The article attempts to present L. Andreyev as a psychologist of the human soul, who based his conception of philosophy on F. Dostoyevsky’s psychologism. The subject of the analysis is
psychological drama Yekaterina Ivanovna. The first part of the article is subjected to the study of Andreyev’s human conception, based on the image of a man in Dostoyevsky’s works. The problem of beauty and evil in man, which was brought up in drama, is a clear reference to the Dostoyevsky’s concept. Among the differences in philosophical concepts we can list different opinions about God and freedom.

The current outline attmpts to look at and describe one of the less known plays of Nikolai Jevreinov The St Dennis’ indykt Fair. The play was written for the Starinny Theatre, still, it was performed neither in this one nor in any other theatre. In the here presented analysis the author pays attention to two aspects of the play.. On the one hand, it is the relationship between drama and Jevreinov’s theory about the function of the theatre. The author believes that the situation here presented points to the consequences of too deep involvement of the spectator in the performance, his forgetting that it is just a tale performed on stage. On the other hand, the author points to the universal character of the play, which occupies its place in the contemporary current of theatrical quest, which refers to the medieval fair performances.

This article is devoted to analysis of the notion “Russian idea” and to attempt of the sublation of it from such notions, as “Russian soul” or “Russian character”. The author is taking the
attempt to explain the historical context of the coming into existence of dates “Russian soul” and “Russian idea”, introduced by Nikolai Berdyaev at the beginning of the 20th century. Next she proceeds to analysis of what Berdyaev understood by these terms. This way she comments on such characteristics of Russians as tendency to the extreme, lack of the social initiative and internal contradictions. All this — according to the author’s theory — Berdyaev is extracting from the history of coming into existence of the Russian statehood, from lack of knighthoods in the formulation of social awareness, and from boundless Russian expanses which from one side are calling the avocation for the unrestricted freedom, but from the other side are also creating a lot of obstacles at every attempt to control them. All these features and circumstances are smoothly alternating with Eurasianism of Russians.

Cwietajewa’s lyrics is discussed in the article from the perspective of its relation to the art of theatre. As the basis for such an understanding of her poems was a strong emotional marking, dynamisms, a battle of contradictions deriving from Cwietajewa’s unconventional approach to commonly-known events, myths and threads. It was assumed that the poetry in
question was focused on conflict and dialogue with a reader as it was provocative, demanded reaction, and answer to the questions it asked.
Special attention should be paid to word economy and persistent work with it in order to receive the biggest number of meaning shadows from it. The word-gesture, a psychological subtext, a special role of rhetorical means, expression, confrontation of viewpoints, stageability, monologue mastership, a dialogue nature of a monologue, the poet’s ability to transform herself — all this constitutes a theatrical shape of her poems.

The author of the article presents a profile of Dmytro Doncow, a little-known columnist. The text proves a hypothesis that the writer was a conservatist with an inclination for monarchism.
Being an occidentalist, he was in favour of traditional European values, derived from Christian faith and ethics, and claimed that the cultural and political future of Ukraine were integrally related to the future of a European continent. Considering a Ukrainian columnist a representative of a cycle of fascists and advocates of a national left-wing socialism is a big academic abuse.

The paper deals with the question of the Project of literature by Vladimir Nabokov. The author of the paper presents evolution of the writer’s literary outlooks, investigates dependency
of his hypothesis on ideas promoted by certain literary schools and tries to determine the role literature played in his life and creation. The analysis of Nabokov’s works leads to conclusion that Nabokov in all his works designed his authorial concept of literature including understanding, definition, process of creating, reception and evaluation.

The author of this article aims to bring the output of Mikhail Epstein, a Russian culture specialist and philosopher to a Polish reader closer. What is outlined is an academic career of
this versatile thinker that cannot be pigeonholed by any field of the humanistic studies. He is as much a culture specialist as he is a literature theoretician and philosopher, writer and author of the Internet projects, as well as a researcher. The analysis covers his research method and narration characterized by an inclination for neologisms, mixing a humanistic and academic discourse, as well as a synthesizing perspective of an utterance. The author comes to a conclusion that Epstein, following the paths determined by post-structuralism, goes beyond its limitations, creating the philosophy of a new era, the philosophy of the “possible” modus. The hypothesis was put forward that the philosophy of the possible can become methodology in studies on fantasy, what Epstein suggests in his declarations directing philosophy at searching and multiplying the worlds of the possible.

The subject of this paper is the attempt of analysis and characteristic of two heroes — Khoma and God, from their weakness point of view. This drama is Sadur’s dialogic appropriation of Gogol’s tale, but she gave here Khoma quite different role from that one, which prepared the author of Vii. Together with God they are the part of game of religious worth, in which author attempts to show, who is weaker. Khoma fights with evil in the form of Pannochka, at that time God should support him and, at the beginning, He’s indeed doing it. Sadur includes in her drama some proofs of God’s weakness or of that He doesn’t exist. She refers to the scientific researches and philosophers’ theories. Khoma also doesn’t have enough strength to fight with evil. However, although it won, Sadur leaves hope for future.

The article is devoted to one of the last novels by W. Aksionow. The author of the article, pointing to the senses included in the work, makes use of three thematic categories Moskwa Kwa-Kwa was based on, namely the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, a utopian project of Plato’s nation, and an alternative history. The action takes place in the capital of the Soviet
Union in last years of Stalin’s ruling aiming at the creation of a new religion (New Phase). In Moscow, in the meantime, a decisive conflict between Stalin’s advocates and his enemy, Josip Broz Tito, a Yugoslavian ruler appears. The picture of Kiriłł Smielczakow, the main character of the novel, refers to the fate of Theseus, one of the key figures in the Ancient mythology in many respects. Kiriłł fights with two Minotaurs: Stalin and Tito at the same time. The structure of the Soviet nation and society presented in the article seems to owe Plato’s utopian vision.

The topic of the following article refers to the problem of postmodern vision of reality included in Oleg Bogajew dramaturgy. This reality in categories of the unrecognizable, degraded,
deconstructed fits in Nietzsche’s perspective‑dual concept of the modern world. ‘Modernism’ according to the philosopher’s thought, analyzed within postmodern boundaries constitutes for contemporary literary researchers a post‑contemporary landmark in the research of cultural and social phenomena. Therefore, the considerations included in the paper based on the Nietzsche’s philosophy of the truth and cognition which due to its meaning is linked with a post‑contemporary concept of modern culture is an attempt of an analysis of the condition of the man of our times, taking into account his life, background, attitude to reality in connection with tradition, culture and history.