“Murzilka” by N. M. Oleynikov

Abstract

At the end of the 19th century, small forest people – brownies – appeared in Russian literature, invented and drawn by the Canadian writer Palmer Cox. His main character – Murzilka – for half a century of his literary evolution transformed into the image of the well-known Soviet reader, Neznajka. One of the literary branches of the brownie’s development was Makar Svirepyj, the main character of Nikolai Oleynikov's comics. Unlike Murzilka of Cox and N. N. Nosov’s Neznajka, he is devoid of many negative traits. He is an extremely active and at the same time politicized character, which is associated with the change of the cultural code in Russia after 1917. Makar Svirepyj’s peculiarity lies in his ideology growing into ideology. At the same time, he inherited from the Brownie Cox a propensity for travel and the ability to get into unbelievable situations.