THE PROBLEM OF DEFINING RUSSIAN TRAVEL LITERATURE AND THE PATHS TO ITS THEORETICAL RECONSTRUCTION

Abstract

The present study is devoted to theoretical conceptualization of Russian travel literature as a complex and historically variable corpus of texts that lacks a stable genre status. The research substantiates the need for reconstructing its definition, a necessity arising from the long-standing tradition of travel writing and, at the same time, from the absence of a unified conceptual framework, which results in semantic fragmentation and methodological difficulties. The proposed model of definition does not pursue an immutable essence; instead, it focuses on identifying recurrent functional features – cognition of the external world, construction of imperial subjectivity, and reflection on identity. This approach makes it possible to view travel literature as an open, dynamic formation that integrates documentary, artistic, and analytical elements. The study demonstrates that it is precisely the functional perspective that provides the greatest explanatory power, enabling the inclusion of the wide historical and poetic spectrum of Russian travel texts and laying the theoretical foundation for further integrative and comparative literary studies.