The novel “14th of December” is the third book of Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky’s trilogy “The Kingdom of the Beast,” which includes “Paul the First,” “Alexander the First,” and, finally, a novel about Nicholas the First and the Decembrists—originally titled by the writers’ name of the crowned hero. The eternal theme of love and revolution finds a philosophical interpretation in the work. Written at the beginning of the century, the novel seems to foreshadow the events of our complicated time.