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The National Liberation War of the Ukrainian people of 1648-1658 was of cardinal importance in the history of Ukraine. After many years of statelessness, the Ukrainian people managed to create an independent state - the Hetmanate - in the course of the armed struggle. This event determined the aspirations of the Ukrainian people for the next few centuries, shaping the cultural, philosophical and ideological foundations of the idea of Ukrainian statehood, which none of the invading regimes under which parts of Ukraine were subjected at different times could eradicate and which allowed Ukrainians to preserve their identity, avoiding the fate of other assimilated peoples.

The undisputed leader of the Ukrainian people during the National Liberation War was Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. However, he could not single-handedly carry out such tectonic geopolitical shifts as the restoration of Ukrainian statehood. The hetman-statesman relied on a galaxy of associates from the Cossack officers who helped him organise the people to fight against the invaders. These people came from different social strata and played different roles in the dramatic history of the Hetmanate's formation - some proved themselves primarily in military affairs, others as diplomats, lawyers, and businessmen. Some of them flashed like a bright meteor in the historical sky, leaving only a mention in the chronicle of those events, while others remained in the history of our country and the memory of the people for many centuries. Unfortunately, for various reasons, very little has been done in Ukraine to restore the biographies of all the significant figures of the National Liberation War."

The well-known historian Yuriy Mytsyk, based on extensive archival materials, has recreated the fascinating biographies of Bohdan Khmelnytsky's closest associates, which are collected in this work.