Peter Nikolaevich Polevoy (1839–1902) - writer and historian, son of Nikolai Alekseevich Polevoy. He graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, where he later taught; then he was an associate professor at the University of Novorossiysk, and finally a professor at the University of Warsaw. In 1871, Polevoy moved to St. Petersburg, where he began literary activities. He published many critical articles on the history of Russian literature in magazines. In the 1880s Polevoy published the “Picturesque Review”. His “History of Russian Literature in Essays and Biographies” and “Russian Educational Reader” were a great success; from fiction - the repeatedly republished “Historical Stories and Tales”, as well as the novels “The Sovereign Krechotnik”, “Rival Brothers”, “The Root of Evil”, “God’s Chosen One”, “Under the Irresistible Right Hand” and others. The main characters of the novel “The Brothers” rivals”, published in this volume, are the Golitsyn cousins, princes Boris and Vasily, who played a prominent role in the state life of Russia, but belonged to different parties: Boris Alekseevich - to the Naryshkin party, which nominated Peter I to the throne, Vasily Vasilyevich - to the party Miloslavsky, who supported the princess-ruler Sophia and her brother John.