Russian opinion on the Kazakh issue. Way of life and existence in the story "White celestial butterflies" by R. Otarbayev

The research object is the Kazakh national image of the world, namely the Kazakh people’s idea of the life and death. The research subject is the symbolic meaning of the story “White Celestial Butterflies” from the cycle “Gifts from China” by Rakhimzhan Otarbayev. The research material is the artistic legacy of the modern Kazakh writer. The ethos of life and death in the story are hermeneutically reconstructed. Much attention is paid to the folklore and Sufi traditions in the literary work, which were expressed both explicitly and implicitly. The research methodology is reduced to a holistic ontohermeneutic analysis aimed at highlighting the folklore, ethnographic paradigm of the literary text. Much attention is paid to the musical code in the story, since in Kazakh culture, music is the primary element from which the universe, the world tree emerges. Parallels are drawn with the Russian national space, in which one of the leading codes, national constants is also a tree embodying the functions of the world axis. The research results are in identifying the cultural potential of the story by the modern Kazakh writer for further research on the national topic of Kazakhstan. The results can also be used in training courses on the culture and literature of the peoples of Russia and the CIS countries, culturology, philosophy.