This is the first book to focus on the complex and fascinating relationship between Russian and Italian Futurism. A long overdue examination of the subject, it explores the energetic, creative and occasionally violent encounters of East and West in the arena of avant-garde art. Aesthetic and cultural similarities and differences between the two movements in the fields of art, literature and music are discussed, and the book, the title of which is derived from the Russian Futurists" manifesto A Slap in the Face of the Public Taste (1912), is extensively illustrated with paintings, prints and books drawn from international collections.