La Russie asiatique dans l'œuvre d'Alexandre Ostrovski

Abstract

The Asian component permeates all levels of Ostrovsky's fictional world and reflects the author's view of the problem of Russian identity while also letting us estimate the geopolitical claims of Russia's general public. The article examines various markers of Asia and "asiachina" (backwardness) in the works of the playwright. Such markers are the names of towns on the Volga river, taken by Ostrovsky from the ancient history of the region (Bryakhimov) or from the neighboring Central Asia (Khiva, Kokand, Bukhara), the peoples living in a particular area (the Berendei, the Kokands, the Kirghiz-Kaisaks, etc.). Especially frequent ethnonyms are Tatars (the "next door strangers" for Russians), and Turks (due to the frequent wars between Russia and Turkey). His plays often feature Asian surnames of aristocratic characters such as Gurmyzhskaya, Murzavetskaya, Ulanbekova, Mamaev, Kuchumov, etc. The "steppe" beginning of "nomadism", combined with harshness and despotism, characterizes the merchant class in the author's plays. In addition to the Tatar and Eastern (Iranian-Turkish) sources, the Finno-Ugric locus becomes the other pole of "inner Asia". It is associated with the symbolism of the "forest" (in the play ''Forest''), an alternative to the Asian-Turkic "steppe".