Although this book is written by Chris Salewicz, it bears all the hallmarks of a Billy Bragg book: that is, it does not take the expect view of things.

One would imagine that, just as the Soviet Union was turning to a more Western outlook, might be a bleak time to visit Russia, this book takes a pretty positive view. Do not expect it to exonerate the Soviet system either, it takes an unusually balanced look at Russia. People are not constantly spied upon, neither are they totally free to express their opinions.

My major complaint with this book is that it is too short. It is liberally laced with excellent photographs by Adrian Boot and, taking this into account, 94 pages is too few to get a proper perspective. ( )