The city of Ignat» in the rebellious ideas of Russian common people

The article deals withthe poorly known aspects of native history concerned with folk motives and forms of distributing social Utopias in Russia and the attitude ofcommon people to them. The legend about the city of Ignat had been widespread among Cossacks of the river Don and the population ofthe southern regions of Russia since XVIII century. Based on this legend the semantic analysis has been made of such version of commonpeople Utopian ideas as legend about distant lands. The aim has been set to make it clear that social and cultural meaning of the legendabout the city of Ignat is not kept within the bounds of class struggle but it inevitably exceeds their limits. This meaning can be understoodonly by the recognition of Russian common people ideas close link with religious-symbolic world of traditional culture in the field of whichpopular social Utopia had been formed. It is shown that social-utopian legend-making has been connected in many ways with Old Believersactivity which had been found wide resonance among common people and Cossacks of the river Don. From the social-politics andpsychological points of view it is given the explanation of the departure of Cossacks-nekrasovtsev from native lands in the search for betterlife. This departure was easier to perform due to the information about vast amounts of unreclaimed lands; experience of popularcolonization known throughout the country and rumors about unrestricted life without masters among Cossacks, but the most important thingwas the understanding of unrighteousness of contemporary social order. By means of interdisciplinary methodology it is proved that thebelief in the reality of the city of Ignat existence made a particular sense to numerous escapes of Russian common people giving themmoral and religious approval for their activities. The semantic analysis of one of the most widespread legends during the XVIII-XIXcenturies gives clear evidence that being created by collective consciousness of social lower classes grand Utopia of social paradise on theEarth axiologically disclaimed undevout world of masters as though parodying it as dead artificial caricature on the righteous and real socialorder. Therefore the city of Ignat insubstantially constructed by the rebellious ideas of common people is a speculative imitation of idealreality. According to the law of mirror symmetry this imitation represents real world as anti-Utopia.

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