PECULIARITIES OF THE DESCRIPTION OF MOSCOW AND MOSCOW SUBURBS BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES IN ARTICLES BY N.M. KARAMZIN IN THE JOURNAL “VESTNIK EVROPY”

Abstract

The research examines N.M. Karamzin’s articles published in the journal “Vestnik Evropy” in 1802-1803 and studies the peculiarities of the description of buildings and structures in Moscow and its neighbourhood. In particular, the analysis of the descriptions of palaces allows to establish that the author follows a certain scheme: palace appearance > interiors > space near the palace. A comparative analysis of the fragments describing palaces, monasteries and urban areas shows that when describing spatial objects, N.M. Karamzin implements one of two textual strategies. The first one consists in the fact that space can be “organized” around a certain “point” – the building about which the author seeks to tell the reader. The second strategy is used when describing “large” spaces, such as monasteries and urban areas: when telling about them, the writer pays special attention to the location of buildings in relation to each other and notes that, despite the fact that each building (or structure) has its own characteristic purpose, they are all regarded as integral parts of the overall complex.