F. KRYUKOV's «GULEBSHIKI» AND A. SERAFIMOVICH's «STEPPE PEOPLE»: ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION OF ETHNIC RELATIONS

Abstract

In the article, on the example of two "Don" stories by A. Serafimovich and F. Kryukov, the main existential conflicts in the relations of the ethnic groups that inhabited the Don steppes are considered. The conclusion is made about the specifics of the plots, which are based on unsolvable situations, fatal cases, correlated with the right of the strong, immoral behavioral norm, life tragedy, destructive passion. Both writers offered their own solution to the problem of crime and the inevitability of punishment. The place of the instinct of self-preservation of a person in an emergency situation is revealed, the significance of psychological and physiological details is indicated. For the Cossacks and Kalmyks, the steppe is their native land and home. The concept of "steppe" is multifaceted in the stories of two writers. It is associated with the Cossacks and Kalmyks by history, natural spaces. The role of the steppe as a landscape and mental factor in the axiology of the Cossacks and Kalmyks is especially noted.