This study investigates the evolution of advice literature in Russia from the era of Catherine the Great through the post-Soviet period to determine how these texts shaped social norms and national identity. Catriona Kelly, a scholar of Russian culture, utilizes a vast array of etiquette manuals, hygiene brochures, and conduct guides to analyze how Russian society negotiated its relationship with Western cultural standards. The work argues that these texts served as a critical mechanism for the intelligentsia to define 'polite culture' and navigate the shifting boundaries of gender and class throughout centuries of political transformation.

Scholars recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersection of social history and print culture in Russia. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the extensive archival research that supports Kelly's conclusions.