In this book, pages of Russian history of the 15th–6th centuries come to life—both dramatic, key events, and small episodes, the influence of which on the course of history few people sometimes think about. The period covered is from the liberation of Rus' from foreign rule to the Great Time of Troubles - a new loss of independence as a result of an internal crisis and enemy invasion. Why did the initial successes give way to defeats? What in the “second” Russian state was initially – or over time became – the reason for such fragility? The third volume of the project “History of the Russian State” continues the conversation about the history of the Fatherland with the reader who prefers a fascinating style of storytelling, but strives to study facts, not fiction, and draw conclusions on their own.