Volume 21, 2023 year

The opinions of scientists about the extent to which the text of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was comprehensible to its contemporaries are divided. Some believed that “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” was a folk work in the deepest sense of the word; its artistic essence was widely accessible to everyone. Others insisted that the refined and figurative style of the work required cultured readers, which made it a work for a select few. D. I. Chizhevsky, R. O. Yakobson and other scientists compared the style of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” with the “ornatus difficilis” style of Western European poetry of the 12th–13th centuries. According to R. O. Jacobson, it was characterized by riddle techniques, a concise hint instead of a detailed narrative, a deliberate heterogeneity of linguistic means, the use of neologisms, a complex game of tropes and figures, a deliberate combination of unrelated genres and sources, and a combination of pagan and Christian elements. According to the V. V. Kolesov’s reasonable remark, this overly broad characteristic of the style of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” still requires argumentation. In order to confirm the hypothesis that “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” is a work in the “ornatus difficilis” style, this article examines some still partially unresolved readings of the monument, the understanding of which is complicated by stylistic techniques associated with the use of vocabulary and phraseology: individually authored or rare words, dialectisms, polysemous words and phrases that generate ambiguity (amphibolism) in the text, as well as phraseological occasionalisms.

Keywords: The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, dark style, dark places, author’s stylistic neologisms, occasional phraseological units, dialectisms, tropes

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The subject of the study is Lermontov’s historiosophy, expressed by the poet in the note “Russia has no past…” from the “Notebook presented by V. F. Odoevsky.” The article’s purpose is to identify the ancient Russian and folk-poetic genesis of Lermontov’s note, contributing to the clarification of its semantic content. The figurative system, style and the very substantive essence of the note “Russia has no past…” was formed under the direct influence of ancient Russian texts, adaptations of literary folklore, and the experience of the poet’s personal meeting with representatives of folk culture. The authors propose to consider Lermontov’s sketch an allegorical figure, where the Russian Empire is likened to a mighty hero. In a brief summary of the plot, the poet reflects his understanding of the entire essence of the country’s historical path. As possible sources of the note, the article names the heroic tales in V. Levshin’s literary adaptation, which were popular at the turn of the 19th century, as well as the Caucasian version of the tale about Yeruslan Lazarevich, which existed among the Terek Cossacks. Analogies are drawn between Lermontov’s sketch and the cycle of historical songs about the capture of Kazan, using similar allegories to reveal the theme, as well as the “Kazan History” short novel, the appeals to which are linked to the geopolitical significance of the historical event for the development of the entire old Russian state and, in particular, for the strengthening of its eastern borders. Lermontov’s concept of history is based on his personal perception of historical time, and on the literary, specifically, old Russian, tradition, which is reflected both in the ancient literary monuments and in folklore, which has historical sources. In the note Lermontov looks at the world through the eyes of the people, and is the exponent of the national idea about the spiritual choice of the Russian state.

Keywords: M. Yu. Lermontov, note, Russia Has No Past, Russian statehood, oriental text, Caucasus, history, folklore motifs, ancient Russian literature, genesis

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Within the vast literary legacy of Józef Julian Sękowski (1800–1858), who was also the founder of academic Arabic and Turkic studies in Imperial Russia, there are “Oriental Stories,” published between 1823 and 1830, which were his earliest experience in Russian literature as a translator and a writer. These stories clearly demonstrate the evolution of his writing style: from precise literary translations of original Arabic texts into Russian through retelling to free rendering and even stylizations. The aim of this article is to reveal how exactly and to what extent the author used the Arabic sources, while creating one work from the above-mentioned “oriental” cycle — “Šanfarī’s Death” — in order to find out whether this story is a translation, retelling or stylization. The comparative analysis of this story with the authentic Arabic material revealed the specific methods that Senkovsky used to create this romantic story, namely, a literary translation of poetic excerpts from a poem by a pre-Islamic poet, a retelling of Arabic legend, a historical reconstruction of events, an imitation and a stylization that successfully renders the genre and national peculiarities of the Arabic classical literature through Russian language. Thus, “Šanfarī’s Death” should be classified as a professional stylization that contains elements of literary translation and imitation of narrative style of the ancient Arab poets. Nevertheless, the original Arabic sources are clearly visible even in the stylization. It is this combination of methods that permitted Sękowski to introduce preIslamic Arabic literature to the Russian readers in a rather casual manner, despite the difficulty it presents for an unprepared audience.

Keywords: Józef Julian Sękowski, Russian Orientalism, Romanticism, Šanfarī’s Death, pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, aš-Šanfarā, stylization, translation, retelling, genre

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The novel “Demons” presents a polyphony of the characters’ opinions, however, the revolutionary idea of Peter Verkhovensky, whose anti-Christian essence is revealed by Dostoevsky, is aggressively dominant. Revolutionary Machiavellianism finds its expression in the plot of the novel, which moves due to the active efforts of Pyotr Stepanovich, and the exposure of the hero’s demonic idea sets its anti-nihilistic genre vector. The narrative strategies of the novel are defined both through Verkhovensky’s ultimate goal — the “shock” and “decomposition” of the society’s spiritual and moral foundations to lead it to a revolution — and through the presentation of the hero’s communicative tactics on the way to this goal. Pyotr Verkhovensky uses the well-known “recipes” of the political “kitchen:” he agitates, propagandizes, intrigues, incites, tempts with future blessings, etc. The main mechanism of these acts is the psychological impact phenomenon. Precisely in view of this phenomenon it is explained how “the purest heart and the simplest people” can be turned into “demons.” Verkhovensky skillfully guesses the others’ mental structure and moral demands, studies the “living science of people,” as a result of which he develops a whole system of verbal and non-verbal methods of psychological influence, which allows him to influence people of different social status, characters and aspirations. The use of psychological influence methods can be observed in his dialogues and targeted monologues, non-verbal methods of psychological influence are expressed through gestures, looks, tone of voice, body position, gait, etc. Various methods of psychological influence of Pyotr Verkhovensky are correlated with a number of motifs with a negative connotation: flattery, hypocrisy, fear, threat, denunciation. There is a connection between the artistic embodiment of the principles of Pyotr Verkhovensky’s revolutionary tactics and the provisions of

Keywords: psychologism, psychological techniques, manipulation, manipulative strategy, revolutionary ideas, ethics, politics, aesthetics, poetics, Machiavellianism, nihilism

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The article reveals the author’s model of the world in F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons” based on the analysis of the genre content of the work. Appeal to the allusive plan of the novel (allusions to the motifs, images, landscapes in Goethe’s drama “Faust” and I. S. Turgenev’s story “Faust”) allows the reader to engage in a kind of dialogue between Dostoevsky and his predecessors. However, the traditions of ancient Russian literature (traditions of the vision genre, orientation to the church calendar, reliance on the biblical word and Holy Tradition) allow us to draw a conclusion about the national originality of the work. In the hierarchical structure of the novel, the highest place is occupied by the Gospel Word and the patristic heritage, Sacred Tradition. The concept of personality in the novel allows us to reveal the ethical teaching of A. A. Ukhtomsky about the dominant and the chronotope. The article for the first time considers the Ukhtomsky’s concept of the dominant using the material of Stavrogin’s “confession” and the fate of Stepan Trofimovich, and concludes that a new dominant of heroes has been formed. The significance of the novel “Demons” lies not only in the warning about the destructive processes that can occur in society and in man, but also in the depiction of ways out of the crisis and restoring the personality, in particular, Shatov, Stepan Trofimovich and other heroes are helped by conciliar consciousness, faith in the Providence of God, love, and readiness for repentance. The study was carried out on the material of the reconstructed journal edition of the novel, carried out in the Complete Works (canonical texts).

Keywords: F. M. Dostoevsky, novel Demons, Goethe, I. S. Turgenev, A. A. Ukhtomsky, dominant, chronotope, allusion, symbol, image concept

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The aim of the article is to determine the connection between F. M. Dostoevsky’s creative work with the phenomenon denoted in the modern literary studies by the terms of “spiritual realism,” “Christian realism,” “religious realism,” “symbolic realism,” etc. The writer worked in the genre of realism, he called himself a realist, and it is easy to notice the features of social, psychological, philosophical and even political realism in his works. However, at the same time, there was always something else in them that was more significant and added unique originality to the writer’s works. Many modern researchers believe that the foundations of this phenomenon lie in the common cultural European Christian tradition. Having studied various research approaches with the method of comparative analysis, author of the article comes to the conclusion that the most accurate term denoting the features of Dostoevsky’s artistic method is “Orthodox realism.” The writer himself called his method “complete realism,” “realism in the highest sense,” absolutely rejecting the label of a writer-psychologist. This circumstance has attracted the attention of researchers more than once. While studying their points of view and analyzing Dostoevsky’s own views on the goals and objectives of artistic creativity, the author of the article concludes that “realism in the highest sense” is based on the principle of transforming the Orthodox view of the world into artistic imagery. Many features of this principle can be seen throughout Russian literature, but it was Dostoevsky who brought those features together, developed and strengthened the most productive of them, removed certain incidental and unsuccessful ones and created Orthodox realism as a full-fledged artistic method. Based on it, the novels of 1866–1890s and “The Writer’s Diary” were written.

Keywords: F. M. Dostoevsky, Russian Literature, God, Christ, Christianity, Orthodoxy, spiritual Realism, Christian Realism, Orthodox Realism, fideistics

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The article deals with the Easter short stories by I. N. Potapenko, which play an important role in the writer’s work. His stories, written in the best traditions of Easter literature, develop the motifs of spiritual resurrection and renewal, forgiveness, sobornost’, universal brotherhood, participation in the Easter joy of the risen Christ, love for people (“Poetry,” “To embrace the
whole world,” “Tar Barrels,” “Aunt Sasha,” “Truly Risen,” “Old Wives’ Tales”). The motif of empathy with the passion of the Lord resounds in “Three Easter holidays.” The phenomenon of false shame associated with an open confession of faith in Christ is explored in “False Shame.” The theme of “the inscrutability of the ways of the Lord” is revealed in “Cheap Purchase.” Memories of childhood or youth form the basis of the majority of the author’s Easter short story plots. Childhood memories associated with the celebration of Easter contribute to the spiritual healing and transformation of the heroes. Some of the Easter short
stories are humorous in nature (“Aunt Olya,” “The Castle of Chukcha,” “Arbitration Court”). There is a parody of the Easter genre in “What you can see in a dream.” Most Easter short stories by I. N. Potapenko reflect the Orthodox concept of man with its ideas of salvation of the soul, repentance, redemptive suffering and spiritual transformation. The edifying and heartfelt Easter short stories by I. N. Potapenko remind us of the gospel values, make us reflect on the meaning of life, and urge us not to neglect the salvation of the soul for the sake of earthly well-being.

Keywords: I. N. Potapenko, Easter short story, Easter, motif, Orthodoxy

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The research study aims to reveal the ways in which the concept of “Apple Savior” is artistic embodiment in the novel by I. S. Shmelev “The Summer of the Lord.” The concept of “Apple Savior” is considered in the context of the writer’s value and semantic attitudes, which have undergone significant changes compared to his pre-Revolution creative period. In the author’s artistic consciousness, the image of the garden appears as the metaphorical source and beginning of human life. The narrative structure of the chapter is two-dimensional: it contains the discourse of the child hero and the mature narrator. Within the framework of children’s worldview, the image of the garden is inseparable from the image of the family house, the categories of love, beauty and God’s grace. The image of the garden is connected with the idea of Moscow as a garden and Holy Russia as a garden. In the novel “The Summer of the Lord” there is a generalized image — a symbol of the world transformed by God’s presence and the power of the author’s grateful love. The theme of transfiguration closely approaches the motifs of return and memories, which acquire a pronounced nostalgic tinge and lyrical tonality. The images of temples, the city of Moscow and Russia are associated with the motifs of transfiguration, sacralisation, spirituality, deification and eternity. In recreating the concept of the “Apple Savior” by I. S. Shmelev, the artistic method of “spiritual realism” fully manifested itself. The chronotope of the real world in the novel “The Summer of the Lord” appears in close connection with the existential sphere, is comprehended by God’s world. The theme of memory and grateful love establishes the discourse of a mature narrator. The world of childhood and Homeland is recognized as a lost biblical paradise, and becomes the subject of persistent thoughts and reflections of the author.

Keywords: concept, the Apple Savior, Summer of the Lord, the childhood theme, Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev, the motherland theme, the image of Moscow, the motif of memories, discourse, symbol, literature of the russian abroad

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The article focuses on the poetic devices that are a part of the artistic system of A. V. Amfiteatrov, a well-known publicist and prose writer, a leading feuilletonist of the early 20th century. The subject of the study is his feuilletons of the post-Revolution period published in Russia until August 1918. The paper reveals the political stance of the publicist on the revolutionary events of 1917, his attitude to the February and October revolutions. The paper provides an overview of the themes and plots of Amfiteatrov’s printed speeches of this period — these are the responses to socio-political events and social issues. Further, the paper analyzes specific examples of rhetorical devices from his articles — direct parallels, paraphrases, deliberate citation of works of classical literature. The author’s artistic and ideological goal-setting paradigms are traced; the critical attitude of the author to the post-revolutionary reality that emerges through comic techniques is revealed. The main sources of paraphrases and parallels for Amphiteatrov are, first of all, satirical works from Russian classical literature — N. V. Gogol, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin; as well as G. I. Uspensky, A. P. Chekhov and L. N. Tolstoy, M. Gorky. He extrapolates the quotes and specific situations from these texts onto contemporary reality. The article also provides unknown biographical facts related to the life and work of the publicist in 1917–1918.

Keywords: : A. V. Amfiteatrov, feuilleton, press, journalism, mass literature, quotations, paraphrase, parallels, associations, metaphor, tropes, comedy, satire, motif, A. P. Chekhov, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L. N. Tolstoy

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The article examines the cryptopoetics of V. V. Nabokov’s first Eng- lish-language novel “The Real Life of Sebastian Knight” (1938–1939). It demon- strates that this novel is a curious example of the writer’s cryptopoetics, in which many specific circumstances of his personal life were obscured and radically transformed. A special role in the cryptopoetics of the novel is played by the allusive chess symbolism, which has been discussed more than once, but the meaning of which remained unclear. The key to this meaning turns out to be the deeply camouflaged autobiographical subtext of “The Real Life…”. Written shortly after Nabokov’s profound infatuation with Nina Guadanini, this novel is structured this way to show that Sebastian Knight’s only true love was Claire Bishop, and Madame Lecerf (Nina Toorovetz-Rechnoy) was just an episode in his life. The chess mystery of the novel, in which the queen (Madame Lecerf) is defeated by the bishop (Claire Bishop), is set up in unison with this motif. Meanwhile, the surname of the heroine of the novel “Bishop” allusively refers to the writer’s wife Vera Slonim. Thus, not only the crypto-, but also the psychopoetics of the novel is important for understanding the text.

Keywords: V. Nabokov, novel, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, cryptopoetics, the chess symbolism, cryptonym, autobiographism

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The article analyzes the history and poetics of Okudzhava’s war prose and its role in modern literature. Particular attention is paid to the image of the schoolboy character, which structures the text. The author reflects on his orientation towards classical literature and the creators of “lieutenant prose,” but treats the past with an emphatically apprentice attitude. This trusting intonation is inherited by his autobiographical protagonist, whose image emphasises the features of a private individual, an amateur. The figure of the schoolboy combines contradictory features: courage and naivety, belief in myths and fairy tales, as well as inner weariness and self-irony dictated by the author’s position. A special place is held by the story “Be Well, Schoolboy,” which is structured according to the soliloquy principle, when the hero’s self-discovery takes place, the war becomes an initiation and a test of the book truths “about feats, about glory,” which are alienated when confronted with the chaos of reality. The author demonstrates the gap between the perception of the schoolboy by those around him and his self-perception, which opens up an ambiguous and ironic perspective. The motifs of the “naked man,” the Other, Mercurianism and the labyrinth, which converge in the image of the schoolboy hero, have become the key concepts in these texts. The traditional paradigm of the “little man,” whose home is an overcoat, is apparent behind the character of Okudzhava’s prose. A peculiar result of the author’s reflections on the war is the rejection of the epic tradition of the classics. Instead, the schoolboy inherits the old spoon of the “eternal soldier” Shongin, becoming a part of his destiny, so commonplace in its tragic nature. The most important role in the representation of the battle theme is played by the cultural centrism paradigm, which helps to include the traumatic, horrible experience of war in the memory and post-memory space.

Keywords: B. Okudzhava, war theme, memory theme, lieutenant’s prose, schoolboy, cultural centrism

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The article analyses the novel by S. Snegov, a famous Soviet science fiction writer of the second half of the 20th century, whose work has hardly been studied, and the problem of the evangelical intertext has not been regarded at all. The current study of a fragment of the narrative about the relationship between the protagonist and the “snake girl” allows showing that it is reminiscent of the biblical story about the Fall of the first people. At the same time, Snegov completely modifies the well-known narrative: the plot about the insidious serpent (in the form of which the devil penetrated Eden), which tempted a woman pure as the driven snow, is radically transformed, acquiring a paradoxically inverted form — here a man tempts a naïve and uncorrupt snake girl with his mad infatuation and, parting with her, realizes that he is leaving her soul in a turbulent state. It is determined that in the ideological structure of the novel, the minor “Eli — snake girl” storyline plays an extremely important role: the love of the main character actually equates the star-dwellers with earthlings, completely refuting the idea that man is the highest form of intelligent life in the Universe and can perceive aliens only as inferior beings. The analysis of the epigraph shows that the biblical event described in it becomes a key to understanding the dispute that occurred between the central characters and formed the core of the artistic conflict of the first part of the novel. A clear associative connection is established between Snegov’s hero and the Apostle Paul, and by extrapolating the gospel plot reflected in the epigraph to the situation in question, one can clearly see a parallel with the spread of Christianity among pagans. The incorporation of the gospel text into the artistic structure of a science fiction novel allowed the writer to recall the enduring moral values that do not lose their significance for people of the distant future.

Keywords: Snegov, People as gods, man, gods, Eli, snake girl, Christian discourse, evangelic reminiscences, epigraph, Peter the Astrologist

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