Belovodsky plot of Russian prose of the 1920s: the philosophical context of the utopian ideal

The article studies the philosophical context of Russian prose, including the Russian folk legend of Belovodye and devoted to the problem of the social ideal. In the works of Russian cosmist philosophers, followers of N. F. Fedorov, V. N. Muravyev, N. A. Setnitsky and A. K. Gorsky, the post-revolutionary ideal of socialism and communism is presented as imperfect, limited, although connected with the true, theocratic ideal of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Not only the social order will be changed in the process of its implementation, but the whole world, including human nature, will also be improved. The writers M. P. Plotnikov, Vs. Ivanov, Vyach. Shishkov and A. P. Platonov, in their works of the mid-1920s considered the problem of the ideal in a similar way. Embodied in the popular utopian legend, the image of Belovodye as the true ideal, the earthly kingdom of piety, justice and righteous faith, was opposed in their works to a limited ideal, a false ideal. This ideal was marked by imperfection in terms of the goal of development - material well-being, or in terms of means - violence. Writers, as well as cosmist philosophers, saw one of the reasons for the impossibility of achieving the true ideal in the imperfection of human nature. The comparative analysis allowed to conclude that, although the writers considered the problem of the social ideal in their own way, they are united with cosmist philosophers by the idea of the need to expand the imperfect ideal of socialism and communism into a true, absolute ideal.