LIMONOV’S “TRACE” IN THE PROSE OF ZAKHAR PRILEPIN

Abstract

The article is devoted to the intertextual polemic dialogue with E. Limonov, which is conducted by Z. Prilepin in the story “Matches and tobacco, and all that” (2016). In the culminating episode, Prilepin, with the help of a recognizable quote, refers the reader to Limonov’s pretext, which is the novel “Adolescent Savenko” (1982), as a result, an important element of the semantic structure of the story turns out to be a dispute about whether it is possible to combine poetic sophistication with courage and aggressiveness, necessary as a warrior and a street fighter. On this issue, the positions of the two writers differ sharply: from Limonov’s point of view, poetic activity leads to effeminacy, while Prilepin is convinced of the opposite.