Perception of Avvakum in the Works of Mark Aldanov
Authors:   Novgorod State University Yaroslav-the-Wise, Shadursky Vladimir V. 
Published: December 2022

What attracted Aldanov to the heritage of Archpriest Avvakum? The brilliant personality of a man who was involved in events in the history of Russia and was instrumental in transforming the Russian literary tradition. Features of a number of Avvakum’s works are to be found in Aldanov’s journalistic publications — “Armageddon,” “Fire and Smoke” — in his literary works — “Soviet People (in Cinematography)”, “Punch Vodka”, “A Tale of Death” — and in his philosophical treatises — “A Night in Ulm”. Aldanov sees the archpriest as a writer of genius, while simultaneously recognizing him as one who destroyed the traditions of history’s natural course. In Aldanov’s works one observes a dichotomy of opposing worldviews. While he rejects Avvakum’s ideological struggle to preserve the traditions, he is also opposed to Lenin, whose ideology stresses extirpating past traditions. In Aldanov’s view, these two historical personages are linked by their passion for destruction. They are distinctive the one from the other, however, in that Avvakum, steeped in delusions, is a mild-mannered, persecuted martyr, while Lenin, who lives by hatred, is the fountainhead of social and political evil. Aldanov recognizes Avvakum as a writer of genius but also considers him dangerous as a force for influencing the minds of men. His negative perception of Avvakum consists in his rejection of the latter’s stance; recognizing the “primordial” nature of his rebellion, he points up the absence of enlightenment. Avvakum’s less than intelligent energy, his influence, obstinacy, and his deliberate attempt to fracture his society are features that recur and are intensified in the character and behavior of Vladimir Lenin. If one compares the approach to Avvakum of D. P. Svyatopolk-Mirsky and A. M. Remizov with that of Aldanov, the ambivalent stance of Aldanov’s representation of the archpriest is clarified. Another consideration involves the delight of Avvakum’s style, how Aldanov uses leitmotifs of the archpriest’s works in his own prose. In the novella “Punch vodka”, while summing up the life of M. V. Lomonosov, Aldanov cites Avvakum’s works, by way of expressing his idea about the unique happiness of a genius, unattainable by ordinary people. In the novel “A Tale of Death”, Aldanov uses a leitmotif from “The Life of Archpriest Avvakum, As Written By Himself”: the image of the wife of Leyden. She suffers as a result of her husband’s actions, while unaware of the paramount calamity of his life, on analogy with the situation in which the wife of the archpriest finds herself. As early as his first published articles Aldanov formulates his approach to the image of Avvakum, but that image is not static. Over the years his attitude toward the archpriest changes. Aldanov does not create Avvakum as a literary personage; rather, he invokes the personality of a writer, with whom a continuous dialogue is carried on. As his literary prose develops we see less of the Avvakum as hatemongering schismatic and precursor of the Bolsheviks, and more of the man who aids us in understanding the meaning of life (“Punch vodka”). His words and images also help Aldanov to display the development of Russian literature (“A Night in Ulm”) and to create literary characters in his novels (“A Tale of Death”, “Delirium”).