The dilogy about the prehistory and beginning of the First World War, written by the famous Czech writer M. Kratochvil (1904–1988), is published in Russian for the first time. Revealing the historical roots of the tragic events, the author creates an extensive gallery of portraits of the “arbiters of the destinies” of Europe, reveals the secrets of behind-the-scenes politics, and guides the reader through the battlefields of Galicia and Verdun.