Phantom self-identity of emigrants of the fourth wave (on the basis of publicistic texts of the Literaturnyy evropeets andMosty journals)

The "fourth wave" of literary emigration unofficially named as "sausage" emigration, is doomed to a disadvantageous comparison with the previous waves, which results in the dramatic process of its self-identification. The present article is based on the journalistic and literary-critical texts published in the journals Literaturnyy evropeets (LE) and Mosty (Germany, Frankfurt on the Main), these journals espouse a similar ideology, and bring together emigrants with an anti-Russian (anti-Putin) position. The article touches upon this particular segment of the emigrant literature. The journal Literaturnyy evropeets is known a "journal of the Union of Russian writers in Germany". The name clearly indicates one of the identities. However, the authors disassociate themselves from ex-compatriots, from Russianness in behavior and way of thinking. They put the word "compatriots" in quotation marks, which is also a sign of disassociation. Emigrants deny their identity with "Russian-Soviet" people. In this case, the statement "we are the journal of Russian writers in Germany" means "we are purely Russian". The content of the journalistic texts shows that "being purely Russian" does not mean "resisting being Soviet on the territory of Russia" for emigrants. True Russians do not live in Russia. Emigration is a prerequisite of purification and belonging to Russianness. Emigration of the 1990s is looking for a representative (and authoritative) context and finds it in the Russian emigration as a whole, demonstrating similarities. The context can justify both the fact of departure and its own existence without any literary achievements. Undoubtedly, there are similarities between the fourth wave of emigration and previous ones: a common theme, heterogeneity and difference in the assessment of the Russian reality, heated political debates in journalism, reflection of the border and the process of adapting to another culture. However, the difference in the world views, values and circumstances of emigration is also obvious. Similarly to the first wave, the fourth wave states its mission "we are missioned" thus perpetuating the tradition. This mission includes the preservation of the Russian language and the Russian culture. But what Russian is meant? The emigration of the first wave occurred in pre-revolutionary Russia, but the fourth grew up in Soviet Russia with its official and unofficial cultural flows. Its mission is phantom. Journalism shows a very Soviet rhetoric with the opposition "friend-or-foe" and militancy.

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