The Russian Lexeme Кавказец “Caucasian” in the Conceptual Space of M. Yu. Lermontov’s Essay (A Linguistic and Cultural Aspect)

Aim. To identify the linguistic and cultural potential of the Russian word кавказец “Caucasian” in the conceptual space of M. Yu. Lermontov’s essay. Methodology. The author identifies and analyses the factors that predetermine how the meanings of the word under investigation have been changing and developing. The comprehensive methodology applied by the author includes a descriptive and analytical method, as well as contextual and conceptual analyses. Results. In Lermontov’s essay, the Russian word кавказец (Сaucasian) is a unit of the textual semantic field related to the toponym Caucasus . The word кавказец (Сaucasian) has contextual links with the names of axiological national and cultural dominants, as well as the realities of Russia’s history and modernity, its regional geography concepts and individual life experience, which are viewed as the sources for semantic development and the emergence of associations in the text. Research Implications. The obtained results can be used in the study of the linguistic picture of the world, and the linguistic personality of the author.