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Ориентализация «другого» как страх перед своим народом: «Олеся» А.И. Куприна в постколониальной перспективе
The article explores the representation of hybridization of Ukrainian and Russian identity in Alexander Kuprin’s story “Olesia” (1898). Using the concept of “internal colonization” as a nuanced version of postcolonial theory applied to the context of Russian Empire, the author analyzes the hidden motives that are connected to the ethnic groups and stereotypes. The key feature of the main heroine, unnoticed by the previous scholars, is her Russian origin and, thus, the Ukrainian mimicry. This important detail enables a new interpretation of protagonist’s love to Olesia. This love story and orientalization of the heroine can be read as Russian intelligentsia’s unconscious anxiety of dangerous peasants. The article traces how Kuprin discredits the populist ideology and idea of civilizing mission working with the most painful myths and discourses of fin de siècle imperial culture.