Russian-Japanese War, December 1904. Port Arthur has not yet fallen, but this tragic event is not far off. And even in the circle of the Russian Emperor, not everyone wants the victory of the Russian Empire. The bourgeoisie is striving for power, and some of the moneybags imagine that military defeat will bring forward the long-awaited reforms according to the European model: the tsar should reign, and they, the owners of factories, newspapers, and ships, will rule. For them are the banking houses of London and Paris and domestic masters of large geshefts, for them is the all-powerful Freemasonry. And against such a force, desperate heroism and sacrifices on the part of Russian soldiers, sailors and officers are useless. For some, grief and death, and for those who own capital, unlimited power. And at this critical moment, a mysterious third party enters the war. The autocratic Grand Duke of Artansky, a lover of swift, crushing blows and final victories, throws his sword into the balance of world politics. He is accountable for his actions exclusively to the Almighty. A little time will pass and the world will understand that this man brought irreversible changes with him.

The cover design uses a fragment of a painting by the artist N.S. Samokish “On the hill after the assault,” written as an illustration for the book “War of 1904-1905. From the artist’s diary,” published in 1908.