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The prominent Polish writer Stanisław Wincęs (1888-1971) dreamed of spending his entire life in the mountains in the village of Bystrets among the Hutsuls he loved and described. However, in 1939, the Soviet occupation put an end to these plans: Vincenz was imprisoned by the NKVD. The writer miraculously escaped from prison and illegally crossed the mountains to Hungary, where he became a refugee. Here he was again overtaken by Stalin's invasion, and he had to flee further to the West.

During these dramatic life events, the writer constantly encountered Soviet border guards, Chekists, and soldiers - people from very different backgrounds, and while talking to them, he never missed an opportunity to explore the wheels of the totalitarian machine that was destroying his native Hutsul region and threatening European civilisation. Wincens described all these events in his memoirs Dialogues with the Soviets, first published in 1966. Today, when the invasion of the "Russian world" is once again destroying Ukraine and threatening Europe, Stanislav Vincenz's memoirs remain interesting and relevant.