At some point they figured out that you can win elections with a pro-European policy because the voters hope this will improve their lives.
The opponents of this process have always tried to vilify westernization as a poor imitation.
At first my publisher had reservations about publishing it in the form you are familiar with.
The hero of the book does long to experience God. But his conception of God is very western.
The first edition was 100,000 copies, a huge economic risk for the publisher. I was quite proud of the fact that the book was not banned or censored.