Images of old believers in Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky's dilogy "In the woods" and "On the mountains"

The article examines an archetype of the righteous person in the Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky's dilogy through the example of Old Believers images which form the main part of the text. Through the example of a righteousness as a subject the interconnection Melnikov-Pechersky's dilogy with Old Russian literature traditions, focused on Christian values, is shown. Russian literature of the 19th century, which kept these traditions addressing the subject of righteousness, created heroes of a new type. These are secular people, imperfect and a little sinful, but holding onto the ideals of Old Russia. Such righteous persons embodying different virtues are portrayed in Melnikov-Pechersky's dilogy. The article draws some typological parallels with Old Russian literature and identifies several types of righteous heroes in the dilogy - certain types of righteous women and spiritual wanderers. As a result, on the basis of the analysis of Old Believers' images it can be concluded that the main criterion of righteousness for Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky is not belonging of the hero to the Old Belief or the dominating church but his/her Christian attitude and following evangelical precepts. That is why Melnikov-Pechersky does not present the righteous Old Believers as active spokesmen of the Old Belief ideology.