Russkaâ literatura
The quarterly peer-review academic journal published since 1958.
Founders
- Russian Academy of Sciences
Publisher
- Russian Academy of Sciences
The journal is published under the supervision of the RAS Department of Historical and Philological Sciences (OIFN RAS).
About the journal
“Russkaia literatura” (Russian Literature) is the country's first and only periodical devoted to the history of Russian literature at all stages of its development. One of the most urgent tasks of "Russian Literature" is to present the current state of academic literary criticism and the most striking achievements in its individual fields. The same aim is pursued by the chronicles of current conferences and reviews of recently published scholarly monographs and anthologies. The volume is intended for specialists in the history of Russian literature and is aimed at a professional audience.
Key areas
- Folklore;
- Old Russian and 18th century literature;
- Classical heritage;
- Modern (20th century) literature;
- Theoretical and historical-literary studies;
- Biographical and textual research;
- Thematic sections on the anniversaries of classic writers, polemics and attribution;
- Critical reviews and critiques;
- Comprehensive information about current scientific life, including chronicles of international symposia and conferences.
Indexation
Media registration certificate: № 0110194 от 04.02.1993
Current Issue
No 4 (2023)
Articles
HAMLET AND DON QUIXOTE, AN ESSAY BY I. S. TURGENEV, EXPANDED BY F. M. DOSTOEVSKY (TOWARDS THE HISTORY OF IDEAS IN RUSSIA)
Abstract
The article analyzes F. M. Dostoyevsky’s pronouncements in his Diary of a Writer (1877) concerning the essence of the «Russian idea», those that are directly related to the Don Quixote idea. It is established, through the analysis of the creative history of I. S. Turgenev’s speech Hamlet and Don Quixote (1860) and of the context of its perception in the Russian criticism, that Dostoyevsky had derived his thoughts from the essay by Turgenev.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):5-11
5-11
«THE FAKE DOCTOR» IN THE 19TH CENTURY RUSSIAN LITERATURE
Abstract
The article deals with the doctor characters whose prototypes have nothing to do with medicine. As a rule, in the works of art, such «doctors» never actually doctor, but reason, doing it, by the most part, from the standpoint of materialism. Thus, it is not a «fake» doctor, but rather a «conditional» one. Sometimes a writer makes his character a «doctor» in order to distract the reader from the actual prototype. This is the case with Turgenev’s Bazarov who had N. A. Dobroliubov for his principal prototype. The article also discusses in detail the type of the «fake», or rather «conditional» doctor, using Doctor Voznesensky from Chekov’s novel The Shooting Party (1885) as the example.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):12-19
12-19
QUACKERY AGAINST SURGERY: YURY OLESHA AT THE SECOND ALL-UNION CONFERENCE OF THE AUTHORS’ SOCIETIES
Abstract
The article provides a historical and literary commentary to Yu. K. Olesha’s speech at the Second All-Union Conference of the Authors’ Societies in Leningrad in January 1932. It reconstructs the context of the images of «quackery» and «surgery» he used to describe the autonomous nature of the creative process. The ideas of the speech seem to be related to the new phase of the conflict between the «fellow writers» (poputchiki) and RAPP in the late 1931 — early 1932.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):19-32
19-32
EMIGRANT JAW BY V. S. YANOVSKY: THE ART OF MEMORY IN THE DENTAL OFFICE
Abstract
The article deals with the confluence of the medical and literary discourses in the Emigrant Jaw (1957) by Vasily Yanovsky. Our primary interests are the reason why the narrative of the protagonist’s life in exile is motivated by a visit to the dentist, and the merging of the emigration, medical practice and memory themes in the narrative.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):33-47
33-47
PUSHKIN MYTH BY F. K. SOLOGUB
Abstract
The article shows that the mythologemes of Pushkin Myth manifest themselves in Sologub through the proper names of the Symbolist poet, those assonated with or corresponding to the names of the historical or mythical characters of the Golden Age of Russian culture. V. A. Sollogub’s attitude to A. S. Pushkin might have predetermined the stance of F. Sologub in his essay The Poets’ Demons that contains certain allusions to the Memoirs of the famous prose writer of the 19th century. The fact that the Symbolist poet (Fyodor Kuzmich) bears the same name as the legendary starets might account for the emergence of certain elements of Sologub’s fictional universe that are polemically directed against Pushkin.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):48-64
48-64
«SELECTED» AND «CHOSEN» POEMS: CONCERNING THE COMPOSITIONAL PRINCIPLES AND CONTENT OF F. K. SOLOGUB’S BOOKS OF TRANSLATIONS FROM PAUL VERLAINE
Abstract
The article deals with the five versions of F. Sologub’s translation of P. Verlaine’s poem «Il pleure dans mon с^мг^». Analyzing the selection and arrangement of the variants in the 1908 and 1923 editions, the correlation between the translations and the original texts from the same period is established. Thus, the experience that seems to have influenced the choice of the principal text for the 1923 book was the death of A. N. Chebotarevskaya (the cycle Anastasia was being created at the same time).
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):64-72
64-72
MORE ON F. K. SOLOGUB AND A. N. CHEBOTAREVSKAYA’S FAILED ATTEMPT TO EMIGRATE
Abstract
The article attempts to reconstruct the most dramatic episode of Sologub’s and Chebotarevskaya’s later days, their persistent efforts to emigrate from the Soviet Russia between 1919 and 1921. The recently discovered documents (primarily from the Russian State Military Archive), enrich the chronicle of these attempts with new documents and characters; the role of L. D. Trotsky, L. B. Kamenev and other prominent Bolsheviks appears in a different light. A letter from A.V. Kartashev to K. K. Enkel, requesting an entrance permit to Finland (March 1919), is published in the Appendix.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):73-89
73-89
F. K. SOLOGUB IN THE DIARY OF E. P. KAZANOVICH
Abstract
The publication includes excerpts from the diary of E. P. Kazanovich (1920-1923) that describe her encounters and conversations with F. Sologub (his recorded statements about Pushkin, A. Blok, A. Bely etc. are of particular interest). The introductory article offers an outline of the diarist’s personality and her ideas concerning contemporary literature, largely suggested by her mentor and senior colleague at the Pushkin House N. A. Kotlyarevsky who had his own record of relations with Sologub (excerpts from their correspondence are used in the publication), and gradually verified by her own personal impressions. Kazanovich’s diary entries supplement the well-known memoirs and present a more comprehensive picture of Sologub’s artistic and human self in his late years.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):90-110
90-110
ROSTOV-SUZDAL LAND IN EPICS AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE EMERGENCE OF THE EPIC TRADITION
Abstract
The epic tradition of the Rostov-Suzdal-Vladimir lands is considered in the light of the thesis concerning the «maternal», «colonial», «regional» and «local» metropolises of the formation of epics. Even though only fragments of the epic tradition have been recorded in the area, Vladimir Region was one of those territories where epics were originally shaped. Scarce mentions of Rostov and traces of Suzdal in the epic texts are analyzed. An overview of the few records of epics made in the Vladimir Region is provided.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):111-129
111-129
CONSTANTINOPLE LEGENDS IN THE RUSSIAN PILGRIMAGE LITERATURE OF THE 12-19THCENTURIES
Abstract
The article examines the repertoire and the specific features of the transmission of legendary narratives related to Constantinople and its relics. Since the pilgrimage route from Russia to the Holy Land passed through Tsargrad-Constantinople, the local folklore, overheard by the Russian pilgrim writers, began to be integrated into the pilgrimage records as early as the 13th century. Extensive studies of the pilgrimage stories (13-19 centuries) show that the legendary narratives transmitted by the Russian pilgrims can be thematically divided into three groups: legends about icons and other relics from the Constantinople churches; legends prophesizing the fall of Byzantium; epic legends concerning the construction of Hagia Sophia. While in the Middle Ages writers used a fullscale legendary narrative and the form of a topographic note to record it, the texts of the Early Modern Times were dominated by the narrative descriptions, augmented by dialogue and details that added drama and dynamics to the story.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):130-139
130-139
A. P. SUMAROKOV’S PARTICIPATION IN THE PREPARATION OF THE GREAT MASQUERADE («MINERVA IN TRIUMPH»), 1763
Abstract
The article analyzes the circumstances associated with the preparation and holding of the Great Masquerade of 1763 («Minerva in Triumph»). The «choruses» performed at the festival used the texts that were not written by A. P. Sumarokov, but by the other authors, primarily F. G.Volkov. Sumarokov only authored the original project.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):139-150
139-150
THE JOURNALIST FIGLYARIN AND THE TRIUMPH OF FRIENDSHIP IN 1827: TOWARDS THE INTERPRETATION OF AN EPIGRAM BY E. BARATYNSKY AND A. PUSHKIN
Abstract
The article studies the joint epigram by Baratynsky and Pushkin The Journalist Figlyarin and the Truth (1827). The epigram is analyzed in the light of the history of literary relations of its authors with the addressee of the text, Faddey Bulgarin, and is placed in the context of the tense polemics between Moskovsky Telegraf and Severnaya Pochta. A detailed reconstruction of the circumstances of the epigram’s creation and publication reveals its paradoxical role in the history of the journal debates of 1825-1827: despite its polemical and provocative character, this epigram contributed to the reconciliation of Nikolay Polevoy with Bulgarin and his editions.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):151-160
151-160
MALINOVKA AND MALINOVETS: THE PORTRAIT GALLERY OF SERVANTS IN THE WORKS BY I. A. GONCHAROV AND M. E. SALTYKOV-SHCHEDRIN
Abstract
The article traces the long-term creative dialogue between I. A. Goncharov and M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The writers’ personal and literary connections are analyzed from the standpoint of the confrontation of their values and attitudes. Special emphasis is laid on the explicit and hidden analogies with Goncharov’s prose from the book The Old Times of Poshekhonye.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):161-172
161-172
WERE THE REVIEWS OF MARKO VOVCHOK’S STORIES IN THE SVETOCH JOURNAL AUTHORED BY M. M. DOSTOYEVSKY? (COMMENTARY TO F. M. DOSTOEVSKY’S ESSAY MR. -BOV AND THE QUESTION OF ART)
Abstract
The article offers a proof that the author of the two anonymous reviews of Marko Vovchok’s stories from peasant life in the journal Svetoch (1860) was not Mikhail Dostoevsky, as was stated in the commentary to the Academic 30-Volume Edition of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Works, but Alexander Miliukov, the de facto editor of Svetoch and the author of the manifesto article A Question on Minor Russian Literature in the journal Epoch (1864).
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):172-180
172-180
WHY DID SEVERNAYA POCHTA URGE THE RUSSIAN ARISTOCRATS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND IN 1863? (MORE ON I. A. GONCHAROV’S EXPERIENCE AS AN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF A GOVERNMENT’S NEWSPAPER)
Abstract
The article analyzes the role of the newspaper Severnaya Pochta and its editor-in-chief I. A. Goncharov in the 1863 campaign for the return of the Russian aristocrats to their homeland. Newly revealed circumstances reshape the established opinion concerning this period of the writer’s biography. The attribution of an unknown text by Goncharov in the newspaper is suggested.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):180-191
180-191
CONCERNING THE CRAFT OF MAKING LAPTI, LITERARY INNMATES AND SECRET PRINTING (N. S. LESKOV’S REVIEWS PUBLISHED IN NOVOYE VREMYA IN THE LATE 1870s)
Abstract
The article analyzes N. S. Leskov’s contributions as the reviewer to the newspaper Novoye Vremya in the late 1870s. It challenges the attribution of the reviews of the second part of the Book for the Early Reading by V. I. Vodovozov, Encyclopedia of the Mind, or Dictionary of Selected Thoughts by the Writers of all Nations and all Times by N. Makarov, the novel Homo Sum by G. Ebers, the book Roman Religion from Augustus to the Antonines by G. Boissier, as well as of the notes Books for the People.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):191-207
191-207
A. A. BLOK AND VL. V. GIPPIUS: THE OUTCOME OF A POETIC POLEMICS
Abstract
The note deals with the exchange of poetic messages between A. Blok and Vladimir Gippius. This dialogue in verse was published in the Hyperborean magazine in 1912. The polemics ended with the poem by Vl. Gippius „To A. Blok“ («How sweetly you sing…»), written in May 1914. It was never sent to the addressee. The poem was included into Vl. Gippius’s unpublished collection Eclipses of the Stars and is being published for the first time. The note attempts to analyze this message within the general framework of the polemics.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):207-213
207-213
WORKING ON THE MANUSCRIPTS OF VYACH. IVANOV’S ARTICLES. PART 1. «THE INSPECTOR GENERAL BY GOGOL AND THE COMEDY BY ARISTOPHANES»
Abstract
The article outlines the mechanisms of the academic approach to the complex and seemingly chaotic corpus of textual material related to Vyach. Ivanov’s article « The Inspector General by Gogol and the Comedy by Aristophanes»: systematization, reading, analysis and publication (decoding) of the writer’s draft autographs. The article is thus important not only for further studies of the manuscript legacy of Vyach. Ivanov, but also for the other textual practices.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):213-230
213-230
LIFE AFTER LEF: ALEXEY KRUCHENYKH’S WORKBOOKS OF 1927-1930
Abstract
The article deals with the late-period poetic legacy of A. Kruchenykh. In the memoirs of his contemporaries, Kruchenykh the Collector outshines Kruchenykh the Poet. The workbooks indicate that at this time Kruchenykh went on with his creative endeavors; selected entries from the workbooks are published herein.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):230-235
230-235
A. V. SUKHOVO-KOBYLIN AND THE SILVER AGE. DIALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPT SOURCES IN YU. A. KRASOVSKY’S COLLECTION
Abstract
The article deals with the manuscripts collected by the critic, archivist, editor Yuri Alexandrovich Krasovsky (1909-1987). An unpublished draft excerpt from the Record of Self-Consciousness, a philosophical essay by the playwright A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin, was discovered amid the documents of the Silver Age — the core of the collection. The draft was penned on the reverse side of the extracts from a comical farce The Death of Tarelkin. Same as the other manuscripts from the collection, these drafts by Sukhovo-Kobylin contain notes, auto-marginalia. When decoded, they create a textual collision and reveal additional semantic layers, allowing to trace the influence of genres, conventions, accepted selection criteria and systematization of documents on the process of shaping the structure of egodocuments and to show that the entire archival infrastructure, the apparatus of academic reference, archival practices, compilation of collections can be interpreted as a coherent egodocument, autobiography, personal and cultural memory.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):236-245
236-245
SCHOLARS FROM THE PUSHKIN HOUSE AS THE CHAMPIONS OF THE BUNIN LEGACY. TOWARDS THE HISTORY OF RELATIONS BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND THE SOVIET NOMENCLATURE IN THE 1960s
Abstract
The article outlines the main initiatives of the scholars from the Institute of Russian Literature who advocated the return of I. A. Bunin’s archive to Russia. The work is based on their correspondence with the archive’s inheritors V. N. Bunina and L. F. Zurov, as well as with the Soviet governmental officials and Communist Party bureaucrats. The most representative letters of the Pushkin House employees pertaining to this issue are published in the Appendix.
Russkaâ literatura. 2023;(4):246-259
246-259
260-261
261-265
265-266
267-268
269-272
272-276
276-279
279-282
282-284
284-287
287-289