In the article the book of Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor V.A. Shishkin “Russia during the years of the Great turn” in perception of a foreign diplomat (1925–1931)” is being analyzed. The book under review is based on the reports of diplomats from Czechoslovakian mission in Moscow and particularly its Head Joseph Girsa to the Moscow Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is dedicated to a complicated period of the Soviet history – the transition from the New Economic Policy to so called “the Great turn”, the end of 1920s – the beginning of 1930s (the period of collectivization, restriction of political liberty, the beginning of repressions). The novelty of the book is that for the first time an interesting source is introduced into scientific use – the documents of the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The author has done a great job in analysis and translation of more than 300 reports of Girsa into Russian during the work on the monograph. The value of these reports is rising with the fact that in 1921–1932 the Head of Czechoslovakian mission in Soviet Russia was a person who knew well the country where he lived, and who worried about its destiny (J. Girsa lived in Russia before the October Revolution and he was an entrepreneur). The documents, mentioned in the book enlarge our knowledge about the political life of the USSR in the latter half of 1920s – the beginning of 1930s.
