ABSTRACT
The absence of culture has been defined as the "outstanding characteristic of these new intellectuals". A cursory analysis of the intellectual climate in the Arab world in the early and middle fifties was required in order to put the Soviet cultural offensive into perspective and to explain its success. The Soviet Union exported the very same films to the Middle East and to Western Europe, and the Moiseev Ballet danced in both Cairo and New York. The basic difference was that in the West these cultural exports were judged on their merits: if they were good, they were applauded; if found wanting, they were criticized. Western observers found it difficult to understand these attitudes. Groups of Soviet movie technicians came to Syria and Egypt in that year, Uzbek and Armenian circus ensembles performed in Beirut and Damascus, cinema festivals were arranged in various Middle Eastern cities, the distribution of Soviet magazines and books was undertaken.
