Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.Between the Russian Empire and Europe warily sits Ukraine. Her own history has been brush stroked either by periods of independence or under the oppressive yoke of other more powerful and belligerent neighbours.It's authors, almost always cited as 'Russian', or from 'Little Russia' are diverse and brilliant. Some of them stayed, some moved to other lands but always their works harbour part of their Ukrainian souls despite the ever-changing territorial borders.01 - The Top 10 - The Ukrainians - An Introduction2 - The Nose by Nikolai Gogol3 - The Shades, A Phantasy by Vladimir Korolenko4 - Morphine by Mikhail Bulgakov5 - A Witches Den by Helena Blavatsky6 - The Informer by Joseph Conrad7 - The Signal by Vsevolod Garshin8 - The General's Will by Vera Jelihovsky9 - The Blind Ones by Isaac Babel10 - The Revolutionist by Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev11 - Dethroned by Ignaty Potapenko