Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (1872–1952), Russia's first female minister and female ambassador, belongs to the category of people who make history. During the revolutionary years, she enjoyed fantastic popularity - thousands of people gathered to listen to her performances. She literally dominated the audience and easily won the hearts of the men she liked. It can be argued that Kollontai carried out her own revolution - in family relationships. She used her ministerial post to give freedom to the women of Russia. And by her example she tirelessly proved that a woman is capable of achieving equality with men - in a career, in marriage, in love. In the role of ambassador, Kollontai proved herself to be a pure pragmatist, excluding any moralizing and good-naturedness. She believed that it was necessary to proceed from the actually existing balance of power and set ourselves only achievable results. Her political career has been a series of radical transformations - a process that friends called political growth, and opponents called cynical opportunism. But she was not a cynic. She simply always soberly assessed what was happening and saw how quickly the world around her was changing. This is probably why Kollontai lived a long, very interesting and quite prosperous life, avoiding the cruel trials that befell her friends and loved ones.

[Adapted for AlReader]