First published in 1959, The Soviet Union and the Middle East attempts to shed light on the evolution of Soviet attitudes toward the Middle East, its problems, challenges, and opportunities since 1917. Divided into two parts, the first part The Soviet Image of the Middle East presents an investigation into the sources of Soviet policy in that area, while the second part The Great Breakthrough explores the political, social, and economic conditions in the Middle East. The volume discusses themes like storm over Asia, the arms deal, the year of Suez, the Syrian Crisis of 1957, Soviet trade and economic aid (1954-1958), Soviet cultural policy and the intellectual climate in the Arab world, communism in the Middle East (1955-1958) and communism and Arab nationalism, to ask larger questions like did the Soviet Communists expect the revolutionary events in Asia?