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The words Obshchina and Mir should be familiar to all students of nineteenth-century Russia. Yet most Russian historians would probably be hard pressed to distinguish properly between the two terms. Current scholarship offers scant help regarding precise definitions and usages of these nouns. Semantic as well as historical questions are raised by their use, and the semantic questions are compounded by the fact that both Russian words are usually translated into English as "commune." Each of these words does have its own history and a meaning which separates it from its counterpart, however, and this article attempts to eliminate some of the confusion surrounding the use of the two terms.

Reported are results of 2 public opinion polls in the former Soviet Union commissioned by the US Information Agency in Aug 1990 & Feb 1991. The first survey (N = 2,504 respondents [Rs]), conducted a year before the attempted coup by communist hardliners, showed little public confidence for the Soviet regime, disillusionment with the economic system, & wide support for political pluralism & democratic practices. The 1991 poll (N = 2,263 Rs), conducted a few months before Boris Yeltsin's election as president, indicated greater support for Yeltsin over Mikhail Gorbachev, prominently among nonconservative segments of the population. The correlation between these opinion polls & political developments is discussed. 6 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 27 References.

Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in thousands of military personnel suffering traumatic brain injury (TBI), including closed-head injuries. Of interest is whether these individuals and other TBI survivors are at increased risk for substance use disorder (SUD). While it has been well established that drug or alcohol intoxication itself increases probability of suffering a TBI in accidents or acts of violence, little is known about whether the brain insult itself increases the likelihood that a previously non-drug-abusing individual would develop SUD. Might TBI survivors be unusually vulnerable to addiction to opiate analgesics compared to other pain patients? Similarly, it is not known if TBI increases the likelihood of relapse among persons with SUD in remission. We highlight challenges in answering these questions, and review neurochemical and behavioral evidence that supports a causal relationship between TBI and SUD. In this review, we conclude that little is known regarding the directionality of TBI increasing drug abuse, and that collaborative research in this area is critically needed.