ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction into the process of image forming in the context of the East-West conflict. A major problem for Western observers of the Soviet Union has always been and is the interaction between Communist ideology and pragmatic policy. As early as 1945, the British Foreign Office pointed out that Moscow had to be seen not only as the center of communism but also as the organizer of a communist crusade in Europe and in the colonial territories. Every perception tends to be a misperception. Every perception tends to produce an image which is a fragment. If one could compare the image with the reality one could adjust the image of the U.S.S.R. to the Soviet reality. During the war the Western allies had a favorable image of the Soviet Union and for the first time in East-West relations conceived a common strategy in world affairs.
