THE IMAGE OF M.T. LORIS-MELIKOV IN B. AKUNIN’S HISTORICAL NOVEL «ROAD TO KITEZH»

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the image of M.T. Loris-Melikov in B. Akunin’s novel “The Road to Kitezh”. This character and the historical Loris-Melikov are compared. A comparison is also made between the text of the novel with the text of “History of the Russian State”, where Akunin the historian characterizes the personality and political activities of Loris-Melikov and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the liberals in general. Loris-Melikov’s ambition, insincerity, and cunning, as well as his desire for moderate political changes correspond to the history. At the same time, the character in the novel differs from the politician in history in that, on the one hand, the author gives this image an oriental mind and emphasizes its “otherness” in the Russian cultural space; on the other hand, in the novel the narrative of Loris-Melikov’s point of view on the country’s development is mixed with the position of Akunin the historian on Russian liberalism. It has been revealed that in relation to liberal reforms in the late Russian Empire, the positions of Akunin the writer and Akunin the historian converge.