A. Rechkalov’s new book is the first part of a study on the history of Ukraine in the 13th-17th centuries. Starting the narrative in 1240, the author examines in detail the events associated with the liberation of Ukrainian lands from the Tatar yoke and their entry into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. Much attention in the book is paid to the relationship of these countries with the German Order, Muscovy, Byzantium and the Golden Horde, political and social relations established in the lands of the future Ukraine by Lithuanian and Polish rulers, the situation of Orthodoxy and the struggle of the Rusyns for their rights. Using the example of the dynasty of the Ostrog princes, the story tells about the origins of the Ukrainian princely families and their role in the events of that time.

In his characteristic convincing manner, the author shows that the era of the Ukrainian lands being part of Poland and Lithuania is also an integral part of the national history, as well as the similar period of Ukraine’s entry into the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The book is addressed to everyone who is not indifferent to the historical past of the Ukrainian people.