This book, first published in 1979, provides a systematic anatomy of Russia's modern authors in the context of their society at the time. Professor Hingley places their lives and work firmly in the setting of the USSR's social and political structure.

Part 1. The Historical and Literary Setting 1. General Perspectives 1.1. Revolution 1.2. Ordeals 1.3. The Political Dimension 1.4. The Soviet Panorama 2. History and Literature 2.1. Before Stalinism 2.2. Stalin's Dictatorship 2.3. After Stalin 3. Russian Authors and the World 3.1. East-West Contact 3.2. Emigration 4. Writers and their Work 4.1. Poetry 4.2. Prose Fiction 4.3. Memoirs 4.4. Drama 4.5. Criticism Part 2. The Social and Political Spectrum 5. Peoples and Regions 5.1. The RSFSR 5.2. The Ukraine 5.3. Jews 5.4. Other Peoples 6. The Power Structure 6.1. The Communist Party 6.2. The Ideology 6.3. Government and Administration 6.4. The Police 6.5. Concentration Camps 6.6. The Military 7. The Class System 7.1. The Workers 7.2. Peasants 7.3. The Intelligentsia 8. Private Life 8.1. Women 8.2. The Home 8.3. Religion Part 3. The Literary Profession 9. Movements and Theories 9.1. Pre-1932 Currents 9.2. The Union of Writers 9.3. Socialist Realism 10. Control Mechanisms 10.1. Incentives 10.2. Censorship 10.3. Disincentives 10.4. Rehabilitation 11. Conformists and Nonconformists 11.1. Custodians 11.2. Liberals 11.3. Dissidents 12. From Pen to Print 12.1. Periodicals 12.2. Books 12.3. Export Only Publications 12.4. Textual Perversions