The relationship between intellectuals and communist systems has a complicated and stormy history. This is true both as regards intellectuals who live under such systems and those who "relate" to such systems from a safe distance. We may propose that a crucial determinant of such a relationship is the degree of proximity between the intellectuals and the communist systems: the further away the intellectuals, the more benign the attitudes on both sides and the more agreeable the relationship. Furthermore, the longer the communist system has been in existence the more strained the relationship between the system and the resident intellectuals.