The synthesis of documentary and fictional codes in the story “Superpowers by inheritance: My Soviet Grandfathers” by O. Kolpakova

Abstract

The article studies the mechanisms of interaction between documentary and fictional codes in O. Kolpakova’s work “Superpowers by Inheritance: My Soviet Grandfathers”, considered here as a translator of intergenerational ties. The author focuses on establishing the place of the family in the history of the country in different eras, which correlates with the purpose of our study – to determine the nature of the connection between non-fiction and fiction, past and present, which are presented in the story both in a dialogic unity and in opposition. The article concludes that the complex narrative organization of the work reflects the authorial concept of family history, allowing her not only to introduce the reader to the cultural and historical realities of a particular era, which is facilitated by the popular science commentary inserts by Ivan Privalov, but also to transmit the cultural codes that form the identity of the Russians (family, historical memory, respect for elders, love for one’s country and our homeland). The analysis shows that the dialectical relation between non-fiction and fiction is realized through the motif of “stories”, the conversation with the elder relatives is organized in accordance with the narrative models of Soviet literature, which makes an organic synthesis of non-fiction and fiction possible and does not presuppose a linear unfolding of the narrative. The article analyzes the ways of representation of the documentary in the story. The superpower motif, in the author’s opinion, enables her to reach the level of mythopoetic modelling of the national cultural code, which represents traditional values in the formulas that are topical for modern teenagers.