The 18th century is the era of universal enlightenment, both in Europe and in Russia. A period of rapid development of Russian science, culture and literature. The foundations for this were prepared by the reforms of Peter I, thanks to which Russia turned into a powerful empire. The collection includes works by the natural scientist and poet M. V. Lomonosov (1711–1765), poet and statesman G. R. Derzhavin (1743–1816) , historian, poet and writer N. M. Karamzin (1766–1826), poet, prose writer and philosopher A. N. Radishchev (1749–1802).