The value paradigm of the Russian Enlightenment of the 18th century in the “Russian Proverbs” by I. F. Bogdanovich

The article is devoted to a detailed analysis of the value concept of the collection “Russian Proverbs” by I. F. Bogdanovich, which is embodied by the compiler in a well-thought-out composition and categorization of the content, in contrast to the previously accepted principle of alphabetical arrangement of the material. The article provides an analysis of the views of researchers, which are mostly based on subjective ideological assessments, often formally repeating the views of their predecessors. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that, based on a detailed analysis of the content of the collection, as well as the use of the most substantiated observations by a number of authors, it is established that I. F. Bogdanovich was guided not by servile but by educational goals, asserting humanistic values and combining folk and his own texts, which significantly clarifies the assessments of his work by researchers. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the compiler was the first to develop an ethical systematization of the content of proverbs and to classify their artistic form, as well as to identify the objective reason for the change in the form of proverbs during their existence, which makes the collection an innovative contribution to the development of Russian folklore studies. The analysis of the compiler’s ideological positions enriches our understanding about values of the progressive noble intelligentsia of the late 18th century and the means of their artistic embodiment using folklore.