About the book: 2008 / In the fall of 1689, the policy of Sofia Alekseevna Romanova collapsed. Why did the wise and fair rule of Russia, when science, crafts, culture flourished and “people's freedom triumphed,” turned into a tragedy for the country? The personality of Peter's elder sister is covered in legends. She was intensely denigrated over the centuries, and the image of the “tenacious and predatory” princess is firmly driven into the consciousness of the modern reader. Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor A.P. Bogdanov offers you three completely different views on Sophia's reign, equally contradictory to the stereotype. The author's part of the book tells where the ideas about Russia of the late 17th century familiar to the general reader came from and how they relate to the facts.