Moscow in the Works of the “Big Book” Winners: Location, Subject, Image

Abstract

The paper considers the contribution of the works-laureates of the national literary prize “Big Book” to the formation of the “Moscow text” in the domestic literature of the 21st century. The relevance of the topic is determined by the most important role of the “Moscow text” in Russian culture in general and in the modern literary process in particular. The novelty of the research is in the specific consideration view of this cultural phenomenon: through the identification of characteristic features of the “Moscow text” in the works marked by the “Big Book”. The author presents review of the works of laureates, where Moscow is mentioned: popular science publications and works of art (mostly large, in several cases — medium epic form). The author shows that the place and role of Moscow in the text are always individual, correlated with the artistic tasks of each author and his personal perception of the city. The review starts with the collection of essays by the Moscovite scholar R.E.Rakhmatullin, dedicated, by definition of the author himself, to the metaphysics of Moscow. Then the author considers the novels by A.A. Kabakov, V.A. Zolotukha and L.A. Yuzefovich. Each of them has created an expressive image of the Russian capital in different periods of its existence. In a number of the works considered, Moscow primarily acts as life environment of the central character: lifelong (in L.E. Ulitskaya) or corresponding to a certain, more often initial period of biography (in M.S. Stepnova, M.P. Shishkin, etc.). In all these cases, the place of residence affects the fate of the character and, in turn, is characterized by the events of the plot. In a separate block, the article highlights the novelized biographies of Moscow writers, in which the capital is depicted as the centre of the literary life of the country. The paper shows both the role of each named writer in Moscow literary life and the reflection of Moscow life in his work. The author considers the ways of creating the image of the capital: from the description of urban landscapes to the reproduction of the “Moscow spirit” itself.