True History Series

100 Key Ukrainian Personalities

Юрий Сорока

The knowledge of our national history helps us to realize what we are like and why we have become like that. This awareness provides invaluable lessons, and requires not to repeat mistakes which we made more than once… The book “100 Key Ukrainian Personalities” clearly shows that it was not only fight for independence and statehood that has determined the course of the country’s history. Ukraine has presented the world with a lot of talented people – physicists, thinkers, architects, microbiologists, and writers. Many of the readers will discover new names here or learn more about those whom they heard of. This edition does not in any way pretend to tell you about all the prominent Ukrainians – rulers and poets, warriors and actors, politicians and scientists – those who throughout centuries have been glorifying our country, building its statehood foundations, developing its language, culture and science. This is that intangible which makes us all feel as the citizens of our own country. This book presents the stories about a small number of persons who deserve to be remembered by our people, since each of them has left an indelible mark in the history of Ukraine.

100 Key Events in Ukrainian History

Yurii Soroka

The history of Ukraine resembles a half-uncharted map. This is not a mere coincidence, but the result of the deliberate public policy. Hundreds of various people serving their mother countries have been working hard on those blank spots for centuries. Those myth and fake news makers have done their best to make our history, as well as Ukraine itself, look in descendants’ eyes the way preferred by those who tried to assimilate the heritage of Kyivan Rus. However, time always puts everything in its place. So this book is an attempt to collect the events that have shaped the Ukraine we know today and will promote its further development. We sought to focus on positive events in Ukrainian history, in other words, on victories. The image of our country as a helpless continuously suffering victim that always sings sad songs and is incapable of confronting external pressure has been exploited for a long time. In fact, an insight into the actual history of Ukraine proves this image to be false. The voice of the past provides us with dozens of chronicles, documents and historical studies. Courageous heroes, strong warriors, talented artists, prominent statesmen, unrivalled philosophers and scholars – those have been the people creating our history. And, naturally, they and their achievements must be revealed and popularized. This work is an effort to unite in a single volume the highlights of our historic heritage and show that, against all odds, Ukraine remembers its past and intends to build its own bright future, considering the extensive rich experience that has been gained.