This thesis investigates the acquisition of the copula be in present Simple Tense in English by native speakers of Russian. The aim of the study is to determine whether or not Russian students with different levels of English proficiency encounter any problems while using the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English. The study also identifies the domains related to the use of the copula be that appear to be most problematic for native speakers of Russian. To carry out the current research two diagnostic tests measuring receptive and productive skills related to the use of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English were developed. The data were collected from three groups of Russian students who were in the first, fourth and eighth years of learning English. The data in each of the domains related to the use of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English were classified under four main categories: (i) correct use, (ii) omission, (iii) misinformation, (iv) addition. Both, quantitative and qualitative analyses were used in the study. The results of the study indicated that all the native speakers of Russian who participated in the study had difficulties with the acquisition of the copula be in Present Simple Tense in English. The findings of the study revealed that along with the developmental mistakes/errors (i.e., omissions of the copula be and misuse of the forms of the copula be), which seem to disappear with the lasting exposure to English, there are other mistakes/errors in the performance of the native speakers of Russian which are persistent. Negative transfer at the morphological level and incomplete understanding and application of the rule are suggested as the underlying reasons for the persistent mistakes/errors made by the Russian learners.

This diploma thesis deals with the Russian interwar period artist in exile - Ilya Dmitrijevich Shapov. He emigrated to Czechoslovakia in the 1920s and lived there for 25 years. He grew up in Czechoslovakia, graduated from art schools and began his artistic career. The work deals with the life and work of this artist and tries to place his work in the context of Czech art of the first half of the 20th century. In the Czech Republic, Shapov is represented by approximately 120 works (drawings, paintings, but also sculptures), which have not yet been further explored and interpreted. The basis for the elaboration of the thesis were archival materials, mainly from the collections of the Literary Archive of the National Literature Memorial and the Regional Archive of the Czech Republic.