Literary criticism

In the article the principles of the philosophical and historical analysis of the contemporary political situation (First World War, the Revolution of the year 1917) in M.A. Aldanov’s book «Armageddon» (1918) are singled out. The author of the article attempts to view Aldanov’s skepticism as a method of experiencing reality that confronts the dogmatic thinking.

The attitude of Chernyshevsky to the work of Lermontov throughout his life is considered. Attention is given to the evolution from the religious and moral context of Chernyshevsky's perception of personality and the poet's works in the student years to prevailing in his assessments of political motives.

The article emphasizes how the participation in Russkoye Slovo impacted the writer’s creative personality, mindset, spiritual and moral as well as aesthetic notions being formed. The writer was in the center of the literary events of the 1860s and he held responsible posts at the editorial board.

The article deals with the problem of the interpretation of an author’s identity in correlation with the literary actuality (symbolism, poetic ideology of the Apollon journal) and the universal poetic canon (Pushkin). We analyze the forms of poetic self-identification used by the young poet in formation (Marina Tsvetayeva), the mentor – disciple relationship between Voloshin and Tsvetayeva, and ways in which Tsvetayeva transforms the Pushkin myth in the process of creating her individual poetics.