Urban Narrative of D. Bavilsky: An Interpretation of Chelyabinsk Text

This article examines the distinctive features of urban narrative construction in the works of Chelyabinsk writer Dmitry Bavilsky. The primary objective of this study is to identify specific interpretative variations of urban text within the framework of the cycle “Noun.” The methodological foundation of the research is grounded in the principles of narratology, approaches from geopoetics, and the concepts of mental cartography, which allow for the delineation of a unique vision of the cityscape. It is demonstrated that the urban narrative in D. Bavilsky’s cycle “Noun” emphasizes a particular chronotope of the city, described through the lens of its periphery: Cherdachinsk (a name resonant with Chelyabinsk) exists at the boundary of a specific geographical locus while simultaneously straddling different worlds. The authors highlight that the city in Bavilsky’s works is intricately linked to the image of a protagonist striving to comprehend their own “self” through spatial perception, articulating a state of “non-belonging,” and filling it with subjective value characteristics. It is noted that a leading technique in Bavilsky’s text construction is antithesis. The analysis of the material allows for an enrichment of the traditions surrounding the study of Chelyabinsk text and Bavilsky’s oeuvre, characterizing a high level of reflection on the image of the city in the writer’s work.

urban narrative, urban text, image of the urban periphery, space of the city, mental cartography, Dmitry Bavilsky