Abstract
ABSTRACTThe article explores the representation of hybrid Ukrainian and Russian identities in Aleksandr Kuprin’s story “Olesia” (1898). Using the concept of “internal colonization” as a nuanced version of postcolonial theory applied to the context of Russian Empire, the author analyzes the hidden motives that are linked to ethnic groups and stereotypes. The key feature of the main heroine, unnoticed by the previous scholars, is her Russian origin and, thus, the Ukrainian mimicry. This important detail enables a new interpretation of the protagonist’s love of Olesia. Both the love story and the orientalization of the heroine can be read as the Russian intelligentsia’s unconscious anxiety of dangerous peasants. The article traces how Kuprin discredits populist ideology and the idea of a civilizing mission working with the most painful myths and discourses of fin-de-siècle imperial culture.
Published Version
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