Canada in the Soviet Mirror

Book excerpt: This is an original, thoroughly researched account of the image of Canada in Soviet writings - political, jounalistic and academic - over the entire course of Soviet history. A study of the role of ideology in Soviet foreign affairs, the book traces the influence of an adjusting Marxist-Leninist "lens" on policy formulated by the Kremlin and also, explicitly, on a public discourse rigidly controlled by government. This public image has been collated with private opinion documented in recently opened Russian archives. Canada clearly served a larger purpose in Soviet foreign policy than was previously assumed. Uniquely Canadian issues and participants helped shape Soviet policy, sometimes in very strange ways. Both story and reference text, Canada in the Soviet Mirror will interest readers in Soviet and Canadian studies, journalism, and popular culture.