The essay suggests a methodological attitude needed for better comprehension of the Russia's history, the Soviet Union namely, its rise and development. The Soviet Union is viewed as a modernised and specifically Russian correlate of the West. It deals with the Russian traditions, belief and the necessary modernisation undertaken due to the West's influence. It takes into consideration both the Western and Russian thought in order to get a balanced epistemological starting point.

Born in 1977, the author has studied the Russian and Eastern European Studies at the Prague's Charles University. Both during his 2000 semester studies at the Moscow State University and his 2006 summer vacations in the Western Siberia's tundra he was wondering again what has it been, this U.S.S.R., the country not only of his childhood?