Mythologization of space and time in modern Altai literature

Abstract

The mythological worldview of the writer has become a characteristic feature of modern Altai literature. It is caused both by the traditional life and by the processes of self-identity and the rise of the national self-determination, which started in the post-Soviet period of the 1990s. In the fiction world picture of modern Altai writers, the key postulates of the folk worldview are still pivotal. It creates the ideological and moral core of the structure of the fiction work. Preserved in traditional culture, they are aimed at reflecting the idea of the unity of man and nature, and represented through the motives of relationship with the native land, return, memory, unconsciousness, and etc. Altai is one of the central images, represented not just on the local background space, but also on a frequent occasion as an active character. The image of Altai retains its religious and mystical content in the contemporary Altai literature. It is being filled with spiritual and moral significance intended for ecological, moral and ethical education of the new generation of the Altai people. Pain and anxiety for the fate of the homeland at the turn of the centuries is revealed in the presence of eschatological notes. The purpose of this paper is to study the mythopoetic world picture in artistic works written at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. The relevance of the study consists in the special interest to the sacred knowledge, history and culture of the Altai people, associated with the desire to preserve and implement the cultural memory of the people. The novelty of the study is due to the insufficient attention on the part of literary scholars to contemporary Altai literature. In particular, to contemporary history, while similar researches are necessary for understanding the current state and prospects for the further development of cultural memory.