Faith

pg. 15 — paltry 
A small or trivial amount. It is surprising Victorovich received such a lenient sentence during the Soviet Union because most sentences would last much longer. Many prisoners/forced laborers would be in for a couple decades and often die, mortality rates ranging anywhere from 5% to 20% in a camp. So Robert Victorovich’s sentencing was only a paltry five years indeed.

pg. 15 — Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a 18th century Norwegian playwright and theatre director. He is often referred to as "the father of realism." Realism in the theatre made performance much more authentic and true to actual life. 

pg. 16 — Dante
Dante's poem The Divine Comedy explores the afterlife and depths of hell. It follows what would be set out as divine justice for both as either reward or punishment. It is considered by many as one of the world's greatest work of literature. 

pg. 16 — Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French playwright and novelist. His most notable novel is La Comedy Humaine. Like Ibsen, Balzac is also considered one of the founders of Realism in 18th century Europe. 

pg. 16 — Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke was a bohemian-austirpn novelist and poet. He is most well known for his lyrical prose and very mystical tone in his works. In the late 18th and early nineteenth centuries he traveled frequently between Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. His works are said to be heavily influenced by Bohemian and Russian culture. In fact, he was close friends with Boris Pasternak who was a Russian novelist, poet and translator; Rilke was one of his favorite poets. 

pg. 16 — Novalis
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg was known popularly by his pen name "Novalis." He was a German poet and author, famously known for his romanticism in his works. 

pg. 16 — Cybele
Cybele is an Asian goddess adopted by Romans and Greeks known for her fertility, healing, and protection. Robert likely sees her when he meets Sonechka because he falls for Sonya immediately. Later she mocks Robert when he believes Sonya is already spoken for, but luckily for Robert, Sonya accepts his hand in marriage, with Cybele no longer able to taunt him. 

pg. 17 — Vitya Starostic
Sonya's first and arguably last crush. He rejected her in front of her classmates causing Sonya to ward off love and her sexuality which fueled her to fall ever more involve with the literary word and the romance within.

pg. 18 — Zoya
A classmate of Sonya's who warned her against her crush on Starostic.

pg. 18 — Onegin 
Eugene Onegin is considered a classic in Russian literature, and the titular hero is often used as the model for Russian novels. The way Ulistakaya refers to him here is similar to thinking of someone as your Prince Charming. 

pg. 18 — Nina Borisova
Nina Borisova was a classmate of Sonya's who committed suicide in one of the classrooms at Sonya's school.