From the translatorNorman Davies, one of the famous and most quoted British historians, studied at St. Magdalene's College in Oxford, then at graduate school at the Jagiellonian University, where he studied the Soviet-Polish war. Since 1971 he taught Polish history at the University of London. In 1981, his book “God’s Playground” about the history of Poland was published, and in 1984 his book “Heart of Europe” was published about the role of Polish history in its present. The book "White Eagle, Red Star" was first published in 1972, and is his first serious scientific work. When making references to political realities, one should remember the geopolitical situation contemporary with the writing of this book. When translating this book, the Polish translation was also used for verification (publishing house Znak, Kraków 1998). Geographical names are given in the writing in force in Russia and Poland during the era of the events described. To avoid double translation errors, quotes from Polish sources were translated from Polish originals; accordingly, Russian originals of quotes from Soviet sources given by the author were also found.