For the first time in Russian historical science, the monograph examines the problem of the birth and formation of Belarusian national historiography of the late XVIII - early XX centuries. in comparison with similar processes of the formation of Ukrainian national historiography of this period. The fate of Belarusian and Ukrainian historiography is revealed on the basis of a wide range of published sources, first introduced into scientific circulation from the archives of Eastern Europe. There is a close connection between the development of historical knowledge in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Belarus (XVIII - early XX centuries) with Ukrainian historiography, the socio-cultural and political context of the era, the influence of Belarusian and Ukrainian historiography on the process of formation of the historical consciousness of the Belarusian and Ukrainian ethnos.