Terms

Massolit Acronym, in Russian, of "mass literature": a name the novel invents for an association of Moscow writers, under the tutelage of the Soviet state. It was modeled on real organizations of the time, which regulated what writers published and,... Procurator Title of certain officials of ancient Rome, who were not magistrates, in charge of the finances of a province or of the government of a minor imperial province. The post belonged to the equestrian order, not the senatorial. The historian Tacitus calls Pontius... High priest Religious head of the Temple of Jerusalem and president of the Sanhedrin, the supreme organ of government and justice of the Jewish community. Under Roman rule, the authorities of Rome appointed and deposed the high priests, and the office changed hands... Passover Jewish festival of Pesach, which commemorates the Hebrews' exit from Egypt and falls in spring. It begins at the sunset that ends the 14th of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar, and the 15th is the first day of the festival. According to... Hegemon Greek word meaning guide, leader, ruler. In the New Testament it came to designate Roman authorities, such as procurators, prefects, and legates. It is the form of address the prisoner is forced to use when speaking to the Roman procurator at the... Griboyedov House Name of the Moscow mansion where the Massolit headquarters is, said to have belonged to an aunt of the playwright Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), a Russian poet and diplomat. The house never existed: it is inspired by the Herzen House, at number 25 on... Lottery In the Soviet Union, citizens were required to buy state bonds at their workplace. As an incentive, the state drew some of these bond numbers from time to time, and the winners received a significant sum. The word here refers to this state drawing tied to the... Golgotha Hill outside the city of Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels, Jesus was crucified. The name comes from Aramaic and means skull, perhaps because of a pile of skulls or the shape of the ground. The traditional site is today inside the Church of the... Tetradrachm Large silver coin born in ancient Greece, equivalent to four drachmas, as its very name says. In the Attic standard it weighed about 17 grams. It became the main trade coin of the Mediterranean and served as an international currency, used above all for... Torgsin Soviet state chain of stores, created in 1931 and abolished in 1936, whose name comes from "trade with foreigners." It exchanged food and other consumer goods for foreign currency, gold, silver, and precious stones, first only for foreigners and...