Sergey Belyakov is a historian, literary critic, author of the best-selling biography "Gumilyov's Son of Gumilev" (Big Book Prize).Combining the meticulousness of a historian with the talent of a storyteller, in his new book "Shadow of Mazepa" he accomplishes seemingly impossible: fundamental research based on many sources turns out to be more fascinating than a novel. Here the hetmans decide the fate of the Zaporizhia Host and Cossack speech is heard, here the magical world of the Little Russian village comes to life in bright smells, sounds, colors, here the biographies of great writers and poets - even Shevchenko and Gogol - are only part of the general biography and destiny... A nation is born here.“I wanted to prove that the history of nationalism is not a collection of boring “ideological texts, not the history of political parties or movements, not the evolution of political programs. It's an interesting world full of passion, energy and creativity." Sergey Belyakov