Jaan Kross, Estonia's greatest contemporary writer passed away in 2007, several of his books have been translated into Swedish and admired, but his great work "Kolme katku vahel", (Between three plagues) written in 1970-80, has not yet been published here. The novel is in four parts of about 1000 pages. It should attract special interest in Sweden, mainly because it is a major novel that gives Swedes an insight into the history of a neighboring country, but not least because it also touches on Swedish history: Sweden was very much a part of Estonian history during the period in question. The work is based on Balthasar Russow's (1536-1600) Livonian Chronicle and follows his life story: coming from the Estonian peasantry and with a father as a city coachman, he is given the opportunity to study (including in Germany) via patrons, to rise from the subjugated Estonian peasant class to the ruling German-Swedish one and finally to become a priest in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Reval (Tallinn). Today, as Estonia struggles towards a new independence that is under constant threat, it is all the more important to understand something of its history and culture. Kross's great work was produced with great effort and skillful navigation at a time when the written word was censored and could have fatal consequences; today it is just as important to keep it alive.