Nikolai Alekseevich Polevoy (1796-1846) was a Russian writer, historian, critic, and journalist born in Irkutsk. He achieved fame as the publisher and editor of the magazine "Moscow Telegraph" (1825-1834), which played a significant role in shaping the literary tastes of his time. After the publication was closed by order of the authorities, Polevoy settled in St. Petersburg, where he devoted the last years of his life to drama and historical fiction. The author of over forty plays, as well as numerous novels and short stories, he held firm Orthodox-monarchist positions and critically polemicized against Karamzin. His major work, "History of the Russian People," was conceived as an alternative to "History of the Russian State" and became a notable event in Russian historiography.

This volume includes three historical novellas by Polevoy: "John Tzimiskes," "The Feast of Svyatoslav Igorevich, Prince of Kyiv," and "The Tale of Simeon, Prince of Suzdal." They depict dramatic scenes from Byzantine and ancient Russian history-palace coups, power struggles, clashes of cultures and personalities. Polevoy was one of the first in Russian literature to artistically reimagine scenes from the past of Byzantium and Kievan Rus', offering readers an immersion into a world of political intrigue and tragic destinies in which the personal and the state are inextricably intertwined.