Two centuries of the Russian classics

2686-7494

IWL RAS

https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-214-239

Research Article

Articles

“The Blue Forest” in the “Estate Text” of Russian Literature 18th–21st Centuries

Veligorsky

George A.

red@rusklassika.ru

25 09 2026

8 3 214 239

estate mythopoetics blue color forest L. N. Tolstoy I. A. Bunin I. M. Shevtsov

2026

This article examines one of the universal images in the mythopoetics of the Russian country estate: the alluring blue, embodied by a shimmering distance — usually defined by a specific natural feature. Our study focuses on the “blue forest” mythologem, which originated in folklore and Old Russian literature, evolved within the literature of the Russian country estate starting in the 1830s, and has since undergone continuous development, accumulating new meanings and connotations. The article briefly traces the evolution of this image and highlights key milestones in its history, while examining in greater detail several writers of the country estate genre who significantly influenced its development (such as L. N. Tolstoy, I. A. Bunin, I. M. Shevtsov et al.).

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