The Shadow of Mazepa: The Ukrainian Nation in the Era of Gogol

Sergey Belyakov — historian, literary scholar, author of the bestselling biography Gumilyov son of Gumilyov, winner of the BIG BOOK award. Combining the meticulousness of a historian with the talent of a storyteller, in his new book The Shadow of... Mazepa he accomplishes what seems impossible: a fundamental study based on a multitude of sources turns out to be more engaging than a novel. Here, the hetmans shape the destinies of the Zaporozhian Host, and the Cossack speech can be heard; here, the magical world of a Little Russian village comes alive in vibrant smells, sounds, and colors; here, the biographies of great writers and poets — even Shevchenko and Gogol — are merely a part of a shared biography and destiny... Here, a nation is born. I wanted to prove that the history of nationalism is not a collection of boring "ideological" texts, nor is it the history of political parties or movements, nor the evolution of political programs. It is an interesting world, full of passion, energy, and creativity. Sergey Belyakov