The book provides a kind of comparative analysis, where the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks are considered in parallel with various free military communities: Illyrian pirates, Vikings, Novgorod ushkuyniki, as well as contemporaries of the Cossacks - filibusters of the Caribbean. Conducting serious analytical work, the author considers the phenomenon of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks in various aspects - political, economic, military, geopolitical and the like. This book is one of the most modern original editions, covering a huge period of Russian history - from ancient times to the present.