Alexander Pushkin’s worldview in the context of averting the dangers of cultural manipulation: a value perspective

Drawing on the 1829 poem “Monastery on Mount Kazbek” we focus upon value dimensions of the unique world-view of Alexander Pushkin. We argue that the foundation of both content plane of the poem and that of its verbal imagery is formed by a complex axiological axis “nature man -God”. Poetic contemplation of values of the visible world, epitomized by the majestic natural beauty of Kazbek mountain, is a step towards understanding of values of the invisible reality symbolized by the Kazbek monastery. The latter might be interpreted as a symbolic representation of the profound mystery of human soul in its longing for God as the perfect Absolute value. We prove that the unifying center of the poem, its innermost core, is formed by the metaphysical locus of heaven “free height” (вольная вышина). Linguistically, axiological meanings of the poem are manifested within a coherent vertical context established by the Biblical allusion which likens Kazbek monastery to Noah’s ark thus relating author’s personal experience to an infinitely broader realm of Sacred history. In the image of the Kazbek monastery the invisible and inexpressible becomes “present, visible and active” (Vladimir Lossky). Existing in time, the monastery appears insusceptible to temporal changes and resides in the present, which, having no measurement and duration, is a revelation of eternity. A conclusion is drawn that the ideal values poetically expressed in Alexander Pushkin’s timeless poem are by themselves “the subtlest and sharpest tools” (Alexei Losev) to counter cultural manipulation phenomena aimed at deforming the Russian national axiosphere.