The article is about an analysis of the inscriptions on the obelisk of the Nubian king Atlanersa (653–643 BC). The obelisk was found in the Christian church of Dongola and part of the text has been lost. This article attempts to analyze and translate the surviving text on the four sides of the obelisk. In the inscription, all five royal titles of Atlanersa are restored. The author traces the analogies between the inscriptions on the obelisk of Piankhy (titular placement) and the inscription of Atlanersa on the stand for the sacred barque from the temple B 703 (words of Amun of Napata) and comes to the conclusion about the construction of the obelisk by order of Amun of Napata.

The article is about the emergence of autofiction (pseudo-autobiography) as a new genre in modern Russian literature on the example of the works by Andrei Astvatsaturov, Sergei Dovlatov, Roman Senchin, Eduard Limonov, Zakhar Prilepin, Dmitry Danilov, Alexander Khristoforov, as well as the works by Sylvia Plath, Janet Winterson and Carl Ove Knausgor as modern foreign literature representatives of the autofiction genre in the Russian book market. The article discusses the history of the autofiction emergence from the point of view of the genre origin abroad, and from the standpoint of home literary criticism. It describes the representatives of modern Russian literature whose works are in the autofiction genre analyzes the specifics and unique features of autofiction like stylistic, contextual and other typical characteristics that make it possible to single out this genre as an independent one, are analyzed in the article. The author presents results of a comparative analysis of diaries and autobiographies as literary genres according to the criteria of completeness, usage purpose, attitude to publications, dating and facts reliability, and identifies the elements that determine autofiction specifics. Particular attention is paid to Andrey Astvatsaturov’ literature as he analytically proves his autofiction genre choice to create his works.

In the article, we make an attempt to study the interaction between the problematics of literary space and character’s identity in a dramaturgical work on the material of the plays “Three Sisters” by Anton Chekhov and “The Black Snowstorm” by Anastasia Bukreeva. The analysis is based on certain statements of chronotope theory developed by Mikhail Bakhtin. The paper considers the motif structure that in a certain way forms the literary space, in particular, the motifs of higher place and lower place, certain characteristics of the organization of space and time, such as isolation, “corpuscularity”, and cyclicity. An analysis is made of the complex interconnection between the place and the way of the characters’ self-determination, which is associated both with the structure of space and with the way the character perceives this space and himself within its boundaries. The nature of dramaturgy defines how the stage and off-stage spaces are organized, and the exploration of the significance of the off-stage chronotope may provide an additional perspective to navigating the character’s inner live determined by his perception of the place of acting. The purpose of this paper is to compare the approaches of the two playwrights to the existential aspects of literary space, as well as the problematics of the connection of a person’s identity with the world in which he finds himself for some reason.

The article analyzes how the techniques of the novel genre in the “Lolita” by V. Nabokov change the primary speech genre of the diary. The point of view category is considered as a technique of genre formation. In that case, the intimacy of the text, which the diary genre implies, is violated by the presence of not only the point of view of the notes author but also the reader’s one. The reader, which the hero-narrator assumes, determines the manner of narration. The diary of Humbert Humbert takes on the features of fiction, and even isolated from the text of the novel, it will still have signs of a secondary speech genre.

The article considers two poems by Yury Levitansky, “So what if it was there...” and “Memory” (both of them are included into the book of poems, “Letters to Katerina, or A walk with Faust≫, 1981), from the perspective of the representation in them of the memory visual images. In both texts, memory is not a mere motif, but a structure-forming category in the lyrical poem’s imagery and plot structure. It’s so because the abstract category of memory is conveyed through sensual, primarily visual images, such as space and its various patterns (such as vertical/horizontal, widening/shrinking), colour, light, etc. Visual imagery combines with the direct and transgressive vision of the lyrical subject. Through the visual images of memory, the lyrical subject experiences and reinterprets traumatic experiences are experienced and reinterpreted. In turn, the representation of visual images of memory not only organizes the lyrical event and the lyrical plot, but also makes it possible to appeal to the reader’s imagination and his/her historical memory.

The aim of the work is to analyze Buddhist images, motifs, ideas present in Limonov’s novels, stories, poems and essays; as well as the features of Limonov’s perception of the Buddhist religion. E. Limonov refers to Buddhism in his work already in the early period and pays attention to it throughout the entire creative path. Buddhism for Limonov is closely connected with geographical space. It’s the religion of the East, which is ideologically opposed to the West. The same confrontation can be seen in Limonov’s stories written in the West: Buddhism is portrayed in them as a religion of peace against the backdrop of non-virtuous European fuss. Buddhism in the mature Limonov’s works is also an integral part of the large Russian world, where, being Russified, different cultures, religions and political projects are united. Buddhist motifs manifest themselves differently in Limonov’s Russian urban and communal everyday life, in the landscape – both negatively and harmoniously. Buddha Shakyamuni in Limonov’s works is not an object for veneration, but a variant of an “unearthly” superman revolutionizing the spiritual life of people. Limonov’s attitude to Buddhism ranges from acceptance to denial. Such different positions are due either to his subjective assessment of specific people who find themselves in connection with Buddhism, or to political or philosophical expediency.

An issue of the subject in contemporary lyrics is widely discussed at the present time, being one of the most relevant in the research of contemporary poetry. One of the issues is the relevance of the term lyrical hero in relation to contemporary poetry, which, following the analyticism path, departs from the actual lyrical utterance. The article expresses an opinion that the idea of a lyrical hero remains relevant in the study of song poetry, in particular rock poetry of the 1980s – 1990s. Based on the classic article by Yu.N. Tynyanov ≪Block≫, in which an attempt is made for the first time to qualify the definition under discussion, the article analyzes the work of Russian rock poets, proves the presence of the lyrical hero in the lyrics of K. Kinchev and Yu. Shevchuk. Also, the conclusion is made about the lyrical hero specifics in classical Russian rock poetry. It is connected not only with intratext factors, such as the presence of the self-subject, the possibility for a rock poet of constructing a single plot of the hypertext, which includes biographical motives, but also extratext factors of the existence of a synthetic rock text, including the presence of the image of a lyrical hero in the socio-cultural sphere, the creation of a media image, the formation of a stage image.

The phenomenon of metacyclization is based on a complex system of relationships that form the lyrical cycle of works and makes it possible to realize the creative ideas of the author, potentially unresolved in poetry in other ways. The article is about the features of metacyclization in modern rock poetry on the example of the works of Y. Shevchuk, the soloist of the group “DDT”. The essence and specifics of the phenomenon in lyrics are briefly defined and the main types of its implementation are listed. The article, using specific examples from Y. Shevchuk’s poetry, considers various forms of the existence of metacycles as secondary author’s cycles and as larger-scale lyrical cycles united by theme, chronotype, etc. The means and tools used by the author to create a single composition of the cycle, the implementation of the author’s intention are characterized. The paper states that in rock poetry the compositions, the most popular or subjectively significant for the author, as a rule, are subject to secondary cyclization. It was revealed by specific examples that the context of the metacycle not only enriches the works of rock poetry with new meanings, but sometimes also transforms their text in accordance with the current author’s position one whole concept of the lyrical cycle. Numerous references to the work of Russian writers and poets, to the compositions of colleagues confirm the unity and interconnection of Yu. Shevchuk’s poetry not only with modern Russian rock, but also with Russian literature in general.

There is increased interest in history as a basis for searching the answers to many questions of our time recently. The historical project by B. Akunin clearly demonstrates improved author’s methods well knowns of his early works.

The article analyzes B. Akunin’s controversial view of the Horde invasion of Old Russia a difficult period in its history. The writer deconstructs the chrestomatic representation of that era, depicting it from different angles: the publicist (“Part of Asia”) and the fiction (“Zvezdukha”). Such textual polyphony allows Akunin to involve readers in a kind of postmodern game with history.

In such a way, B. Akunin not just shows and analyses events of the past but also creates the complex fictional text with filled a lot of description of the era and transformations of the main characters against the background of history.

The article considers the incorporation into an artistic epic prose text (the novel by Roman Senchin “Russian Winter’) dramatic literary texts (Yaroslava Pulinovich’s drama “The Land of Elsa”) and theatrical ones (the play “Elsa” of the Taganka Theater), the sources of which from physical reality are updated due to the declarative autofictionality of the Senchin story, and their incorporation itself becomes not just an intergenerational and interspecific transcoding, but also an interpretation of source texts, an interpretation that allows the author to express his view of drama and theater, both in their specific manifestations, and in general.

The English critic and poet Thomas Ernest Hulme (1883–1917) is not well known in Russia. Despite the significance of his contribution to the development of English-language poetry, the degree to which his role in the historical and literary context of the 20th century was studied in Russian literary studies seems insufficient. The lack of Russian translations of his essays and journalism, and the shortness of his literary career, narrowed the context in which Hulme is usually viewed to the Imagist movement. The article attempts to make a shift in focusing the attention from Hulme’s poetry to his literary and critical texts and to formulate the basic principles of his aesthetic theory.

Paris is one of the cities where French writers of various eras are most willing to place the action of their works. The article is focused on the depiction of Paris in the works of Jacques Prevert (1900–1977), a famous French poet and screenwriter born in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris and who spent most of his life in the capital. So it seems logical that the city stands separate in his works. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main linguistic means of representation of Paris in Prevert’s poetic and prose texts. The main method of research is linguostylistic and linguoculturological analysis of an authentic literary text. The material for the analysis was selected from the collections “Choses et autres” (“Things and others”, 1972), “Grand Bal du Printemps” (“Great Spring Ball”, 1951), “Histoires et d’autres histoires” (“Stories and more stories”, 1946). Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is made about the specifics of the image of Paris in Prevert’s works, the main linguistic means used in the representation of the city are specified, and prospects for further research in the area are outlined.

The review considers the book by S.S. Boyko “Books for immortals. Theocentric prose of Orthodox writers of the 20th – 21st centuries”. The necessity and importance of the research is noted for determining, on the one hand, the essential importance of above prose in the life of modern society, and on the other – its organic inscriptibility into the history of Russian literature.

The review considers the monograph “Oriental motifs in the works of M. Gorky” by M.V. Rusakova. The book is highly rated because it fills a very significant gap in Gorky’s studies; previous research references to the subject in Gorky’s prose were quite rare and accidental. It is also important that it is not Gorky’s works usually ranked to be those of the first row in the writer’s heritage were used as an object for studying.

Finally the monograph is a very promising study, because each of the aspects considered in the book in any of the analyzed Gorky works can and should be considered in even more detail – with access to the deep meanings and features of the author’s attitude.