Historical songs about Ermak and mass literature of the 19th – early 20th century: continuity and typology

Statement of the problem. The article examines the historical song “Ermak at Ivan Grozny’s”, which had popularity among writers of ‘popular’ literature, but at the same time has a plot discrepancy with works created by writers of mass literature of the 19th – early 20th centuries. The purpose of the article. In the course of analysis of the historical song “Ermak at Ivan Grozny’s”, it is necessary to identify the leading motifs, which provided song popularity among writers- creators of mass literature of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Review of the scientific literature on the issue. The theoretical basis of our research is the work on ‘popular’ reading in the second half of the 19th century: “When Russia Learned to Read” by J. Brooks (1985) and “From Bova to Balmont” by A.I. Reitblat (1992). Methodology. In our study, we used cultural-historical, sociological, comparative methods, and method of motifs analysis. The methodological basis includes the works of E.H. Kantorovich, I. Paperno, B.M. Gasparov, and M.B. Plyukhanova. Research results. The national consciousness of the second half of the 19th century, which was in search of national identity, was interested in topics related to the conflict between representatives of the people and the authorities. However, the lack of examples of successful rebellion in the history of Russia led former peasants to believe that a conflict with the government, resolved in favor of the people, was impossible. These ideas were reflected in the historical song “Ermak at Ivan Grozny’s”, in which the image of the head emphasized the superiority of the God-chosen king over the robber, and with the motif of water, the ataman’s marginal position in society. Conclusion. In the course of the study, we came to the conclusion that the historical song “Ermak at Ivan Grozny’s” motifs of a decapitated body and death in the river, revealing the conflict between a robber and a representative of power, made the song popular among writers-creators of mass literature in the 19th – beginning of 20th centuries, because the above-mentioned conflict corresponded to the spiritual demands of former peasants in the modernized society after 1861.