This study investigates the translational strategies employed by A.M. Fedorov in his poetic rendition of Edwin Arnold’s Buddhist poem “The Light of Asia,” created in 1895. It explores how Arnold’s text is modified in translation and how these modifications contribute to the contextualization of the poem within the Russian poetic landscape. The analysis draws on the original text of “The Light of Asia” by Edwin Arnold, along with translations by A.N. Annenskaya, I.M. Sabashnikov, and A.M. Fedorov, as well as literary-critical publications from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. Employing historical-literary and comparative approaches, the study aims to analytically explore the transformations of Arnold’s text within Russian culture. It is reported that A.M. Fedorov creates his poetic adaptation of Arnold’s work based on Annenskaya’s earlier prose translation (1890). The findings reveal that he modifies the meter of the original and significantly varies it, replacing the unrhymed pentameter with a diverse range of rhymed forms, typically aligned with the tradition of Russian Oriental poetry. Furthermore, it is shown that Fedorov Russifies the translation in terms of vocabulary and stylistically aligns it with Romantic traditions, allowing for considerable deviations from the original, including omissions and additions. Notably, the ease of the verse and the familiarity of the poetic form contribute to the popularity of this translation in Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries; it has been reedited and republished in the early 21st century.

This article examines the distinctive features of urban narrative construction in the works of Chelyabinsk writer Dmitry Bavilsky. The primary objective of this study is to identify specific interpretative variations of urban text within the framework of the cycle “Noun.” The methodological foundation of the research is grounded in the principles of narratology, approaches from geopoetics, and the concepts of mental cartography, which allow for the delineation of a unique vision of the cityscape. It is demonstrated that the urban narrative in D. Bavilsky’s cycle “Noun” emphasizes a particular chronotope of the city, described through the lens of its periphery: Cherdachinsk (a name resonant with Chelyabinsk) exists at the boundary of a specific geographical locus while simultaneously straddling different worlds. The authors highlight that the city in Bavilsky’s works is intricately linked to the image of a protagonist striving to comprehend their own “self” through spatial perception, articulating a state of “non-belonging,” and filling it with subjective value characteristics. It is noted that a leading technique in Bavilsky’s text construction is antithesis. The analysis of the material allows for an enrichment of the traditions surrounding the study of Chelyabinsk text and Bavilsky’s oeuvre, characterizing a high level of reflection on the image of the city in the writer’s work.

The article is devoted to the comprehension of the “novel of the figure” as a special subtype of the Bildungsroman. The hypothesis of the study is to expand and deepen the ideas of M. Bakhtin and M. Berg about a special variety of the Bildungsroman in socialist realist literature, as well as H. Meixner and W. Berg. Meixner and V. Pashigorev on the genre specificity of the “novel of the figure”: we believe that in socialist realist literature the tradition of the Bildungsroman was transformed into the “novel of the figure”. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the fact that for the first time it is proved that the “novel of the figure” on the Russian soil genetically goes back to “What is to be done?” by N.G. Chernyshevsky. The aim of the article is to identify the genetic origins of the novel of the figure in Russian literature. As a result, it was found that, first, Chernyshevsky's novel retains the genre dominance of the Bildungsroman; moreover, in the presence of a monohero as a bearer of exclusively typical features, the idea centered in his image undergoes formation in the novel. Second, Chernyshevsky’s novel, as well as the socialist realist “novel of the figure,” is centered on the process of ideologization, and the most important stages of the heroine's ideological formation in the novel are marked by the inclusion of oneiric episodes in the chronotope of the narrative, which contribute to the creation of a special narrative model. Thirdly, the heroine's development is initially set and directed into the future in such a way that as a result she turns from a carrier of an idea into its translator and becomes identical with it in the eyes of the other characters: in the novel’s finale, the protagonist’s role changes from student to mentor.

This article explores the remnants of the ancient sun worship cult that have persisted within the myths, fairy tales, and ritual practices of the Kalmyk people. The aim of the study is to identify traces of this ancient cult in folklore and ritual traditions, and to determine their symbolic significance in fairy tale narratives and ceremonial actions. The research material includes samples of myths, magical and heroic tales, as well as life-cycle rituals. It is demonstrated that the concept of solar divinity and its influence on earthly existence has formed the foundation for numerous religious and mythological beliefs, traces of which can be found in various aspects of the spiritual and religious life of the Kalmyk people. The article notes that the ancient pre-Buddhist calendar festival of Zul is celebrated during the winter solstice. An analysis of myths, magical tales, and heroic epics reveals significant motifs: (1) with the rising sun, the hero acquires magical objects, wishes are fulfilled, and traces of malevolent forces are revealed; (2) when embarking on a journey, fairy tale characters invariably begin their movement “following the sun,” that is, in the direction of the sun’s path, which is associated with a steadfast belief in the successful completion of their endeavors. It is shown that the ancient concept of celestial divinity manifests in endowing the fairy tale hero with solar attributes.

This study investigates the pragmatic-semantic aspects of the hyperbolized representation (caricaturization) of gluttony within the discursive space of M. Amis’s novel “Money: A Suicide Note.” It analyzes both direct nominations and metaphorically reinterpreted linguistic resources that contribute to the creation of a parodic image of the fat man and glutton at the sentence level and within a broader intratextual context. The underlying mechanisms that construct a typified situation of gluttony and its consequences are unveiled. The use of cognitive dissonance is characterized as a device that aids in shaping the comic figure of the protagonist in the novel. The author emphasizes Amis’s iterative approach to constructing a caricatured archetypal image of the hedonist and glutton through a variety of lexico-semantic, stylistic, and contextually-cognitive tools, noting their high discursive density. Cognitive-linguistic mechanisms for representing the theme of gluttony in a caricatural and hyperbolized manner are identified. The findings open new horizons for exploring pragmatic-semantic resources and the cognitive-discursive potential of verbal manifestations of the contemporary issue of selfish lifestyles. The connotative and emotive multidimensionality of the caricatured verbal image is defined.

This article addresses the issue of literary reflection on the artistic legacy of contemporary Russian writer Oleg Pavlov. The study is based on critical and journalistic articles, literary analyses of the author’s works, and selected literary pieces. It presents an attempt at a systematic description, generalization, and analysis of Oleg Pavlov’s poetics. For the first time, the article proposes a periodization of the writer’s oeuvre. The author identifies and interprets the classical stages of Pavlov’s creative biography — early (“biographical”), mature (“critical-journalistic”), and late (“reflective”). It is established that literary criticism has offered a mixed assessment of the writer’s artistic mastery, presenting contradictory judgments ranging from condescending and tolerant to sharp and accusatory. On one hand, his prose is associated with the classical literary tradition; on the other hand, a cliché of the “gloomy” writer has emerged. The article highlights a sustained interest in Oleg Pavlov’s works within academic literary studies, identifying mythopoetic, philosophical, historical-cultural, and linguistic research directions. The author concludes that current philological reflection opens up research perspectives in the study of Pavlov’s poetics as a representative of “new realism” in contemporary Russian literature.

This article examines the bilateral relations between India and Nepal, which hold a unique status. On one hand, India perceives the mountainous nation not only as a culturally and civilizationally close neighbor but also as a vulnerable link in its security framework. On the other hand, Nepal endeavors to pursue a policy of balancing, striving to prevent the excessive strengthening of either neighbor’s influence within its borders. The study demonstrates that during the specified period, India has intensified its South Asian foreign policy under the “Neighborhood First” strategy. This has led to a significant increase in political contacts and a robust growth in economic interactions. However, it is revealed that frequent crises in relations, India's exertion of pressure, and the anti-Indian rhetoric of certain Nepali leaders have detrimental effects on the positive perception of bilateral ties within society. It is established that the Madhesi communities residing along the southern stretch of the India-Nepal border — most closely associated with India — are the most adversely affected by these dynamics. Furthermore, the article underscores the critical role of the Chinese factor in the evolution of bilateral relations, as China consistently strengthens its foothold in Nepal (and across South Asia). The analysis also illustrates how India responds to Beijing’s initiatives in the Himalayan state.

This article examines the establishment and functioning of the Justices of the Peace in the Russian Empire, initiated by Catherine II in 1775 and fully abolished in 1866. Utilizing a structural analysis method, the study investigates the judicial processes within these courts from 1775 to 1866. A formal-logical approach is employed to analyze the existing legislation of the Russian Empire concerning the jurisdiction of the Justices of the Peace. The research draws on administrative documents from the State Archive of Voronezh Oblast and legislative acts from the late 18th to mid-19th centuries. The novelty of this study lies in its perspective of viewing the Justices of the Peace as an alternative to formal judicial proceedings, which were primarily based on inquisitorial principles as an ideal type of legal process, alongside theories of formal evidence, where judicial decisions were made without regard for the internal convictions of the judge. The author concludes that the judicial process of the Justices of the Peace was primarily aimed at protecting private interests, with the nature of this alternative to formal proceedings varying depending on whether the case was criminal or civil.

This article focuses on identifying elements of promotional discourse within Englishlanguage abstracts. The research corpus comprises ten abstracts from highly cited articles published in the Journal of Linguistics. It is demonstrated that at the lexical level, the promotional aspect is represented by specialized terminology and vocabulary that emphasizes the experimental nature of the research. Additionally, it is established that grammatical features of the abstract are realized through action-oriented verbs, present tense, a combination of active and passive voice, and the use of the pronoun “we,” which the authors employ to construct a dialogue with the reader. The analysis reveals that the sentences in the abstracts are complex and contain clarifying information. Notably, parallel constructions and enumerations — expressive syntactic techniques — are introduced in the abstracts to enhance the significance of the research findings. At the linguo-pragmatic level, references to sources, quantitative data, contextualization of the study, and contrasts are highlighted. All of these techniques are interpreted as aimed at representing specific attributes of the scientific work: high significance, breadth, reliability, and overcoming the limitations of previous research by colleagues. The conclusion is drawn that the promotional features of the abstract may be expressed implicitly; however, as is characteristic of promotional texts, they are directed towards attracting attention to both the research and the author.

This article presents a comparative analysis of two translations of the Confucian text “Da-xue,” undertaken by prominent Russian sinologists N. Ya. Bichurin and D. P. Sivillov in the 19th century. The aim of the study is to juxtapose the scholars’ approaches to translating and interpreting this classical Chinese philosophical text. The research material consists of manuscript translations and original Chinese canonical texts. The findings demonstrate a high level of scholarly accuracy in both translations, despite differences in methodology. Bichurin’s translation, based on a Qing dynasty educational resource, is distinguished by its rich commentary and cultural explanations. In contrast, Sivillov’s work, which relies on the original “Da-xue” text, is characterized by its conciseness and fidelity to the source. The analysis reveals divergent translation strategies employed by the scholars: Bichurin aimed for a more literal translation while preserving culturally specific elements, whereas Sivillov adapted the text for the Russian readership. Both translations significantly contributed to the development of scientific translation methodology for Chinese classics in 19th century Russia. The study underscores the value of these works for the understanding of Confucian philosophy and the history of Russian sinology. The results may find application in contemporary translation practices and in teaching the history of sinology.