Features of the Representation of the Russian Idea in the Works of N. S. Leskov

Abstract

The article discusses the features of the functioning of the Russian idea in the prose of N. S. Leskov. The paper singles out and describes such categories as Russian God, people, Russian soul, conciliarity, national character, and national spirit. The purpose of the study is to identify and depict the main categories and systemic elements of the Russian idea in Leskov’s literary work of 1870–1890, to generalize the writer’s artistic concept as a problem complex. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research consists of works on theoretical and historical poetics by M. M. Bakhtin, B. V. Tomashevsky, B. A. Uspensky, etc., and on mythopoetics by V. N. Toporova, A. F. Loseva and others. The historical and literary basis of the research was made up of works
on the poetics of Russian literature of the second half of the XIX century and the works on Leskov by I. V. Stolyarova, N. N. Stavrogina, E. V. Tyukhova, etc. The work is based on a systematic approach, when solving specific tasks, a historical-cultural approach, structural-semantic and comparative-historical methods are used. The following conclusions were made: the Orthodox faith in Leskov’s prose is closely connected with folk ethics and culture. Living according to the laws of love and kindness, helping those in need — this is how the mission of a pious person can be presented within the framework of the writer’s Russian idea. The search for a better way, the awareness of oneself as part of the civilizational movement — that was important for the Russian people in Leskov’s view.