Traceology is a discipline that develops scientific and technological means for revealing, preserving, and examining traces in order to clarify circumstances that may help investigate and prevent crimes. Traces are classified as trace-reflections, trace-objects, and trace-substances. Footwear impressions and tire tracks belong to the trace-reflection group, which is found on trace-objects: vinyl tiles, floor surfaces, and snow-covered roads. The major principles of the criminalistics theory as they are applied to footwear and tire track examination are: (1) the outer structures of all footwear and tires are individual; (2) the object's outer structure can be reflected in another object in the form of trace-reflection; and (3) the trace-reflection is inverse or mirror image of an object. It is hoped that with the new policy of glasnost, more can be learned about Soviet traceology. 24 references.