Fears have often been expressed outside the Soviet Union that the influx of Russian words into the non-Russian languages is part of an attempt to russianize them with a view to make them ultimately superfluous. These fears now seem to be greatly exaggerated, as there is little evidence to show that these languages are losing their vitality or are doomed to extinction. While the total lexicon of any given language, in this case Uzbek, the third language numerically (after Russian and Ukrainian) and the largest non-Slavic language, may have a significant number of Russian loanwords, it does not necessarily follow that all these words are in fact an essential segment of the language. The life and viability of a language depend not upon the percentage of so-called foreign words in its vocabulary, but upon its daily use in ordinary situations and in creative writing. The major problem in this area has been the apparently large number of Russian borrowings seen in the non-Russian languages, especially those in non-Slavic ones using Cyrillic. Words are often taken in their Russian orthographic shape without regard for the internal rules of the various languages. Even a cursory glance at any newspaper is enough to show the casual observer that these languages have been russianized to a certain extent. Soviet sources have always emphasized that there has been a “sovietization” of non-Russian languages, while admitting that Russian is the main source for new vocabulary. However it is pointed out that most of these borrowings are “international” words taken into the several languages via Russian. Counter arguments have emphasized that the “common-spelling” principle, by which all words from Russian, be they “international” or not, are borrowed in their exact Russian spelling, proves that russianization, not sovietization, is taking place.

“The Cathedral” is O. Honchar's sixth Important novel dealing with the contemporary Ukraine. It is more artistic than Honchar's previous works, although it still has some significant weaknesses. Following initial approval “The Cathedral” later stirred up rage because of its sharp criticism of party officials. This resulted in the removal of the book from bookstores in Kiev and even in burning it. By the act of rumored burning, “The Cathedral” was made a sensation in the Ukraine and abroad. Unlike Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, it acquired extra-literary meaning. With this in mind, the following character analysis is undertaken.

Beginnings of the Slovenian ethnic research in America go back to the first known Slovenian settler in the New World, Mark Anton Kapus (1657–1717), a Jesuit of Kamna Gorica, Slovenia, who was active as a missionary and explorer in what is now Mexico and Arizona, in the years between 1687 and 1717. Although writings by Kapus and his co-authors Kono and Mangus deal primarily with their early explorations of relatively unknown territories and Indian peoples, they supplement other preserved records and correspondence in providing a description of the life and work of this first known Slovenian settler in America.