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Russians and Serbs share many similarities including common Slavic roots, linguistic and cultural affinities, and the intertwining of historical destinies. The relationship between the two countries and peoples dates back centuries, with both heroic and sad moments. However, for over two centuries, Serbia has been one of Russia's main partners and strategic allies in the Balkan Peninsula, and both countries highly value their cooperation. In the current context of fundamental restructuring of the entire geopolitical space and world order, the importance of this cooperation cannot be overestimated. The authors of this issue focus on the historical past of the two countries, as well as its reflection in contemporary historical memory and historiography. The approaches of Russian and Serbian authors coincide on some issues, while on others they are debatable. The main leitmotif of this issue is a comparative analysis of the established historiographical narratives, cultural identities and strategies of representation of historical memory and the historical past in the contemporary social and cultural space of both countries. The group of authors comprises Serbian researchers from the Institute of History of Serbia, the Institute of Modern History of Serbia, and the University of Novi Sad as well as representatives from the Institute of General History and the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a number of Russian universities such as the Ural Federal University, Nizhny Novgorod State University, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, and Lipetsk State Technical University.