Mythopoeical Comprehension of History in the Novels “The Abode” by Z. Prilepin and “My Children” by G. Yakhina

Aim. To characterize the strategies and main forms of mythopoetic understanding of history in the novels “The Abode” by Z. Prilepin and “My Children” by G. Yakhina.Methodology. Based on the established scientific principles of comparative, mythopoetic and hermeneutic approaches to the study of fiction, research attention in the article is drawn primarily to the character level of the text as the most representative one for achieving the goal: mythologemes are associated with the images of heroes, which set the basis for the construction of the author's own neomyth.Results. The analysis established that the authors of both works strive to comprehend not only private and national history, but also universal history, and myth, being a symbolic form of universalization, helps to realize this intention with the help of different models. Based on specific material, the following neo-mythological strategies have been identified: the creation of an eschatological myth about Solovki in one case, and a mythological chronotope of the Volga Gnadenthal in another. At the same time, Prilepin noticeably strengthens the historiosophical component of the novel, while in Yakhina, the mythopoeticization of history serves rather as an ornamental frame, metaphorically embodied in the plot.Research implications. The results obtained expand the theoretical understanding of the ways in which myth functions in the Russian novel of the 21st century, where the authors’ attention is drawn to the beginning of the Soviet era – a time of independent scientific interest from the point of view of the mythologization of history, and also outline prospects in the study of the author’s neo-myths of modern literature.