Concepts “city” and “village” in Siberian literature of the 19th century: To the problem of the formation of the sociocultural landscape of Siberia

Conceptological analysis allows considering the phenomenon of the literary embodiment of urban and rural space as a representative of the sociocultural landscape of Siberia. Siberian material is extremely interesting for the study of the concepts “city” and “village” because of the historical reasons: the formation of sociocultural space here was not the same as in the European territory of Russia. To analyse the representation of the concepts “city” and “village” in Siberian literature, the author used fiction prose and some publicistic essays by G.N. Potanin, N.M. Yadrintsev, N.I. Naumov, I.V. Omulevsky, S.I. Cherepanov, M.V. Zagoskin, D.A. Ponikarovsky, A.K. Ordynsky. The recognised artistic level, proximity to the circle of Siberian regionalists and wide regional coverage were criteria of selection. The analysis of the sources showed a very weak representation of the studied concepts. This is especially true for the semantic field of the concept “city”: in the works of Siberian authors one can find only its separate peripheral features. The core semantics of the concept “city” (the presence of something) is actualised in the opposite way: even a minimal description of the city is given by means of a detailed enumeration of what is missing in it. The interpretation of the concept “city” is carried out with the help of irony, hyperbolisation, general satirical pathos, constant opposition of the real and the desired. The opposition of the city to the countryside and nature, traditional for literature, is almost invisible in Siberian literature. On the contrary, cities are almost indistinguishable from the countryside: the phenomenon of “town-village” emerges. The interpretation of the concept “village” in Siberian prose is more traditional compared to the urban topos. The concepts “bourgade” and “village” are considered as peripheral meanings of the same concept. However, there is a significant difference between their representation in Siberian literature: for example, in the external appearance of the bourgade authors usually note signs of prosperity and similarity to the city. The description of the village emphasises the poverty of peasants, their oppression by traders and officials, as well as the lack of culture and social life. The interpretation of the concept “village” in Siberian prose also contains an element of idealisation, traditional for Russian literature. This is especially noticeable in the fiction and journalism of Siberian regionalists, whose ideal was the peasant community, especially the Old Believers. In general, two main tendencies can be distinguished in the representation of the concepts “city” and “village” in Siberian prose. On the one hand, Siberian writers follow the traditions of “big” Russian literature - first of all, connected with the works of Nikolai Gogol and the natural school. On the other hand, Siberian prose reveals many specific features. This is especially noticeable in the interpretation of the concept “city”, which paradoxically merges with both natural and rural space and is even partially “absorbed” by them. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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