The volume covers more than a century of the history of eight Slavic literatures - from the mid-18th century. until the 90s. XIX century Much attention is paid to the central process for the era of the formation of national literatures of the New Age, which took place here in difficult conditions - in an atmosphere of national oppression. Two different types of literary development have been identified, largely related to the peculiarities of the previous historical destinies of individual peoples and to the process of Slavic national revival.