«Shest’ spichek» [“six matches”] by A. and B. Strugatsky: the poetics of the story as a reflection of ideology

The article analyzes the short story “Shest’ spichek” [“Six Matches”] by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky as a cultural text reflecting the ideological, ethical, and social challenges of the Soviet “Thaw” period. It demonstrates how, within the concise framework of science fiction, the authors explore profound philosophical questions: the cost of scientific progress, the moral responsibility of scientists, the relationship between science and human life, and the limits of knowledge and human nature. Through close reading, as well as cultural and contextual analysis, the study examines the story’s poetics, composition, character system, and symbolism. The setting of the Central Brain Institute is interpreted as a “temple of science”, while the protagonist's actions are viewed as a form of religious asceticism. The title “Shest’ spichek” [“Six Matches”] is revealed as a multilayered metaphor: on one hand, it signifies the price of human life (both literal and symbolic); on the other, it alludes to the biblical six days of creation, emphasizing the futility of humanity’s attempts to assume the role of God. The story’s ending, in which the characters silently watch the helicopter flying away, is compared to the silent scene from Gogol’s “Revizor” [“The Government Inspector”] and interpreted as a puzzling pause for the reader – suspended between the departing era of heroic selfsacrifice and the emerging era of humanistic consciousness.