Trickster characters in the novel “Azazel” by Boris Akunin: artistic functions and a mythological projection

The article considers characters of the novel “Azazel” by Boris Akunin from the mythopoetic perspective. The traits of the trickster archetype are revealed in such characters as Count Zuroff and Ivan Brilling. The principles of figurative embodiment and plot-bearing functions of these characters are traced in the semantic space of the novel.