THE MYTHOLOGEME OF WATER IN GEORGY GREBENSHCHIKOV’S STORIES «VODYANOI» AND «IN THE FOREST»

The article analyzes the mythologeme of water in the stories of Georgy Grebenshchikov - «Vodyanoi» (“water sprite”) and «In the forest»; it considers symbolic meanings and semantic functions of the mythologeme. The ambiguous symbolism of water is viewed, on the one hand, as an allusion to the spontaneous irrepressible power of the Russian people; on the other - as a special space, a kind of interworld, where the characters of the stories must undergo initiation. However, in defiance of the law of a fairy tale, fear prevents the heroes from completing the trial, and finally they return to their original state, to the beginning of their journey.