Passing through Nizhny: Nizhny Novgorod Text (Essay-Reconstruction Approach)

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to the reconstruction of the Nizhniy Novgorod text in the Russian culture based on the travelers’, writers’, publicists’, and politicians’ impressions found in their travel notes, stories, and essays. In the process of reconstruction the Nizhniy Novgorod text recreates some non-trivial senses, similar to all the documents concerned. In many predicate descriptions Nizhniy Novgorod is described as a beautiful Russian town, a third capital of Russia, a European or provincial town, an orthodox or trade center, as well as a market and money-grabbing place. To understand why such controversial properties are applied to the town we should try and get the essence of these judgments: topography, historical events and legends, urban structure, fair activities, the residents’ manners and customs, etc. These contradictions can be solved by defining conflicting judgments (i) in different time intervals: military in earlier times, trading now; hot in summer, cold in winter; (ii) in different loci: with regard to the Kremlin, the Otkos and the Alexander promenade it is beautiful, magnificent and picturesque; with regard to numerous churches and monasteries it is orthodox by God; with regard to the Tolkuchka and the Millionka on a market day it is greedy and money-grubbing; with regard to restaurants, pubs and crack houses near the Fair, it is sloppy drunk, dirty and dissolute; (iii) with regard to different attitudes or opinions: obnoxious, dirty and rude to some, well-managed, prosperous, charitable and delicate to others.