Stating that the contrast between societies and nations can be most sharply exemplified by the iceberg and the volcano in the case of the Moscovite and the Turk, Necip Fazıl analyzes Turkish-Russian relations within a historical perspective in this work. This analysis includes not only the meaning behind the word "Moscovite" but also the diagnosis and interpretation of the critical periods of Turkish history, from the Golden Horde to the Republican era.
The fundamental thesis, which the work—organized into three main sections—seeks to prove throughout the book, is that two Muslim leaders of Turkic origin, Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century and Baltacı Mehmed Pasha at the beginning of the 18th century, were responsible for the emergence of Russia onto the world stage, a Russia that became a scourge to the entire world after the 1917 revolution.