Comparative analysis of the narrative of the uprising of the machines in the works of K. Capek and A. Tolstoy

this study presents a comparative analysis of the machine uprising narrative in Karel ?apek's original play R.U.R. (1920) and its ideologically motivated adaptation by Alexei Tolstoy, Revolt of the Machines (1924). Employing corpus linguistics methodology, the research identifies key transformations: the semantic shift in replacing the term robot (emphasizing forced labor) with machine (implying mechanized agency and liberation); structural reorganization (3-act ? 4-act) and character system overhaul; reorientation of conflict from philosophical-existential to socio-revolutionary. The findings reveal that Tolstoy's adaptation is not a translation but a reimagining of the text within the Soviet linguosphere, where linguistic alterations (lexical, syntactic, narrative) serve as tools for ideological deconstruction. The Soviet cultural context is shown to be instrumental in shaping new semantic dominants. The analysis confirms the hypothesis that Tolstoy's adaptation is an ideologically motivated reinterpretation rather than a direct translation. Linguistic transformations (lexico-semantic, syntactic, narrative) are directly linked to the Soviet ideological context of the 1920s, shifting ?apek's philosophical questions about human nature and creation into the plane of socio-revolutionary struggle. The comparative analysis demonstrates how changes in key terminology ("robot" ? "machine"), transformation of character images (e.g., factory owner into an imperialist dictator, robots into an oppressed class), structural reorganization, and conflict reorientation serve to create a fundamentally new artistic statement reflecting the zeitgeist and ideological imperatives of the Soviet era. Despite its derivative nature and loss of the original's philosophical depth, Tolstoy's adaptation gained independent artistic value and stage life, becoming a significant artifact of Soviet culture.

R.U.R., robot vs machine, ideological translation, linguosphere, narrative transformation, ?apek, Tolstoy