Translation of Gnosticism in the text and film adaptations of the novel It’s Hard to Be a God by the Strugatsky Brothers

The study aims to identify the specifics of the embodiment of elements of the Gnostic worldview (hierarchy of worlds, dualism of the spiritual and the material, gnosis) in the Strugatsky brothers’ novel It’s Hard to Be a God and its film adaptations (Peter Fleischmann, 1989; Aleksei German, 2013) through the prism of Eric Voegelin’s concept of political Gnosticism. The materials used were the text of the novel, cinematic adaptations, and works by early Christian authors (Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian). The methodology combined philosophical and cultural analysis (Voegelin’s theory of political Gnosticism, the concept “immanentization of the eschaton”), hermeneutic interpretation of symbolism, structural analysis of the plot of the novel and visual elements of its film interpretations, as well as postmodern deconstruction, which was used to analyze German’s film with an emphasis on the mixture of reality and fiction. The study established that in the world of Noon, a hierarchical model is reproduced based on the central myth of political Gnosticism of the New Age - the myth of progress. The bearers of this myth immanentize the eschaton and realize religious goals through political practices in real history, and through cosmic expansion in the world of Noon. The study showed that the progressors, acting as an external force, use secularized Gnostic categories: hierarchy of worlds (different planets), secret knowledge (materialism and scientific thinking), the lower world (the world of soulless people who do not strive for progress), the upper world of light (communist society), two kinds of people, spiritual and soulless (with spiritual people perceiving themselves as gods), contempt for the material world, which is essentially evil. The ego-image of the progressor Rumata correlates with the Gnostic god who despises material reality, and his activity symbolizes “salvation” through the violent imposition of ideals. A comparative analysis of the film adaptations revealed emphases: in Fleischman, the myth of progress dominates, while in Herman, anti-materialism and demonization of human nature. Both the films retain the key Gnostic elements of the novel, developing them in the context of postmodern culture. The study demonstrated that the philosophical and cultural approach to the works of the Strugatsky brothers reveals the religious roots of atheistic ideology, explicating the connection of materialism with Gnostic dualism. It proved that the text and film adaptations transmit the archetypes of political Gnosticism, which show the religious roots of the atheistic and materialistic ideology of communism.