Geography and genealogy
Ruthenia and Galicia are the names of real, historic regions in Eastern Europe that cover parts of what are now south-eastern Poland, south-western Ukraine and eastern Slovakia. While recognised as geographic and cultural designations, they never existed as separate and distinct political entities – there never was a Kingdom of Ruthenia and/or Galicia, and there does not exist one now, in this or in any other dimension, though, of course, I can’t be sure of the latter.
The geography of the Kingdom is fictional, as are all the characters. Any resemblance to real locations or people is purely accidental, but if you think you’ve come across some in real life... well, as they say, you can take a boy out of the Eastern Europe...
This book is dedicated to my family, or rather to all my families: the Chrenkoffs, the Starzaks, the Listwans, the Raczkos, the von Falls, and others, all of whom happen to come from (the real) Ruthenia and Galicia and adjoining regions.