The author deals with historical circumstances, which in 1938 influenced the formation of the »Sperans«, Kardelj's national-political study of the Slovene national question. At the same time the author also throws light on Kardelj's personal life in that time. He states that Kardelj schemed and wrote the greater part of the book when he was on remand in the distriet law court in Ljubljana. The author deseribes the various publicistic activity of Kardelj in the years 1932—1938 and states that his vvork »Razvoj slovenskega narodnega vprašanja« (Development of the Slovene National Ouestion) actually means the culmination and the most complete expression of Kardelj's lasting efforts to make a profound analysis of the Slovene national question.