BYLINA ON THE RUSSIAN FRONTIER: DECONSTRUCTION OF THE PRE-CHRISTIAN EPIC HERO AS A PLOT FUNCTION OF THE FOLK EPIC «ALYOSHA POPOVICH AND TUGARIN THE SERPENT»

The author reveals values that motivate Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent, compares the structures of their value centers, and concludes that these characters demonstrate an opposed - i. e., pagan versus Christian - understanding of such categories as glory, honor, and strength. The article proposes a hypothesis that the function of the bylina (Russian heroic epic) about Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin is to correct the listener’s value centre in order to devaluate in it pagan axiological paradigm. According to the author, precisely such actuality of the genre purpose accounts for the fact that the Siberian variants of the bylina are more profound and vivid than the ones written down in the European part of Russia.