Historical tales by V. Sosnora: the issue of understanding and interpretationof historical texts

Historical tales by V. Sosnora: "Derzhavin to Derzhavin", "The Saviour of the Homeland","Two Masks" were published in 1968 and collected in the book "Lords and Fates: Literary Variants ofHistorical Events", 1986, the first prose book of the poet. These tales are integrated in the context of1960-1970s' historical prose, but they are different from the official (illustrating) and parallel(interpretive) lines of historical narration. Sosnora's task is, first, to shake readers' confidence inknowing the truth; second, to change readers' views on the historical event, and, finally, to present hisown interpretation of the meaning of the document, thus, the meaning of the historical event thathappened. Sosnora's author strategy is the reference to autobiographic ("Memoirs" of Derzhavin,"Notes" of Ekaterina), memoirs and documentary sources (poetry by V. Mirovich, reports ofShliesselburg commandant Ovtsyn, archives of Shliesselburg fortress, court records, evidences ofcontemporaries). On the one hand, these texts do not raise doubts in their authenticity; on the otherhand, they contain "passion for self-description" and involuntarily place readers in the circle ofsubjective mythologization. Sosnora offers the reader a chance to interpret, investigate the event. Heraises the problem of understanding this document-text, which needs decoding, not the problem of itsauthenticity (which he does not doubt). The process of investigation reveals additional, earlier hiddenvariants of understanding the event and the historical person's behaviour, which in the conclusionchanges the semantics of Russian historical events. V. Sosnora uses the method of historical prose ofthe 1970s in solving the problem of the relation between the event-fact and the document-text, butcomes to post-modernist conclusions about history falsification in texts. The avant-garde poet,anticipating Russian post-modernists, spoke about the role of the word, document in keeping historicalmemory, and found devaluation of documents, necessity of reading document by side vision revealingvariations of historical senses, even historical events. Person's self-determination in the world of textsis a global problem but this problem is associated with the problem of the poet, who writes texts. InSosnora's poetry system it is an important motive. Sosnora's inclination to historical versions isconnected with his poetical thinking, which supposed allegory meaning in discovering the past,significance of spiritual insight in the definition of the truth and lies of the text. And, finally, Sosnora'sauthor strategy shown in the tales about Russian history is important for understanding modern fictionhistorical prose for it does not neglect texts when understanding the possible meaning falsification intexts.

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