A BORDERLINE EFFECT OR A LIFE BEHIND THE BORDER? THE DIALOGUE OF ‘ONE’S OWN’ AND ‘THE FOREIGN’ IN LEONID ANDREEV’S FINNISH PERIOD

Abstract

The article examines the Finnish period in the writings of Leonid Andreev, trying to answer the question of whether the writer’s work represents a ‘borderline effect’ (mixing of cultures), or an isolated cultural phenomenon invoked by external and internal factors alike. The researcher looks for the influence of the Finnish culture and landscape (‘the power of location’, according to N. Antsiferov’s local history method), and the unique cultural environment of the Finnish Karelian Isthmus on these writings (and introduces the term of ‘Russian summer cottage dwellers’ effect’). The article considers Andreev’s contacts with Russian artists and thinkers, and his translated works that were published in Finland during his lifetime. The author’s output is regarded as an isolated cultural act through the prism of M. Bakhtin’s outsideness ( vnenakhodimost’ ), and the researcher lists the factors behind the process. A special focus is given to the effect of the Russian revolution of 1917 on Andreev’s life and work: the article shows how it turned his ‘semi-emigration’ into a ‘complete emigration’ and steered him towards journalism.