About the book: 2024 / The publication offers readers a commented translation and original diary entries by the translator in the Russian service, Christophe (in Orthodoxy - Vasily) Boush conducted secretly in German in 1654–1664. The author talks about the fighting during the Russian-Polish war of 1654–1667, the behavior of Russian troops in the conquered territories, the fate of Polish prisoners in Russia, events at the royal court, damage to coins, uprisings and political struggle in Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian state , about fires, outbreaks of plague and other disasters. The receptions of foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin and the negotiations of Russian diplomats at congresses with Polish and Swedish representatives are described in detail. Although most of the messages undoubtedly reflect the view from Moscow, the author of the Diary, himself a Russian captivity, did not hide his complex feelings towards the “Muscovites” whom he was forced to serve, nor his sympathy for the “Poles”. The “Diary” contains valuable information on the history of Eastern Europe in the 17th century, and is also a unique evidence of how a foreigner in the tsarist service perceived the political and cultural realities of the Russian state and its foreign policy. The book is addressed to historians, cultural experts, and philologists.