The lexico-semantic embodiment of the commander image in the texts of historical, campaign, and military-domestic songs of the Kuban Line Cossacks

The study aims to identify the features of the lexico-semantic realization of the commander image in the texts of historical, campaign, and military-domestic songs of the Kuban Line Cossacks. The article analyzes the texts of the songs as a mega-text embodying the Cossack representations of their military leader. The study identifies the key semantic components of the image: the commander is always at the center of “his own” space, fulfilling the role of a father for ordinary Cossacks, he leads the warriors, is inseparable from his detachment, faces danger, and is a victor and hero. The commander is an active speech personality: he inspires before battle, gives commands, calms during battle, educates, bequeaths love for his homeland, and, mortally wounded, asks to be carried from the battlefield. The study highlights the commander’s characteristics such as speed, strength, daring, and renown. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the image of the Cossack commander in this aspect is examined for the first time using the example of regional Kuban folklore. The study reveals that the image of the military leader embodies the Cossacks’ notions of the ideal warrior, respected and loved by his subordinates.