Hero of the Don, cavalry general, ataman of the Don Army Matvey Ivanovich Platov lived a life full of dangers and extraordinary victories. An associate of Suvorov, he participated in the capture of Ochakov and Izmail. Hero of the Patriotic War, Platov, in the fall and winter of 1812, at the head of the Cossack cavalry, pursued and defeated French troops along the Smolensk road, fought successful battles near Vyazma, Smolensk, Krasny. In 1813, all significant foreign operations of the Russian army took place with the active participation of Platov’s Cossack corps. After the victorious battle for the Polish city of Danzig, Kutuzov wrote to Platov: “The services you provided to the fatherland in the continuation of the current campaign have no examples! You have proven to the whole of Europe the power and strength of the inhabitants of the blessed Don." The book by historian A.V. Venkov vividly and fascinatingly tells about the life and exploits of the legendary Ataman Whirlwind - Matvey Platov.