The article tells about the life of the legendary financier, candidate of economic sciences, multiple holder of the Order of the Labor Red Banner Andrei Ilyich Dubonosov (1900–1978). In the Soviet period, he headed the Moscow People’s Bank in London (1959–1967). Under his leadership the bank increased its assets by almost 30 times, began to work actively with British government securities, expanded loans to local urban projects and participation in the foreign exchange market activities. Contribution of Andrei Ilyich into these achievements is enormous. The people close to him — his son L.A. Dubonosov and his student V.V. Gerashchenko share with us their memories of an outstanding banker.

Among the most famous collections of archival documents of сonsiderable interest to researchers of national history of the Soviet period, there is the so-called personal archive of I.V. Stalin. Currently, these documents are stored in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. The author analyzes the documents, “confiscated with the help of agents” from A.I. Guchkov, on the history of the German-Polish-Japan coalition and its plans against the Soviet Union.

The article tells the history of creating a widespread now financial instrument — Eurodollar, about the role in its appearance of the USSR and the Soviet banks abroad — Moscow Narodny Bank in London and Eurobank in Paris, about the events preceding its appearance — the International Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton-Woods, about the USSR’s attempts to escape from American sanctions. The article describes the consequences of introducing Eurodollar, of establishing new order for US dollar use in the world and the punishment of countries not supporting these new rules. One example of control over implementation of sanctions imposed by the United States is the story of punishing the Soviet Union for trade with Cuba, when US dollars, been applied by Moscow Narodny Bank for buying Cuban sugar, were blocked for 30 years. The article is dedicated to professionalism and ingenuity of the Soviet bankers and to the errors they committed, by inexperience.

Russia found itself “non-protected and non-defended”. No one could foresee the state recreation through great upheavals, civil war and new modernization.

For Stalin the communist religion (and he realized that it was a religion) was never particularly close. He used it to strengthen the Empire.

The emperor believed that the Orthodox people will not dare to harm Russia for the sake of political intrigues.

Noble officers and peasants-soldiers were constructors of the Empire, the army was a continuation of the estate and the peasant community, the continuation of “eternity”.

In modern Russia it is practically impossible to find a person, who has worked with all the country’s leaders from Stalin to Yeltsin. Valentin Falin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, reputable foreign affairs specialist, ex-ambassador of the USSR in Germany, the former CPSU Central Committee Secretary, probably the “last of the Mohicans”. He prepared analytical reports for Stalin and Beria. He wrote foreign policy speeches for Khrushchev. Brezhnev, Gorbachev, Yeltsin relied on his advices. His fate was intervened by Andropov. He was accused of organizing a coup in Germany, the collapse of the USSR and was summoned to court in respect of the famous “CPSU affair”. Valentin Falin since 1950 had a responsible job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in the seventies served as the Soviet ambassador in Bonn, in the eighties — the political columnist of “Izvestia” newspaper and the head of the “News” Press Agency, from 1988 to 1991 — Head of the International department of the CPSU Central Committee and adviser to M.Gorbachev on general political issues. In the interview with Alexander Ageev and Alexander Isayev — fragments of the USSR backstage history through the point of view of its participant and witness.

Nicholas II saw the ideal of the Orthodox Empire in the unity of the state and the Orthodox Church, but bishops were striving for independence, actually — for separating from the state.

At the time, when the World War forces were already gathered, there lived in Russia one happy family, in which husband and wife doted each other, and children were surrounded by care and love. Perhaps there were quite a lot of such families. But we shall talk about only one, the family of Nicholay Alexandrovich and Alexandra Feodorovna, the Emperor and the Empress.