Young Russia (2-volume set)

The epic "Young Russia" by Yuri German narrates the time of unprecedented changes in Russia - the era of Peter I. The great Lomonosov, a native of Pomorye - the same place mentioned in the novel - regarded the tsar as "like God": "His spirit breathes - and waters will flow, He touches the mountains - and they will rise." But the people who feel that spirit must be strong! Such are the main characters of the novel: the Pomor feeder Ivan Ryabov and the royal nobleman Silvester Ievlev. Life thrusts them into a turbulent whirlpool of events, demanding complex decisions in their effort to serve both their homeland and their own essence without betrayal. "Young Russia" faces difficulties: the capricious tsar shows no mercy for those perishing in the inhuman conditions of the first "great constructions"; both local and visiting officials indiscriminately steal; external threats inevitably worsen in response to the rise of Russian power; foreign teachers of shipbuilding and exact sciences compete as best they can with the patient Pomors and their age-old wisdom…

A famous multi-part film was made based on the novel "Young Russia" (1981-1982).