A very welcome addition to the growing field of the transnational history of Stalinism and the cultural Cold War. Will be a stimulating read for anyone who wants to look inside the socialist 'propaganda kitchen' and reflect on why the Soviet empire lost the Cold War." - American Historical Review "Offers interesting observations that can be applied to ancient empires and modern ones. Recommended." - CHOICE " Soviet Soft Power , by drawing on material from Polish and Russian archives, adds to our understanding of Soviet-Polish cultural interactions and Polish and Soviet propaganda policy during the first decade of the Cold War. It also offers a very useful point of departure for further research. This impressive book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars." - European History Quarterly "Provides deepened exploration of fascinating primary materials from Polish and Russian archives combined with published sources into a revealing narrative.

An original contribution to our understating of postwar Europe and Soviet cultural outreach which fills in an important gap in knowledge." - European Review of History "Babiracki's brilliant, big-hearted book burrows inside the aspirations and failures of the Soviet imperial project in eastern Europe. Meticuously researched, thickly layered vignettes describing encounters between Soviets and Poles of various stripes." - Slavic Review "An insightful and intelligent contribution to our knowledge of Stalinist cultural policies." - Canadian Journal of History "[A] rich, well-researched, and at times poetically written cultural history of Polish-Soviet relationships in the first years after the war." - The Russian Review.