Antoine Arzhakovsky is a famous French intellectual, doctor of historical sciences, philosopher and theologian. His historical view of the origins of today\'s military conflict between Ukraine and Russia is important to us because it can claim to be objective. First, he comprehends the historical retrospective not from the inside of the situation, but from the outside. Secondly, he does so with a deep understanding of the mental differences between the two peoples, as he has experience in both countries (for several years he headed the French University College at Moscow State University, then was deputy director of the French Cultural Center in Kyiv and director of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies at Ukrainian Catholic University of Lviv). Thus, this book, awarded the Hryhoriy Orlyk Prize in France, is a rare opportunity to see our situation through the eyes of a caring European who simultaneously and deeply understands the subject of research and is passionate about everything that is happening in Ukraine and Russia.