Rumors in the Empire

Even the funniest and most absurd rumors have domestic roots. Jealousy, a way to explain the unknown, or a cunning tool of control — if you don't like someone, it's the perfect time to spread an unpleasant rumor about them!... At least, that's how it sometimes happened in the Russian Empire.
To this day, we hear amazing stories that were born from gossip. Just imagine how much was discussed at that time, and how easily people could believe in all of it!
The illustrator Katya Gushchina and historian Andrey Aksyonov have an advantage over our ancestors — the distance from that verbal hustle and bustle, which allows for a calm reconstruction of history, confirmation or debunking of rumors about Russian emperors from Peter I to Nicholas II.
However, despite this, the authors remind us that all rulers, scholars, writers, military leaders, and the people of past centuries — are still very much a living present.
For middle and high school ages.