ABSTRACT
"Expert" is undoubtedly one of the most abused terms in American usage. Basically, that description fits those who can fix or correct some things, example a plumber or an electrician. A scholar may have amassed extensive knowledge of Russian history, economics and yet it doesn't follow that his advice on American policies about the USSR would be necessarily more perspicacious or valuable than that of a layman guided just by common sense. Most of the works by Western academics do represent honest scholarship, and emigres from the USSR both before and after perestroika did contribute valuable information. Starting in the late 1950s, steady stream of Soviet visitors passed through Adam Ulam's office: professors, diplomats, "Americanologists", and journalists. Depending on the condition of "peaceful coexistence" at the moment, they were censorious, flattering or just plain curious.
