F.V. Volkhovsky's poetry during his Siberian exile

This article examines the poetic works of F.V. Volkhovsky from his period of Siberian exile, including poems published as part of feuilletons in Sibirskaya Gazeta and standalone poems (in the collections Echoes of Siberia and Occasional Songs, in Sibirskaya Gazeta, and in letters). The aim of the research is to identify the distinctive features of Volkhovsky's poetic output during his Siberian exile. The primary research methods employed are descriptive poetics, content analysis, comparative analysis, and motif analysis. Poems embedded within feuilletons served as emotional focal points, sharpening readers' attention to specific arguments, intensifying the satirical effect, or conversely, heightening dramatization. These poetic insertions also allowed the author to address other themes and issues within a unified narrative, providing a fitting mode of storytelling. Volkhovsky's original poetic insertions encompassed a variety of genres: songs, ballads, fables, byliny (traditional oral epic narrative poems), and operetta marches. The publicist employed these forms in pursuit of polyphony and the creation of a cohesive Siberian myth. In contrast, the poetry published separately from prose reflected the inner world of this Narodnik (Populist) publicist; unbound by the immediacy of journalistic publication, it is richer in metaphor and allusion. These standalone poems are permeated with motifs of exile as an inescapable captivity and the imperative to continue the struggle. Two of the five poems published in Sibirskaya Gazeta were dedicated to one of the tragic events in Volkhovsky's life in Tomsk - the suicide of his wife, Alexandra Khozzhevskaya (Volkhovskaya). Thus, both the embedded poetic insertions and the standalone verses served a unified purpose: to articulate the necessity of resisting the socio-political system and the pre-reform order. In his feuilletons, Volkhovsky denounced local predators and petty tyrants, while in his standalone poetry, he expressed his personal sentiments and his hope for the ultimate triumph of truth. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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