Biographical Myth and the Problem of the Emblematic Image of L. N. Tolstoy in Russian Literature

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Borisova, L. M., and V. V. Kuryanova. “Biographical Myth and the Problem of the Emblematic Image of L. N. Tolstoy in Russian Literature.” Dva veka russkoi klassiki, vol. 8, no. 3, 2026, pp. 196–213. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-196-213
Abstract:
The article investigates the process of emblematization as a key stage in the evolution of a writer’s biographical myth. Using representations of the image of L. N. Tolstoy in 20th-century Russian literature (A. Blok, V. Mayakovsky, M. Bulgakov, I. Ilf, and E. Petrov), the authors trace the mechanism of artistic reduction: the multi-layered narrative of the myth is condensed into a static, easily transmissible, and unambiguously perceived sign-emblem. The paper identifies the constitutive properties of such an emblem (visual clarity, didacticism, “transferability”) and demonstrates how a visual or verbal image, detached from biographical specifics and explicit naming of the hero, begins to function as an independent semantic code in the national cultural space. It is argued that emblematization does not abolish the myth but, on the contrary, testifies to its deep assimilation by the collective consciousness, ensuring instant recognizability and the actualization of connotations associated with the writer’s persona.
Keywords: biographical myth, emblematization, Leo Tolstoy, reception, artistic image, cultural code
Author: Ludmila M. Borisova
Information about the author:
Ludmila M. Borisova, DSc in Philology, Professor, V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Vernadsky Ave., 2, 295007 Simferopol, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0279-5244

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Author 2: Valeria V. Kuryanova
Information about the author 2:
Valeria V. Kuryanova, DSc in Philology, Associate Professor, V. I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Vernadsky Ave., 2, 295007 Simferopol, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7570-1926

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Received: January 24, 2026
Approved after reviewing: April 29, 2026
Published: September 25, 2026
Issue: 2026 Volume 8 No. 3
Department: Russian Literature of the 18th–19th Centuries
Pages: 196-213
DOI: Visit Website
EDN:
https://elibrary.ru/MQCUDU
UDK: 821.161.1.09"19"
Publication Type: Research Article

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