Variants of the sin atonement motif: on the life of Nekrasov's plot about a great sinner in the Russian culture of the XX century

Problem statement. There are two versions of the plot about two great sinners in the Russian literature and culture. The first version is Nekrasov’s one, based upon a folk tale, in which one sinner killed the other and earned God’s pardon for this. The second version is the same Nekrasov’s text, shortened and transformed into a song in which only one great sinner remains. Instead of committing a murder, he repented in a monastery. The versions express the opposite positions. The second one preaches such Christian virtues as repentance and humility. On the contrary, the first version shows that one can achieve salvation only by rebellion and murder. It has a revolutionary/ social connotation. The purpose of the article. These two versions of the plot are not always distinguished in the research literature. The purpose of the article is to draw a distinction between the versions and to analyze their functioning. Review of scientific literature on the problem. Nekrasov’s plot was thoroughly studied in 1920s- 1960s. M.N. Klimova examined the second version in her book Ot protopopa Avvakuma do Fiedora Abramova: Zhitiya greshnykh sviatykh v russkoi literature (From the archpriest Avvakum to Theodore Abramov: hagiography of the sinful saints in the Russian literature), 2003. Methodology and research results. The comparative method along with the motif analysis leads to the conclusion that the full version of the plot was used by A. Kuprin in Demir-Kaya: Vostochnaya legenda (Demir-Kaya), 1906. The shortened version, widely known as the song performed by F. Chaliapin, could affect Stepan Razin’s image created by V. Shukshin in his film as well as the concept of the Strannyie liudi (Strange people) film (1969). The unique version of the plot, which differs from both full and short versions, is discovered in L.M. Leonov’s Deianiya Azlazivona, 1921. Conclusion. When analyzing the plot, one should identify the possible sources of the plot on the basis of the differences of two versions mentioned above.