In the book of the journalist and the writer living in France since 1973, conversations with known Russian and French writers, poets, representatives the cultures covering last quarter of the XX century are collected. And though in each case in the center of attention there are those or other aspects of their own creativity and outlook, all dialogs are pulled together to a hidden general denominator — Russia. Its rather recent past full of tragedies and hopes, launches and yesterday failures, «gray-haired morning» day today's — is a nerve of the «Shade of a pendulum and other shades». This meeting of the certificates supplementing a difficult mosaic of the Russian-French relations throughout two centuries — from Pushkin to Solzhenitsyn.

Texts of conversations are supplied by explanatories of the author, photos, and also the help device. The edition is calculated on all those who is interested in the literature, history and culture of Russia and France.