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The Unknown Gulag
Part IV: Why did the Soviets Document their Crimes?

Everyday this week we are posting part of a series from author Lynne Viola, The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements. Check out part one and part two and part three. Luck and serendipity combined to provide unique and rich sources for the book. I was continually amazed at the degree of […]

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If You Eat A Cake, You Are Sure To Have It Later

By Anatoly Liberman What a blow to national pride: cake is a loanword from Scandinavian, and cookie has been taken over from Dutch! The story of cake is full of dangerous corners, as will become immediately obvious. Anyone who begins to learn Swedish soon discovers that the Swedish for cake is kaka.

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