The author, a former Soviet sociologist, describes the ties between the political regime and the intellectuals of that state. Beginning with the end of Stalin's rule, he explores what he sees as the mutual co-operation and antagonism that has existed between political leaders and intellectuals. The book examines such topics as the role of literature and film in political opposition, and the attempts by the KGB to sow the seeds of mental disturbance among the opponents of the state. The book ends with an analysis of glasnost which, it claims, has revealed a divergence of opinion among Soviet intellectuals, which their united opposition to the more oppressive regimes had somewhat concealed.