Evangelical counsels in the materialistic society (based on Oleg Volkov's novel “Sinking into darkness”)

The significance of this research paper derives from the little coverage of the poetics of Volkov’s prison camp prose. The article deals with the analysis of the role of the Evangelical Counsels in forming of the moral image of a Soviet citizen and the ideology of the socialist system in Oleg Volkov’s autobiographic novel “Sinking into Darkness” (1987). The research paper examines the peculiarities of transformation of human’s spiritual state under conditions of the totalitarian system and camp confinement. The images of righteous men, bearers of Christian virtues, their place and function in the society of that time are analyzed. It has also been ascertained that the Evangelical Counsels are represented by Volkov as the most important base of any political and social system, as a measure of human spirituality and a reason for country’s spiritual renovation, the crucial role in which belongs to the community of believers. The author reveals transformation of the personality through finding of belief under the conditions of unfreedom and prison camp system. He indicates the facts of evolution of the moral of opportunists and consumers. The writer creates the novel's plot as the Way of the Cross leading to spiritual revival of Russia.