Oriental Institute Journal, 2017, №32 (4)
Известия Восточного института №4 (32), 2016Literary Studies
UDC 882
Irina V. GRIGORAI On a single plot in М. Bulgakov’s works of the 1930-ies
The article proves that the novel The Master and Margarita shares a single plot and a single denouement (death – immortality) with other Bulgakov’s works devoted to writers of the 1930-ies. The resolution in The Cabal of Hypocrites (the death of Molière on stage) maintains his spiritual courage in the fight against tyranny, the immortality of his ideas and works. In M. Bulgakov’s story The Life of Monsieur de Molière the idea of the playwright’s immortality is expressed verbally. The play Alexander Pushkin is built on the «death-immortality» motif (inevitableness of both). The final scene of the play (after Pushkin’s death) is built on associations with his works, thus marking the immortality of Pushkin’s writing, and his eternal relationship with Russian culture and Russian life. Interpretation of the denouement in the novel The Master and Margarita is supported by the resolutions in M. Bulgakov’s plays The Cabal of Hypocrites, Alexander Pushkin and the finale of the story The Life of Monsieur de Molière.
Key words: plot, denouement, motif, death, immortality, writing context, M. Bulgakov
UDC 821.161.1
Tatiana F. PANCHENKO, Darya I. NECHAEVA I. A. Bunin’s book “Dark Alleys” as a meta genre unity
The subject of the research presented in the article is one of the principles of prose cyclization – meta genre, with Ivan Bunin’s book «Dark Alleys» taken as the case of study. Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of «dialogue of cultures» and Yuriy Lotman’s theory of prosaic structure integrity being chosen as the methodological basis for the research, the methods of comparative-historical, cultural, biographical, and structural analyses are applied. Based on the study of the interaction between different levels and elements of the text, the meta genre unity of the book is demonstrated. The findings of the research suggest that all the literary works of the cycle represent not just a variation of one common theme – «ordinary» love story, but also the variation of each other on some level (ideological, emotional, «character-related», or compositional). Forming such a context, the works begin to «add up» to each other and may form part of each other’s content component, thereby turning into a kind of a peculiar intertext.
Key words: I. A. Bunin, short stories about love, a cyclical entity, the multiplicity of genre, story and plot, composition, associative and correlative relationship
UDC 81.42
Elena A. PETRENKO «A Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph» as a component of medieval book discourse
The article treats the Old Russian translation monument «A Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph» as a part of the medieval book discourse, since the author’s communication strategies are implemented in this text. These strategies determine the composition of the text, its communicative and pragmatic structure and functioning of some linguistic means. Among the author’s textual strategies the following ones noticeably stand out, namely: narrative, preaching, and edifying, which, in turn, are implemented via the system of communicative tactics. The narrative strategy involves the tactics of ascertaining and evaluating narrative. The preaching one is embodied in the tactics of the story about the divine history, as well as in interpretative and emotional impact tactics. The edifying strategy is realized through allegory.
Key words: Medieval book discourse, old Russian translation monument, communication strategies, communicative and pragmatic structure, narrative, preaching, parable
UDC 82.3
Yulia A. YAROTSKAYA The Specifics of Cultural Borderland in Contemporary Far Eastern Fiction
The study focuses on the works of two contemporary authors who connected their lives with the Russian Far East, Alexander Belykh and Biyanka Takakhashi. They are both professional translators from the Japanese language. The research methods are historical-literary, historical-cultural and comparative. The paper determines the phenomena of a different culture that the authors conceptualize; the literary techniques allowing them to create an organic image of another cultural world; the cultural interaction under the unique conditions of geographic borderland.
Key words: Far Eastern fiction, opposition self / other, cultural experiment, literary mystification, cultural concept, Japanese realia, concepts of postmodernism, artistic synthesis, geographic and cultural borderland
Linguistics
UDC 801.311(03)
Olga L. RUBLYOVA Toponymic system of Primorye: aspects and research perspectives
The article discusses Primorsky Krai toponymy as a toponymic space, a toponymic system and a toponymic picture of the world, and touches upon the main aspects of studying Primorye toponymy, particularly: linguistic and local lore, linguistic and cognitive (conceptual), ethnolinguistic, etc. This paper describes such notions as toponymic identity, toponymic context and toponymic concept. The toponymy of Primorye is considered as part of the Russian integral toponymic system, as its regional unit having its own specificity defined by the geographic location, settlement history and ethnographic state of the region. The principles of nominating Primorye toponymic objects and features of language representation of toponymic concepts are described; the main cognitive models of «surrounding space» concept reflected in the minds of the Primorye residents are determined.
Key words: toponymy of Primorye, toponymic space, toponymic system, toponymic picture of the world, toponymic concept, toponymic identity, toponymic context, toponymic category
UDC 81.42
The article is devoted to the study of a lexeme bez kommentariyev (without comments) – one of the equivalents of the word, which has not been described earlier. The analysis of semantics and functional features of without comments allows concluding that this lexical unit belongs to evaluation lexicon, i.e. means of subjective modality expression. It is without comments’ semantic capacity that considerably expands its syntactic functions. It is out of bounds of a predicative unit and is used in a position of maximum isolation – in the text. The conclusion is drawn that this word combines features of different parts of speech, thus making impossible to unambiguously define its categorical status.
Key words: subjective modality, syntactic capabilities, text function, stylistic features, language of media
UDC 811.161.1`367.624
Elena A. SHNYRIK Adverbial innovations correlating with qualitative adjectives
The article studies one of the active processes in the colloquial subsystem of the modern Russian language – the growth and expansion of usage of adverbs formed from qualitative adjectives and derived under the po-...-omu model. Prefixal and suffixal adverbial formations are described in comparison with the Russian adverbs ending in –o, existing in parallel. The author concludes that being motivated by the same adjectives, adverbs having different morphemic structures are lexical units with different semantic, functional and stylistic features. The lexical meaning of a qualitative adjective’s derivation stem, when complicated by the meaning of the po-...-omu derivative model, 1) creates the semantics of the action mode accompanied by an overall evaluation; 2) determines compatibility with agentive verbs, which is not typical for adverbs ending in -o; 3) extends the functionality of adverbs, allowing them to be used for organizing the subjective and modal plane of a statement. The evaluation potential of the adverbial formations ending in -omu, correlating with qualitative adjectives, determines their active use in colloquial speech.
Key words: Colloquial subsystem of the Russian language, attributive adverbs, adverbial semantics, agentive verbs, syntagmatic relations, semantic shift, derivational synonyms, discursive word, stylistic connotations, subjective evaluation, function of parenthetical word
On 150th anniversary of Ussuriysk
UDC 904; 908 (470)
The article discusses the key events and milestones in the history of Ussuriisk city, which are interpreted in the overall context of regional processes. When writing the article, the author applied some of the principles of macrohistory and systematic methodology. Two major periods in the history of the area are identified, namely: from the beginning of its development until the death of the Eastern Xia State (1234), and from the founding of Nikol’skoye settlement (1866) up to the present time. The study concluded that, except for the short periods of gaining the status of the capital (1215–1234) and of the oblast’ center (1934–1943), the settlements, the hill-forts, and the city of Ussuriisk remained on the periphery of the main socio-political processes that took place in the region. Moreover, the primary trend of the area’s historical development was interrupted after the Mongol invasion. More southern areas and the formation of the Manchu community turned out to be engaged in the new politogenesis trend. The subsequent Manchurian conquest of China allowed for developing Primorye on a fundamentally different civilizational basis. It was also found that the development of the new Nikol’sk-Ussuriisk town was strongly influenced by its Russia-China border location and the developed, primarily, railroad infrastructure. The article concludes that, despite some problematic events in the history of Ussuriisk, there have been positive changes in the development of the city, which is now an important economic and educational center of Primorsky Krai.
Key words: Ussurijsk, phenomenon, the Bohai state, Jin empire, history, trends, border, Nikol’skoye, Nikol’sk-Ussuriiskiy
History
UDC 910.4:571.62/.63::«1850/1860»
The paper presents an analysis of exploratory activities conducted in the Russian Amur region from 1850 through 1860. Based on the system of criteria, organization and content of the appraisal surveys were evaluated; the agro-colonial component of the fieldwork was assessed. The exploration in the area lasted continuously during the 1850s. The survey activity was heavily politicized, and most of it was done by the order of military and political government departments. Agricultural and colonization perspective of exploring the region, despite its popularity among searchers, was a side effect of the work because explorers were experts in many fields but not in agriculture. Most of the explorations conducted at the beginning of the period were of complex nature, but by the end of the 1850s the specialization of exploratory activities increased. Finally, in 1860 a specialized agrarian and colonizing expedition led by Captain Aleksey Budishchev was organized. Characteristics of the expedition almost completely meet the criteria of agro-colonial fieldworks. Despite the fact that the searchers were put other tasks and funds were not enough, the agricultural perspective was always in the focus of the appraisal survey.
Key words: Amur Region, settler colonialism, colonization management, geographic explorations, agro-colonial fieldwork
Policy
UDC 327(471+52)
Vladimir V. KOZHEVNIKOV Current state and prospects of development of Russian-Japanese relations
The article points out that the main face of the part of Russia in its relations with Japan is the President of the Russian Federation, and the Japanese side hopes that V. V. Putin will meet the Japanese proposals about Southern Kuriles. Prime Minister S. Abe hopes that in the first stage V. V. Putin agrees to transfer the islands of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan. The analysis of the Russian-Japanese talks in Vladivostok in September this year has led to the forecast of further development of bilateral relations in various scenarios. Although lately the Japanese side shows a certain independence from the US in its policy on Russia, in relations with Russia it does not show willingness to compromise. This is indicated in the recent statements by Japanese politicians, including Prime Minister Abe. This must be borne in mind on the eve of the upcoming meeting between the two leaders in Japan this December. Thus, Russia’s hopes on compromise on the part of Japan are not well grounded: Japan still insists on its core basic position – the return of the four islands, but only before the signing of the peace treaty. Therefore, we cannot expect a radical improvement in Russian-Japanese relations after the meeting of V. V. Putin and S. Abe in December 2016.
Key words: Russia, Japan, political relations, the problem of a peace treaty, economic cooperation, high-level talks
UDC 327
Proposed by South Korean President Park Geun-hye in 2013 the «Eurasia Initiative» (EI) has grabbed world’s attention and has represented an ambitious project of connecting economic, energy and transportation complexes of Eurasian states and creating vast economic network covering area from Western Europe to Northeast Asia. While the Eurasia Initiative has managed to make a good start, being almost three years in development, it has not quite fulfilled its audacious goals. The article analyses current state of the Eurasia Initiative and related mechanisms and institutions. The authors assess the progress the EI has made and the challenges it faces. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the role Russia plays in the said initiative. The article analyses the modern state of the aforementioned initiatives, the impact it has made on international relations in the region and on Russia-South Korea relations in particular. In conclusion the authors investigate the prospects of the Eurasian Initiative after the impeachment of President Park.
Key words: Eurasian Initiative, Park Geun-hye, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Russia-South Korea cooperation, Korean People’s Democratic Republic, Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative
OIJ Club
Archive
Academic Life
Alla F. PRIYATKINA, Irina N. TOKARCHUK Elena Alekseevna Starodumova