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The Soviet successes in hydropower development, when the Soviet people approached the 50th Great October anniversary, are closely related to the achievements in the field of special hydraulic works. These, according to the adopted terminology, consist of a work complex connected with foundation preparation and reinforcement and with providing special requirements for hydraulic structures, such as waterproofing, monolithic firmness, etc.* At the dawn of our hydraulic construction, when the head created by dams did not exceed 20-40 m, it was possible to select sites with the most favorable geologic conditions for construction of hydroelectric stations. Thus, the work of foundation preparation was reduced to the necessity for a correct evaluation of the properties of the layers forming the foundations. Now, when we are designing and constructing dams several hundred meters in height and the stresses in the foundations reach 100 kg/cm z, but the location of hydroplants is determined by economic considerations, thus sometimes placing them under very unfavorable geologic conditions, the special works role in foundation preparation has changed sharply. Often, the construction of a hydropower plant is possible only after performance of large-scale complicated operations for reinforcing and sealing the foundation formations. For example, without proper impervious grout curtains in the valley floor and the abutments, filling of the reservoir would be impossible, due to the intolerable seepage losses, and the stability of the structure would be in doubt. A number of similar events have occurred the world over. Our hydropower construction has not experienced such events so far. This refers to the construction of hydraulic structures for thermoelectric stations and to the construction of reservoirs for irrigation use only, where the dams often reach a height of 40-80 m and more.Grouting can be considered the most important type of special work for reinforcing foundations and providing impervious curtains, which consists of cement and other hardening grout injection into the pores and cracks of rock formations through a network of drill holes. Table 1 shows the amount of grouting performed at hydroplants already constructed as well as at those under construction.

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The word “samurai” firmly rooted in the modern Russian language, along with Fujiyama, geisha and sakura. Though obviously this was not always the case. This article traces the initial process of perceiving the concept of samurai in pre-revolutionary Russia and the Soviet Union: from the 1890s, from the first military victories of rapidly modernizing Japan, to the RussoJapanese War and further to the beginning of the Second World War. Initially endowed with features of “childishness” or “femininity,” gentleness and grace, the image of Japan is gradually becoming “masculine” and is increasingly associated with the concept of “samurai.” At first, this concept is related to such qualities as belligerence and cruelty but also loyalty to lord and “knightly” honor. Often, following Nitobe Inazo, the best qualities of the Japanese are generally traced back to the samurai tradition. Later, the Japanese appear in an increasingly caricature form, as greedy but powerless aggressors. At first, this image is not associated with the concept of “samurai” but by the 1930s fused with it. At the same time, Soviet authors criticize the “feminine” perception of Japan – they describe both the ruling exploiter and the exploited worker with “masculine” traits. The article examines the early Japanese borrowings in Russian dictionaries of foreign words, the images of the Japanese in the writings of Russian and Soviet writers, the characteristics of the country and its inhabitants in popular editions devoted to Japan as well as in propaganda texts and pictures.