The book reflects the following questions: who was the culprit of the war - Germany or the USSR; was the Soviet Union preparing a preemptive strike against Germany; what goals did Germany pursue with regard to the USSR - the destruction of statehood, dismemberment, occupation and annexation of its territory to the Third Reich or the liberation of the peoples inhabiting the USSR from Bolshevism; did the Soviet Union occupy the Baltic countries on the eve of the war and again at the end of it; who were the Baltic volunteers of Hitler's SS troops in reality - defenders of the sovereignty of their republics or accomplices of the German occupiers; did the state and political leadership receive sufficient intelligence information about Germany's preparations for an attack on the USSR and how did they dispose of it; did Stalin lead the country and the army in the first days of the war or was he in a state of prostration, etc.