«Fairy Land»: Altay in artistic report of V. Hzytsky

Abstract

Introduction. The 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s forever entered the history of Ukraine as a period of incredible development of the cultural and artistic sphere. The rapid development of culture contributed to the spread of reporting, which helped readers to clearly, dynamically, in detail, and documentary accurately show a fragment of the life of that time. Relevance and goal. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that the genre-stylistic and thematic features of the reports of 1920−1930 are still under-researched and, therefore, require meticulous analysis. The goal is to investigate the specifics of the creation of the image of Altai in the Ukrainian literary reportage on the travel theme «Altai» by V. Hzhytsky based on a comprehensive and detailed analysis. Methodology. To study the outlined issue, general scientific methods of material selection and systematization, comparative analysis, bibliographical-descriptive, cultural-historical, and descriptive analytical methods, as well as the method of generalization were used. The results. Volodymyr Hzytsky's report «Altai», which he wrote after visiting the Oirot Autonomous Region in 1928, was thoroughly analyzed. The author chose a chronological type of composition, which allows him not only to describe events but also to share his impressions and thoughts from what he saw. V. Hzytsky tries to make his report as interesting as possible for the reader. That is why he talks in detail about the nature of Altai, the mentality, traditions, and culture of the local population. The language of the report is extremely simple, and informal. One gets the impression that the reporter is simply talking to his readers and conveying the necessary information to them. Conclusions. Despite more than ninety years since it was written, V. Hzytsky’s literary report on the travel subject «Altai» is read with interest even today. V. Hzytsky’s observations are original, they do not repeat well-known truths – they are unexpected and always exciting. A vivid description of everything that the reporter saw, with his emotions, feelings, and impressions allows readers to feel the personal presence of the author, his «I». Thanks to the availability of a large amount of factual material, this report is especially valuable because it helps to feel the spirit of the era.