44.How was the royal route laid? P. 57. "The Sovereign's procession" to Lake Onega. P. 83. Was there a drag of warships? Debate of modern historians. P. 99. There was a legendary drag of ships! P. 116. "Tale" of the Pomors, 1709. P. 122. Did people die? P. 136. Osudareva road - prologue to the founding of St. Petersburg. P. 140. Did Peter I mortgage the capital of the Russian Empire? P. 154. Founding of St. Petersburg. P. 173.AppendicesI. "Archive of the Osudareva Road". P. 206.II. Chronicles about the Osudarevo (Tsar) road. P. 264.III. Works of civil servants and travelers in the 19th century. P. 267.IV. Legends of Pomerania and Obonezhye about Peter I and the Osudareva Road. P. 278.V. Journalism. P. 291. Index of names. P. 295. Index of geographical names. P. 301.List of abbreviations. P. 307. Contents. P. 309.