This article is one of the first comments upon the monograph of E.A. Rostovtsev, which is devoted to the destiny of Saint Petersburg University in the turning point of the native history, which completed by accident of Russian Empire and worldwide shocks. Rostovtsev investigation filled in many flaws in the literature, which is devoted to the development of Russian high school in the first part of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century. The review characterizes this article in the whole, noted the peculiarity points of views, analyses the results of author's attempts, appreciates how much his well-grounded conclusions are argued and how much his observations are reliable. Especial attention turned to the contribution brought to history: the condition of high school first of all university education in Russia in post-reforms epoch and the political life of Russia in the second part of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century. The review mentioned not only merits but also demerits, which however are not of principle.