In this book by the eminent writer Lev Berdnikov appear scenes from the Russian eighteenth century - the orgies of the All-Jesting, All-Drunken Assembly where Peter the Great reigned; the comic funerals of dwarfs; the reading of panegyric sonnets at the Court of Empress Anna Ivanovna; and the riotous masquerades or "metamorphoses" of the autocratic fashion-plate Elizabeth Petrovna. The author traces the fate of an entire galaxy of heroes of bygone days, whose names, renowned in their day, are completely forgotten today. Attention is also paid to Russian poets' conquest of the capricious and demanding sonnet form which they perceived as a victory over a great challenge. This victory - the mastery of European artistic experience, adjusted for Russian tastes, and the affirmation of Russians' faith in themselves - was considered a national achievement. The book is about those who contributed to the development of Russian culture and who extraordinarily enriched it, helping to prepare the way for what she now has the right to be proud of.