"This book is a study of relations between Russia and Africa. It covers not only the establishment of official relations between Russia and several African countries, but also the ways mutual perceptions and images were formed, the daily lives of Russians residing in Africa and of Africans living in Russia and their attitudes to their surroundings. The authors focused mainly on the Soviet period because the scope of relations between Russia and Africa was broader, and the relations were more diverse than in the earlier or later periods. The contributions are based on the material from Russian and foreign archives, including recently declassified documents, and on other sources. The book has been authored by a collective of historians coordinated by the Centre for African Studies at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences."--Abstract in English.