The Russian Literary Estate in the Context of Artistic Trends. Classicism and Sentimentalism: Results and Prospects of the 18th Century

The article examines the dynamics of the estate topos and estate myth in Russian literature of the 18th century, tracing their evolution from conditional rhetorical to mimetic forms within the context of the preceding (16th–17th centuries) and subsequent (19th–21st centuries) periods of development. The research indicates that the formation of these categories occurred within the literary estate of Moscow Rus, in the context of the restructuring of Russian culture under the influence of a powerful wave of Europeanization in the post-Petrine era. Horatian and state- patriotic lines in the representation of a literary estate, largely related to the aesthetic category of the sublime; in sentimentalism, an idyllic chronotope, connotations of paradise on earth, inspiration, artistic creation, and the value of the patriarchal family. The article establishes that the sentimental ideal embodied in the aesthetics of the touching formed the basis of the estate myth of the early 20th century. The importance of the artistic trends of the 18th century is emphasized for the formation of the Russian literary estate.