The concepts of the emergence of Russian literary utopia

Problem and purpose. The topic raised in the article is a relevant scientific problem. The author sets a goal to determine the time of appearance of the first utopian texts in Russian literature. The methodology of the study is the analysis of stories about the earthly paradise with the aim of their possible identification or difference from the first utopias. Two polar points of view, namely about the appearance of samples of the genre in the 18th century (V.P. Shestakov, T.A. Chernysheva, N.V. Kovtun) and about the emergence of an art form in the literature of Ancient Rus (L. Geller, M. Nike, B.F. Egorov, T.V. Chumakova), are examined. Proceeding from the specific features of the utopian genre, the author of the article tries to show the inconsistency of the hypothesis about the early, medieval appearance of utopia in Russian literature. Results. The result of the study is a rethinking of the view of the genre,s origin in Russia. Conclusion. In the conclusion the article offers an assessment of the traditional approach in determining the time limits of Russian literary utopia as the only true one.