My Oxford Russian Dictionary (see, told you I was out of practice!) had 'masterstvo' specifically noted as being in the sense of mastery of a skill. Flippin' Oxonians, or whatever they call themselves...
It had 'obladenie' listed afterwards, but in the specific sense of mastering a language. Damn it all, I've not even mastered English, let alone Russian. The last time I spoke it (Russian, that is), I could barely manage to give someone directions to Walthamstow tube station.
But a direct transliteration is too cheap and easy to resist for a game. And a big "M" looks better than a big "O" and is less confusing when you put it in the middle of some numbers. :)
I do have one heartfelt request about the Mythic Russia book. Please don't do what Steve Jackson games did with GURPS Russia and put the headings and titles in a pseudo-cyrillic style - you know, with the "R" written the wrong way round, etc. It's one of my pet peeves about portrayals of Russia(n). If you're going to use cyrillic script, do it properly...
Regards,
Bruce
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