The extensive “Notes” of a private individual - Gdańsk merchant and Dominican monk Martin Groeneweg (Fr. Wenceslaus), who accidentally found himself involved in the Mniszki adventure during the Counter-Reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, contain, in particular, a description of a trip to Moscow in the fall of 1584 - in the fall of 1585. In this edition it is supplemented by a description of Lvov, the starting point of the trip to Moscow, as well as a review of Russian-Polish and Russian-Caucasian relations in the mid-80s of the 16th century, and a biographical sketch of the author. The published fragments contain valuable information about the internal situation of Russia after the death of Ivan the Terrible, the consequences of the Livonian War, defensive structures on the steppe borders of the Russian Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the life and customs of the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional population of Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe, their culture and art. The drawings of the author of “Notes” reproduced in the book expand our understanding of the style of life at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. CONTENTS: For the reader (4). Instead of an introduction. The fate of the manuscript of M. Groeneweg and the history of its study (7). THE AGE, THE AUTHOR AND HIS MANUSCRIPT The era of the creation of “Notes” and international relations (14). The decline of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation (14). The Russian kingdom and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the mid-80s. XVI century (15). Russian kingdom, Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia (Magilina I.V.) (23). Biography and personality of the author (33). Homeland and ancestors (33). Child and youth (38). Trial by wars and growing up (41). “Accountant” at work (47). Return to the faith of our ancestors (59). Women in the life of Groeneweg (61). On the way to monasticism (62). Dominican Fr. Wenceslaus (67). Roman journey (72). Marina Mniszech's spiritual father and his collapse (75). Type and structure of the text of “Notes” (86). “Own” and “alien”: religious, national and social problems in the essay “ Polish German" (102). The question of the reliability of the "Notes" (112). "Notes" of M. GRUNEWEG: FRAGMENTS. Original, translation, comments From the translator (116). Description of Lvov (118). From Lvov through Kyiv and Chernigov to Moscow and back (151). Commentary (248). APPENDICES “Muscovy” and “Muscovites” in the work of M. Gruneweg (328 The majesty of the sovereign (341). Conclusion. Medieval personality in modern conditions (347). List of abbreviations and literature (349).