Published in 1987, the author of this book synthesizes in this work a vast array of research in an analysis of the background and current dynamics of the relationship at the time between the Soviet Union and its East European dependencies.

Hélène Carrère d'Encausse is a leading French authority on Russian and Slavic history. She is the second woman to be admitted to the French Academy in its 350 years of existence. She is also the author of The Russian Syndrome, Lenin, and The Great Challenge.