The article explores the Swedish translation and poetic adaptations of F. Bulgarin’s “war story” “The Death of Lopatinsky,” published in Finland at the turn of the 1830s and 1840s. The article documents and explains the differences between the Swedish translations and the original Russian work. It also notes the reaction of the Finnish readership to the Swedish texts. The response to the relatively accurate translation of Bulgarin’s story published in the newspaper “Wasa tidning” (January 1839) was an article in “Borgå tidning” (May 1839), containing a truthful, in contrast to the Russian version, description of the death of Lieutenant Lopatinsky in September 1808. The article discusses Janne Lundmark’s poem “The Death of Lopatinsky, and the Voices at the Tomb,” which was published in Helsingborg in 1843. This poem is a poetic reworking of Bulgarin’s text and includes references to several characters from Scandinavian mythology, with the Houris being the most prominent. The article suggests that Lundmark indicates the eastern origin of the hero of the poem in this way. The article also notes that Valkyries and Houris often form a pair of “maidens of Paradise” in Swedish literature from the first half of the 19th century. Lundmark probably takes this into account. Finally, the article mentions that Lundmark’s poem is one of several works by Swedish-speaking authors from the 17th–18th centuries that are dedicated to the death of a hero.

The article deals with the motivic paradigm of “collecting / packing existence” in the work of B. Pasternak. The study aims to determine its role in the lyrical and philosophical concept of the poet and to identify its structure and connection with the creative system of R.M. Rilke. In the first part of the study, the motif of “collecting existence” appears as one of the basic Pasternak motifs. Further — as a point of contact between the creative concepts of Pasternak and Rainer Maria Rilke. That is how the paradigm forms an intersystem metatext. Rilke’s metatext is also conceptual and relates to the philosophical system of S. Kierkegaard, respected by both poets. Then, based on the analysis of the sub-paradigms of the motif of “collecting existence” in the work of B. Pasternak, it is proved that the paradigm has one of the essential roles in revealing autosystem metatext character of his lyrics, artistic, journalistic, and epistolary prose and forms a poetic and philosophical field. Its repeated reproduction in different genres implements an existential understanding of time and the objectness of the world. It combines the motifs of specific actions, such as collecting cars on the train, things on the road, and people in crowds and gatherings, and imaginative motifs: a collection of abstract realities in man, time, space, and the realities of nature into a picture of the world, both an instantaneous one and imprinted in art for centuries.

The article offers an interpretation of Vyach. Ivanov’s dithyramb “Tsari” from his book “Kormchie zvezdy,” namely its final part, written in verset. The seven kings are celebrating a feast when the priest Melamp comes; he transforms the liquids in the kings’ cups into wine, turns himself into Dionysus, and brings seven other kings, who kill their predecessors and put on their masks. The names of the kings originate from Aeschylus’ tragedy “Seven Against Thebes,” which was later partially translated by Ivanov. Ares has a special place in this tragedy, both as the personification of war and as the patron of the Thebans: from the teeth of his sacred dragon, killed by Cadmus, grew the progenitors of the Theban clans. Ivanov suggests that Ares was a hypostasis of Dionysus, and his reasoning is very similar to the conclusions of the German philologist W.-A. Voigt. However, his supposition about the chthonic and Dionysiac nature of some of the characters participating in the campaign against Thebes stems from the opinion of other researchers. The plot of the mystery is inspired by J.G. Frazer’s “The Golden Bough” and by the rite of Lake Nemi, but in Ivanov’s text, the kings and their opponents are not priests of Jupiter but masks of the many-faced Dionysus, who is both priest and victim. Thus, the poet integrates the myth from the Theban cycle into his mythopoetics.

The article analyzes the Soviet reception of Italian Neo-Avant-Garde (Group 63), including the contribution by Georgij Breitburd, translator, consultant on Italian literature at the Foreign Commission of the Union of Soviet Writers, one of the key figures in Soviet-Italian cultural relations. The study focuses on the focal episode of Neo-Avant-Garde polemics, that is, on Breitburd’s article in “Novy Mir” (March 1967) dedicated to Group 63 and on Italian discussion around it, which took place mainly in left-wing periodicals, like newspaper “Unità,” magazines “Rinascita” and “Quindici,” but also in moderate and center-right newspapers “Il Messaggero” and “La Discussione.” The article proves that Breitburd played a crucial role in the Soviet reception of Italian Neo-Avant-Garde. It was his article in “Novy Mir” that made possible profound and academically correct discussions around this movement in “Inostrannaya Literatura” and “Voprosy Literatury.” Breitburd’s ideological fight against Group 63 in the late 1960s and early 1970s paradoxically increased the popularity of the movement in the USSR. After Breitburd died and the fight stopped, Italian Neo-Avant-Garde literature was nearly forgotten by Soviet critics and researchers and now, in modern Russia, is known only to a narrow circle of specialists. Most of Neo-Avant-Garde fiction was not translated and published either in Soviet or in post-Soviet times and still remains practically unavailable to Russian-speaking readers.

The paper evaluates the contribution of the journal “Inostrannaia literatura” to the reception of P.P. Pasolini’s work in Russia. The research is based on an analysis of the archives of the journal and all published materials related to Pasolini in it, such as translations of his works, informational notes, articles by Ts. Kin, G. and A. Bogemskii, a Literary guide to the 100th anniversary of his birth. Reviewing the materials in chronological order allows us to trace how the attitude towards Pasolini has changed over time, in which measure his creative work has been covered. The publications in the journal do not reflect sufficiently the importance of Pasolini as one of the most original and multifaceted personalities in Italian literature and culture — poet, writer, philologist, literary critic, cinematographer, and influential intellectual — mainly because of the originality of his poetic and prosaic works, which did not correspond in Soviet times to the idea of progressive literature, Pasolini’s scandalous fame, and negative assessments given by authoritative critics. At the same time, the publications of the last years reflect the aspiration to fill this regrettable gap.

The article is devoted to the analysis of two pieces of research that develop the idea of diachronic consideration of narratological categories in application to the Russian literary process — the monograph by V.I. Tupa “Horizons of Historical Narratology” and the collective work “Thesaurus of Historical Narratology (Based on Russian Literature): An Experimental Dictionary.” The purpose of the article is to present the worldview and axiological principles, conceptual and methodological innovations of the emerging scientific school, and to define its role in the space of modern humanities. A semantic approach to storytelling, inspired by the work of P. Riker, is a priority for scholars developing a project of historical narratology. The narrative appears not as a sphere of constructive techniques but as a space of interaction of strategies formed by culture and tactics embodying the author’s initiative. The article concludes with the undoubted heuristic and methodological perspective of the historical narratological project and its conceptual and ideological relevance.

The article examines the role of G. Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary in the artistic space of F.M. Dostoevsky’s Idiot and the philosophical and ideological ideas of the French writer, which formed the basis of his work. The research demonstrates that for Flaubert, the image of a woman captured by her fantasies and passions was a symbol of the spiritual state of his modern society, which, according to the writer, had lost its spiritual guidelines and was completely focused on itself and the satisfaction of momentary desires, while the true needs remained unsatisfied. The article shows that for the correct interpretation of the role of Madame Bovary, it is necessary to correctly take into account the time of her reading by the heroine of Dostoevsky since she did not read it before her wedding, as is commonly believed in research literature, but at the time of her departure from Pavlovsk, when she “forever” left the prince for the sake of his happiness with Aglaya. Thus, the article suggests that the image of Emma and the world that she symbolizes is primarily associated with the young Epanchina, and not with Nastasia Filippovna. The article also analyzes the death scenes of the two female characters.

For the first time, the article examines the role of V.P. Stavsky, the Secretary of the Union of Soviet Writers, in the biography of A.P. Platonov during the 1930s. The study of previously known facts about Stavsky’s favorable response to Platonov’s short story “Immortality” (“Bessmertie,” 1936) in a broader context, together with the new materials, allows reconsidering the established notion of an episodic role of Stavsky in the writer’s fate. The support of the Secretary of the Writers’ Union (behind which possibly stood Stalin himself) provided Platonov with an official place among the best Soviet writers in 1936–1937. His work was declared a benchmark for the authors of the literary works collections of the state. His name sounded among the representatives of the new generation of literary leaders of the country. He was entrusted with new projects with the support of the Writers’ Union. At the same time, it was Stavsky’s support that triggered the largest wave of critical attention toward Platonov since the publication of “For Future Use” (“Vprok”), which led to the following persecution of the writer. Most of the archival materials in this article are published for the first time. The article introduces new biographical facts about A. Platonov and V. Stavsky.

Each national literature is a part of national history. It presents the features of the national culture and the people who live and develop in specific cultural and traditional conditions. Each nation has its unique genius that sings the national beauty. Armenian ashug Sayat’-Nova’s creativity has had a significant influence on Armenian literature. Sayat’-Nova, as a national poet, had created poetry with its genre subdivisions. We can consider such categories as spiritual, patriotic poetry, glamorous social poetry, and folk-gusan songs. The present research has been carried out along the lines of Sayat’-Nova’s verbal creativity through the interpretive prism of theorists and literary critics with special reference to Valeri Brusov, who highlighted the exclusive richness of Sayat’-Nova’s artistic devices, the peculiar features of his literary genre, style, and language. The article focused on the relevance of Russian-Armenian literary relations, which became particularly crucial with the publication of Valeri Brusov’s anthology “Poetry of Armenia” in 1916. The outstanding Russian writer, critic, and translator has highly appreciated the exceptional richness of Armenian literature and interpreted each piece of verbal creativity with great accuracy. His opinion is that Sayat’-Nova name deserves to be a part of world literature. Armenian ashug has to stand next to the honored names and glorified works of Western literature.

The article examines intertextual links between the works of the French writers Georges Perec and Alain Robbe-Grillet. Not only early texts by Perec but also further ones in form and content refer to the artistic discoveries and inventions of the representatives of Nouveau Roman. In the modern history of French literature, Perec usually appears as an antipode of the Nouveau Roman approach to writing; nevertheless, it is relevant to see and analyze the places of these discrepancies to understand better the specifics and creativity of Perec and the characteristics of the representatives of the Nouveau Roman. The study focuses on early texts (Les Choses, Un homme qui dort), which reveal direct links with the poetics of the nouveau roman, Alain Robbe-Grillet in particular, and on later ones (La Disparition). The article concludes with the significance of the typological links between Nouveau Roman and Perec’s early work, as well as their significant dissimilarity, which consists of subsequent authorial aspirations and attitudes towards style and writing ideas.