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Abstract:

This paper deals with the reinterpretation of N. Gogol’s short story “Viy” in Russian literature from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. Alexey Remizov’s tale “Letavitsa” (1908) is considered in the context of his article “Gogol’s Nature” (1922) and his dispute about Gogol with Vasily Rozanov and Dmitry Merezhkovsky. The article also examines echoes of “Viy” in early 20th-century poetry by Vladimir Narbut (“Viy”, 1915), Nikolay Gumilev (“From the Serpent’s Lair”, 1911), Vladimir Mayakovsky (“War and Peace”, 1911), Osip Mandelstam (“1 January 1924”, 1924, and “Down the streets of Kiev- Viy”, 1937), and Anna Akhmatova (“I know I can’t move from this place”, 1937). The paper also considers two theatrical reinterpretations of “Viy”: “Pannochka” (1985) by Nina Sadur and “Viy” (2015) by Vasily Sigarev. Leonid Hirshovich’s novel “‘Viy’: Schubert’s Vocal Cycle on Gogol’s Text” (2005) is considered as an interesting example of pastiche not only of Gogol’s story but also of later allusions to it (particularly by Mandelstam). Andrey Belyanin’s novel “A Night on a Farm near Dikanka” (2016) and the board game “Viy: The Rebellion” are cited as examples of Gogol’s appropriation by contemporary mass culture after the release of the wellknown TV series in 2017.