小说背景是苏联接管波罗的海诸国的1939 - 40年间，而今年又是《莫洛托夫-里宾特洛普条约》(即《苏德互不侵犯条约》)签订70周年纪念，因此这本小说很是火热。

It is mainly set during the Soviet takeover of the Baltics in 1939-40, so this year's anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact makes it highly topical.

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上周因莫斯科为70年前德国和苏联外交大臣们签订的《莫洛托夫—里宾特洛甫条约》（Molotov-Ribbentrop pact 《苏德互不侵犯条约》）的疯狂努力辩护时，旧时的紧张又重新浮现也来。

Old tensions are resurfacing amid frantic attempts by Moscow to defend the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, signed by Germany and the Soviet Union's foreign ministers 70 years ago last week.

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