teristic of many of the eastern and southern Republics of the USSR. One has heard of leading Russian intellectuals like M. Gorky, B. Pasternak, S. Rikhter or D. Shostakovich. But we are not probably aware of leading names from other Republics who are amongst the most significant creative artists in the USSR today. In literature : N. Dumbadze, Ch. Amirejibi, 0. Chiladze (Georgia), G. Matevosyan (Armenia), C. Aitmatov (Kirghizia), Timur Pulatov (Uzbekistan), A. Kim (of Korean descent), 0. Suleimenov (Kazakhstan), V. Rasputin, V. Astafiev, V. Shukshin (Siberian part of RSFSR), V. Bykov (Byelo-Russia); in cinema: A. Tarkovsky, A. German, L. Shepitko (RSFSR), 0. loseliani, T. Abuladze, E. Shengelaya (Georgia), S. Parajanov (Armenia), etc. The tiny Republic of Georgia is in the forefront in all creative fields including cinema, theatre, music and literature. This resurgence has occurred during the last fifteen years but the process started much earlier. The 1960s, despite the short-lived thaw, were responsible for an impetus which was irreversible in the cultural domain. Not only were many writers and intellectuals of the 1920s rehabilitated and published but many Soviet artists began to reexamine their past in the context of the present. Fundamental philosophical, ethical, social and psychological issues penetrating deep into the very meaning of existence became an integral component of all major works in the realms of cinema, literature and theatre. The greatest amongst contemporary Soviet writers place their heroes in situations where they are answerable for their lives and acts to the past, present and the future. For the Georgian writer N. Dumbadze, literature is a human being's conversation with himself and with his essence. If the need for this conversation disappears it will not be the book that will disappear but mankind.' It is in this context that one can say that leading Soviet intellectuals, despite the many obstacles, are actively living up to those traditions which were a characteristic of nineteenth century Russian writers — of being the conscience of the people. In 1855 L. Tolstoy wrote in a preface to Sevastopol in May : 'My novelette's hero, whom I love with all my heart, whom I have tried to depict in all his beauty and who always was, is and will be beautiful—is truth.' These words are today equally applicable to the filmmaker Tarkovsky, the writer Aitmatov and to every landmark in the Soviet cultural scene. The complexity of thought sought a new idiom. The straitjacket of socialist realism reduced to simplistic cliches was incapable of meeting contemporary requirements. Some turned to the historical genre, others to science fiction. But by far the most prolific has been the incorporation of myths and folklore into narrative structures. As mentioned earlier, in the Republics this process was accompanied by a new awareness of one's identity which was fast being eroded by standardization. In most of these areas the folk traditions were still alive. 2 Numbers 12-13