[1] The book follows a chronological order,[2] following interactions between nationalism proponents and their relationship with the major regional state authorities and socialist and nationalist movements.

[4] Matthew Pauly of Michigan State University's Department of History called Rudling's analysis remarkable for being the first single book to details the tension between Soviet nationality policy and the consequences for minority groups under Polish rule, especially Belarusians who were view through a lens of being a danger to what Pauly calls "Sovietphilia.

"[4] David Brandenberger of the University of Richmond described the book as perceptive and stated that it deserved to be read "by anyone interested in the modern trials and tribulations of nation building in eastern Europe and the former republics of the USSR".

[3] Simon M. Lewis of the Free University of Berlin called the book a "brilliant study" for casting a "much-needed light on a country largely marginalised from the western scholarship.

"[5] Writing in the East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, Polish-American historian Marek Jan Chodakiewicz was deeply critical of the book, which he called "a true believer’s regurgitation of leftist theories of nationalism.