A Russian nihilist as a hero of English literature of the 19th -21st centuries

The article deals with the dynamics of the image of a Russian nihilist in English literature of the 19th-21st centuries. Peculiarities of transformation and interpretation of this type have been studied in the context of "Ba-zarov's myth". The image of Bazarov is presented as the archetype of a nihilist in the world literature. The author of the paper researches the reasons for high receptivity for this hero in western literature and turns to the genesis of this hero rooted in the European cultural tradition. The materials of the research are works by O. Wilde (Vera, or the Nihilists), A.K. Doyle (A Night among the Nihilists, The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez), S. Maugham (Christmas Holiday), T. Stoppard (The Coast of Utopia) and others. The literary image of the nihilist is analyzed in philosophical, historical and cultural contexts.