Compared to other source languages, very few of the words borrowed into English come from Russian. Direct borrowing first began with contact between England and Russia in the 16th century and picked up heavily in the 20th century with the establishment of the Soviet Union as a major world power. Most of them are used to denote things and notions specific to Russia, Russian culture, politics, history, especially well known outside Russia. Some others are in mainstream usage, independent of any Russian context.