The academic journal of the Institute of Slavic Studies (Russian Academy of Sciences) «Slavic Almanac» Thе academic journal “Slavic Almanac” reflects the main directions of complex academic Slavic studies. The edition includes articles and materials on the history of Slavic peoples, linguistics, ethnolinguistics and literary studies. The chronological span of the publications is from the Middle Ages to date. The issue will interest both researchers and a wide range of readers. The journal was registered on March 30th, 2015 by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media. Certificate of registration: ПИ № ФС77-61 134. Subscription index in the Combined Catalogue «The Press of Russia» is 80 313. The journal is included into the List of leading peer-reviewed academic journals and editions where key scholarly results of Cand. Sci. and Dr. Sci. theses should be published.
Учредитель журнала: Институт славяноведения РАН; Издательство «ИНДРИК»
Professor of the Belarusian State University, Academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ivan Alekseevich Charota (1952–2024): Life in the Name of Slavic Studies
On November 7, 2024, after a long and serious illness, the outstanding Belarusian Slavic and Balkanist scholar, Academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, member of the Union of Writers of the USSR and the Republic of Belarus, professor, doctor of philological sciences Ivan Alekseevich Charota (1952–2024) passed away. Received: 16.02.2015. Citation Shevchenko K. V. Professor of the Belarusian State University, Academician of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ivan Alekseevich Charota (1952–2024): Life in the Name of Slavic Studies // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 499–506 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073- 5731.2025.1-2.29
Copyright (c) 2025 Slavic Almanac https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
XLI All-Russian Dialectological Meeting “Lexical Atlas of the Russian Folk Dialects – 2025”
On February 3–4, 2025, the XLI All-Russian Dialectological Meeting “Lexical Atlas of the Russian Folk Dialects – 2025” was held at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Received: 17.02.2025. Citation Shalaeva T. V. XLI All-Russian Dialectological Meeting “Lexical Atlas of the Russian Folk Dialects – 2025” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 495–498 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.28
An Academic Conference “Poetics of Space in the Artistic Practice of Contemporary Authors of Central and South-Eastern Europe”
On December 10–11, 2024, a conference was held at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the objective of which was to examine a range of issues related to the aspect of “experiencing space” in literary texts by authors from the region of Central and South-Eastern Europe after 1989. Received: 15.03.2025. Citation Shatko E. V. An Academic Conference “Poetics of Space in the Artistic Practice of Contemporary Authors of Central and South-Eastern Europe” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 489–494 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.27
International Scientific Conference “XVII Readings in Memory of Metropolitan Joseph of Lithuania and Vilna (Semashko)”
On December 6, 2024, the XVII Readings in Memory of Metropolitan Joseph of Lithuania and Vilna (Semashko) took place at the Minsk Theological Seminary, dedicated to the 185th anniversary of the Polotsk Church Council (1839). Received: 04.02.2025. Citation Dronov M. Yu., Sloistov S. M. International Scientific Conference “XVII Readings in Memory of Metropolitan Joseph of Lithuania and Vilna (Semashko)” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 485–488 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.26
XVIII International Scientific-Practical Conference “Slovakia, the Slavs and Their Neighbors: History, International Relations, Culture”
On October 26, 2024, the XVIII International Scientific-Practical Conference “Slovakia, the Slavs and Their Neighbors: History, International Relations, Culture” was held in Krasnodar, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. Received: 10.11.2024. Citation Peretyatko A. Yu. XVIII International Scientific-Practical Conference “Slovakia, the Slavs and Their Neighbors: History, International Relations, Culture” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 481–484 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.25
International Scientific Conference “XXIII Slavistics Readings in Memory of Professor P. A. Dmitriev and Professor G. I. Safronov”
From September 11 to 14, 2024, the International Scientific Conference “XXIII Slavistics Readings in Memory of Professor Pyotr Andreevich Dmitriev and Professor German Ivanovich Safronov” was held at Saint Petersburg State University. Received: 29.10.2024. Citation Kotova M. Yu., Raina O. V. International Scientific Conference “XXIII Slavistics Readings in Memory of Professor P. A. Dmitriev and Professor G. I. Safronov” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 470–480 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.24
Józef Piłsudski and the Unsolvable “Belarusian Question”: The Collapse of the Polish Federal Project in 1918–1920 in an Updated Version
Polish historiography has shown a persistent interest in the reasons for the failure of the theoretical constructs of federalism developed by J. Piłsudski’s supporters before the First World War and aimed at restoring, in the conditions of the 20th century, a multinational statehood in Eastern Europe under the leadership of Poland, including Belarusian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian lands. In the context of the restoration of Polish statehood in 1918–1920, federal projects turned out to be absolutely incompatible with historical reality. In a detailed monograph by Polish historian Joanna Gierowska-Kallaur, published in Warsaw in 2023, the reasons for the failure of Pilsudski’s attempts to resolve the Belarusian direction of the federal plans in his favor are examined in detail and in many ways in a new way. Significant archival material accumulated by the author over a quarter of a century of work on the topic allows for convincingly debunking the persistent stereotypes that have accumulated in the study of this issue. At the same time, the glorification of the personality and views of J. Pilsudski, characteristic of the researcher, gives rise to new intricate misconceptions regarding the motivation and results of the geopolitical transformations that determined the design of the eastern borders of interwar Poland. Received: 07.03.2025. Citation Borisyonok Yu. A. Józef Piłsudski and the Unsolvable “Belarusian Question”: The Collapse of the Polish Federal Project in 1918–1920 in an Updated Version // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 456–469 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.23
On the Genesis of the West Polesie Ethnopolitical Movement: From the Unpublished Publicistic Heritage of F. D. Klimchuk (1950s – 1960s)
The article presents an analysis of the publicistic poetry of F. D. Klimchuk (1935–2018), the famous Belarusian philologist and a specialist in the field of Slavic dialectology. Poems by F. D. Klimchuk, written in the dialect of his native village of Simonovichi (Drogichin district, Brest region, Belarus), were deposited in the funds of the State Archives of the Brest region. The works manifest the ideas of ethnocultural identity of the West Polesie region, the need to preserve the unique dialects of the region, and in a cautious and veiled form declare the possibility of political self-determination of West Polesie. Thus, the main postulates of the participants of the West Polesie ethnopolitical movement under the leadership of N. N. Shelyagovich (second half of the 1980s – first half of the 1990s) were already formulated by F. D. Klimchuk in the 1950s – 1960s, but at that time there was no opportunity to present them publicly. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, F. D. Klimchuk supported exclusively the cultural component of the West Polesie movement, dissociating himself from N. N. Shelyagovich and his associates, who sought to artificially politicize ethnicity in order to obtain symbolic and power capital. Publicistic materials by F. D. Klimchuk are important for understanding the genesis of the West Polesie ethnopolitical movement in Belarus and may also be of interest to philologists studying Slavic literary microlanguages. Received: 27.08.2024. Revised: 15.10.2024. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Kazak O. G., Sereda A. S. On the Genesis of the West Polesie Ethnopolitical Movement: From the Unpublished Publicistic Heritage of F. D. Klimchuk (1950s – 1960s) // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 443–455 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.22
“The Russian Boyan” or “the Roguish Exploiter of Moscow Patriotism”: D. A. Agrenev-Slavyansky and His “Slavic Chapel” in the Assessments of Contemporaries. Part 1
Dmitry A. Agrenev (pseud. Agrenev-Slavyansky, 1834 or 1836‒1908) was the founder of the “Slavic Chapel”, one of the most popular choral teams in the Russian Empire in the last third of the 19th – early 20th cent. A radical discrepancy in contemporaries’ assessments was stated in Russian historiography on the history of choirs performing Russian and Slavic folk songs and in research about the formation of the Russian stage. The personality of Slavyansky, his repertoire policy, his role in the popularization of the Russian song were perceived as ambivalent. On the one hand, he was called the “Russian Boyan” and was praised for popularizing Russian culture in the Russian Empire and abroad. On the other hand, he was reproached for falsifying folklore works, representing “the new songs” (Roma and factory workers’ songs, romances of modern poets) as traditional folklore in the pursuit of profit. Music critics and composers (including outstanding ones, such as P. I. Tchaikovsky and S. I. Taneyev) expressed doubts about the authenticity of the folklore sources he collected and the accuracy of their musical processing for concert performance. The first part of the article analyzes the main features of Slavyansky’s innovative concept that led to the success and popularity of his choir, as well as the main arguments of supporters and admirers of his work. Received: 27.07.2024. Revised: 17.09.2024. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Leskinen M. V. “The Russian Boyan” or “the Roguish Exploiter of Moscow Patriotism”: D. A. Agrenev-Slavyansky and His “Slavic Chapel” in the Assessments of Contemporaries. Part 1 // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 413–442 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.21
The Phenomenon of Crypto-Christianity in the Vitae of the 16th Century Balkan Martyrs
The article examines the reflection in the works of Slavic hagiography of the 16th century of one of the important phenomena of interreligious interaction in the Balkans: Crypto-Christianity. Crypto-Christians or hidden Christians are those who outwardly accepted Islam, and also performed Muslim rituals, but at the same time secretly professed Christianity, performing some Christian rituals. The article examines this phenomenon based on the material of the vitae of the Balkan martyrs (martyria). For obvious reasons, not much is known about Crypto-Christianity, but individual examples of Crypto-Christianity can be found in hagiographies dedicated to some Balkan martyrs. In Slavic hagiography, Crypto-Christianity is often presented as a possible alternative to martyrdom. St. Nicholas the New, after his Muslim acquaintances deceived him into their faith, did not leave his house for a whole year, which caused discontent among Muslims and his Orthodox relatives. Thus, before his exposure by Muslims, Nicholas was a Crypto-Christian. But the most obvious example can be found in the South Slavic vitae of St. George the New, which mentions a certain “Saracen” who secretly professed the Christian faith. At the same time, the article suggests that the image of this “Saracen” is a biblical reference to the image of Joseph of Arimathea from the Gospel of John. At the same time, the attitude of hagiographers to Crypto-Christianity, reflected in the works they created, is rather negative. From the point of view of representatives of the church in the 16th century, it is preferable to die for the faith than to maintain commitment to Orthodoxy in secret. Received: 07.01.2025. Revised: 12.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Evstafyev N. V. The Phenomenon of Crypto-Christianity in the Vitae of the 16th Century Balkan Martyrs // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 399–412 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.20
On Dostoevsky and Other Matters. Russian Literature in the Czech Republic
Studies of Russian literature in the Czech Republic have a rich tradition. A great deal of attention is paid to the study of the Russian classics and the modern literary process nowadays by «Novaja Russistika (Nová rusistika): International Journal of Modern Philological and Areal Russistics». Since 2008, it has been published in Russian, Czech and other Slavic languages by Masaryk University in Brno (founder and editor-in-chief Ivo Pospíšil). Over the years of its existence, the journal has presented more than five hundred articles by Czech and Russian scholars and researchers from other countries on the problems of Russian literature, its place in the European and Czech literary process, Russian-Czech literary relations, translations, and others. In particular, the journal has hosted scholarly discussions on topical issues of the study of the novel genre in Russian literature and its contemporary fate. Over the last two years, the journal has published articles on the works of F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, N. Leskov, V. Astafiev, etc. Allowing freedom in the choice of research methodology and recognizing the pluralism of opinions, the editorial board invariably requires the authors to remain within the framework of philological scientific discussion. Received: 06.02.2025. Revised: 26.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Sheshken A. G., Vinokurova L. A. On Dostoevsky and Other Matters. Russian Literature in the Czech Republic // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 385–398 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.19
Images of Space as an Element of Narrative Strategy (“Zemljevidi domotožja” by Boris A. Novak)
The poetic epic of the outstanding Slovenian poet Boris A. Novak “Vrata nepovrata” (2015–2017) has become a landmark phenomenon of contemporary Slovenian poetry. It is the first example of the epic genre in verse in the history of national literature, which amazes with the scale of the concept – it consists of three volumes: “Zemljevidi domotožja”, “Čas očetov” and “Bivališča duš”, the total volume of which is more than 40 thousand verses. The work is based on family traditions and legends of the Novak family, the epic narrative is built on memories as a documentary autobiographical story in verse about “time and about oneself”, ancestors, relatives, friends, key events in national and European history. The connecting link of all three books is the motif of wandering, which is realized on three levels: those of space, time and memory. The article, based on the first volume of “Zemljevidi domotožja”, examines one of the key elements of the author’s narrative strategy – images of space that reveal the secret meanings and symbolism of those corners of the earth, public places and areas of everyday life that at different periods of time left a significant trace in his consciousness and memory. These include rivers, lakes, seas, islands, mountains, forests, fields, gardens, cities, villages, streets, houses, bedrooms, nurseries, kitchens, editorial offices, dance floors, theater stages, barracks, prisons, hospitals, and graves. To each place a separate song is dedicated. Being, on the one hand, a “supporting structure”, a framework for the narrative, these loci at the same time serve to reconstruct real episodes from the life of the poet, members of his family, his native country, Europe as a whole in the context of a bygone and ongoing era. Thus, through the “experience” of specific spaces, the fate of the lyrical hero is “embedded” in the course of life itself. The original images of spaces appearing in the epic represent the structural-semantic model of the world of Boris A. Novak, expressed in the language of his spatial representations. Received: 21.02.2025. Revised: 04.03.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Starikova N. N. Images of Space as an Element of Narrative Strategy (“Zemljevidi domotožja” by Boris A. Novak) // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 367–384 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.18
The Multidimensionality of Space (City) in the Works of Pavel Vilikovský
Pavel Vilikovsky (1941–2020) was one of the Slovak “sixties” writers, the author of novels, short stories, and essays, who created his own special artistic world marked by psychology and self–irony. The author moves freely in the sphere of his own texts and in the coordinates of world literature. The motifs, elements and images of spiritual and material space that are repeated in his works are noted. Bratislava in his books looks like a palimpsest; the writer is attracted by the historical layering of the city. The locations of the city that are significant for Vilikovsky are the old streets, train stations, cemeteries. The options of an “enclosed space” are also important and functional for him: a room, a staircase, a closet. The novel “The Buzz is Gone” (2018), the last work of the writer, reflects many of the motives and features inherent in his entire work. This is an educational novel in which space, the material and moral environment of the autobiographical narrator plays a significant role. Images of real spaces (dormitories, train stations, cemeteries) are intertwined in the novel with motives of spiritual search and reflection. Received: 10.03.2025. Revised: 13.03.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Shirokova L. F. The Multidimensionality of Space (City) in the Works of Pavel Vilikovský // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 356–366 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.17
Topography of Initiation in the Works of Daniela Hodrová: “Ordeal by Labyrinth”
The labyrinth, known to mankind since ancient times, is of interest to researchers in various fields of humanitarian knowledge. The article examines the specifics of the functioning of the labyrinth concept as a space of initiation in a work of art. The first part of the work presents the genesis of the labyrinth symbol in general and, in particular, as a place of initiation. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical works of the Czech writer and literary theorist Daniela Hodrová (1946–2024), devoted to the specifics of the novel genre. A special place in the author’s research is occupied by the theme of initiation, the structure of a literary text with the theme of initiation. Hodrová characterizes the initiation process as a labyrinth, where the character’s wandering ends with the achievement of a sacred “place with a secret”. In the second part of the work, this concept is examined from the point of view of its applicability to the writer’s literary texts. In all of Hodrová’s texts, initiation, the acquisition of secret knowledge, takes the form of recollection: of the subjective, personal past, and of the objective – historical events. The article presents the evolution of the initiation process in Hodrová’s works. In her early texts (Trýznivé město, 1990s), the initiation process took place in a physical space, where Prague became a labyrinth for the characters. In the author’s later novels (e.g. Točité věty, 2000s), the text itself becomes the labyrinth in which the adept wanders on the path to acquiring the secret. Received: 06.02.2025. Revised: 18.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Kozhina S. A. Topography of Initiation in the Works of Daniela Hodrová: “Ordeal by Labyrinth” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 340–355 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.16
The Concept of the “Border” in the Poetry and Prose of Serhiy Zhadan in Mid-1990s–2010s
The border is one of the most clearly expressed spatial dominants in the works of Serhiy Zhadan. The concept of “border” is presented in his works by such linguistic units as “cordon”, “mezha”, etc., and may include the lexeme “island” as a limited space and “railway station” as a metaphorical gate, a place for exiting to another location. It is closely connected with the motives of travel, road, and eternal movement. In the prose and poetry of the 2010s, the concept of “border” becomes more fundamentally connected with geopolitical, historical, ethnopsychological realities located outside the literary work, which is typical for Zhadan’s work in general, combining topical issues of modern reality and neo-mythologism. During this period, in contrast to the early period, “border” loses the semantics of transition. The border line ceases to be a conventional feature that needs to be overcome. It becomes a place of permanent residence, both spatial and ontological. The railway station, which used to be a symbolic gateway to the other side of space, loses its main function. It becomes a place where people can stop, perhaps for the last time. Received: 13.02.2025. Revised: 25.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Baydalova E. V. The Concept of the “Border” in the Poetry and Prose of Serhiy Zhadan in Mid-1990s–2010s // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 325–339 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.15
“To Travel (Without) Stumbling over the History...”: Central Europe and the Balkans in Andrzej Stasiuk’s Travelogues
The article is devoted to the travel prose related to the space of the Central European province and the Balkans by Andrzej Stasiuk, one of the leading contemporary Polish writers. It’s primarily about travelogues “On the Way to Babadag” (2004), “Fado” (2006) and “Diary Written Later” (2010), the analysis of which makes it possible to trace the change of the author’s narrative strategy in connection with the desire to avoid the historical dimension of the described space (“On the Way to Babadag”, “Fado”) or, on the contrary, to experience it as fully as possible (“A Diary Written Later”). The key categories for the narrator’s perception of the periphery of Central and South-Eastern Europe are decay and timelessness, and the text-forming emotions are melancholy (“On the Way to Babadag”, “Fado”) and fear (“A Diary Written Later”). Ways of reconstructing the path and the memory of it, narrator’s self-perception as his own / alien in relation to the experienced space are analyzed, as well as an attempt to avoid the historical perspective (which allows to achieve the illusion of spatial balance in the East / West semantic field painful for the Polish mentality) and, on the contrary, the experience of collision with History. The experience of the memory of the Balkan space about the war leads the narrator of the “Diary Written Later” to realize the impossibility of avoiding reflection on the burden of Polish mentality and Polish collective memory based on the cult of martyrology. Received: 06.02.2025. Revised: 11.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Adel’geym I. Ye. “To Travel (Without) Stumbling over the History...”: Central Europe and the Balkans in Andrzej Stasiuk’s Travelogues // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 309–324 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.14
Traditional Culture of the Pomaks of Edirne (Turkey) According to the Ethnolinguistic Expedition of 2025
The paper presents data on the traditional culture of the Pomaks, a minority ethno-linguistic and cultural-religious group of Slavic Muslims living in Turkey, including their linguistic and cultural polyglossia and the influence of Turkish culture. The data were collected during an ethnolinguistic expedition to the Edirne region of Turkey in February 2025. The Pomak population of this region is represented by different groups of Slavic Muslims who migrated to present-day Turkey from Greece and Bulgaria in the 19th and 20th centuries. The expedition to the Edirne Pomaks continued a series of studies that have been conducted by the research group since 2018 in various places where Slavic Muslims live in the Balkans. According to the survey data, the traditional culture of the Pomaks of Edirne is preserved quite well, but is limited mainly to the sphere of family rituals, which have been subject to noticeable Turkish interference, while calendar rituals are represented by the pan-Balkan holiday of Ederlez (May 6), associated with the beginning of the cattle-breeding cycle, and the Muslim holidays of Kurban Bayram and Sheker Bayram. The native language, called Pomak (Pomakcha) here, is used in family and everyday communication by older people, while middle-aged people and young people demonstrate passive knowledge of the language. The dominant language of communication is Turkish. Received: 14.03.2025. Revised: 17.03.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Klimova K. A., Uzeneva E. S. Traditional Culture of the Pomaks of Edirne (Turkey) According to the Ethnolinguistic Expedition of 2025 // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1‒2. P. 297–308 (In Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.13
Is the Tishinka Quiet? An Ethnolinguistic Commentary on the Russian Dialect Word Tishina ‘Childhood Illness’
This article presents an attempt at ethnolinguistic understanding of one childhood disease, which is called in the Russian dialect tishinka. The territory of the dialectal tishina is established (with the variants utishinka, tichij, tichon’kij, etc.), the circle of meanings assigned to the lexeme is given. The semantic spectrum of the word is non-uniform: tishina refers to various severe childhood diseases (seizures (epilepsy), paralysis, hernia, tetanus, malaria, rickets, etc.). However, for the national consciousness, the differential characteristics of such ailments are insignificant, which is why tishina is often perceived as any disease dangerous to a child’s life. The practices of traditional medicine are analyzed in detail, which include the disease in question in a number of diseases of unclear or magical etiology. The treatment of tishina with spells (zagovor or prigovor) – means widely used in the Russian countryside – is known to modern informants, but the spell texts themselves are not reproduced fully. The action part of the healing rite can be represented by the following ritual actions: soothing / comforting, soaring in the bath, taking measurements from the patient, “cutting” the disease, treating with holy water, herbs, covering the child with a tablecloth. The concretization of a separate method is carried out due to folk etymological approaches: St. Tikhon is chosen as a mystical assistant, his icon used in the consecration of water for the rite. The word tishina itself should be qualified as a euphemism that arose as a result of the practice of tabooing the names of serious diseases. Received: 12.11.2024. Revised: 04.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Makshakova T. A. Is the Tishinka Quiet? An Ethnolinguistic Commentary on the Russian Dialect Word Tishina ‘Childhood Illness’ // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 281–296 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.12
Ukrainisms in Russian: Problems of Definition, Origins of Adoption in the 19th Century
Despite the large number of works devoted to the study of Ukrainisms, there are still different approaches in linguistics to establishing the framework of this concept. Common to them is the affiliation of the considered lexemes to the Ukrainian language, recorded in codified publications. At the same time, in the process of functioning, the Ukrainian language has not only absorbed, but also adapted foreign language vocabulary of various origins, so the question of what is included in the concept of “Ukrainism” is still relevant. The article describes the reasons for the entry of Ukrainisms into the Russian language, especially before the first half of the 19th century, and examines the criteria for their identification, taking into account the etymology and degree of adaptation. The Russian and Ukrainian languages’ mutual enrichment of vocabulary was due not only to their genetic similarity and geographical location, but also to specific socio-historical and cultural factors – the increased interest of Russian society in Little Russia, its way of life, history and culture at the turn of the 19th century. Works on Ukrainian themes began to appear in Russian fiction of that time, however, N. V. Gogol brought Russian society to a new level of perception of Little Russia in general and the Ukrainian language in particular, reflecting in his works the poetic originality not only of everyday life, lifestyle, sparkling humor of the Ukrainian people, but also the specific features of the Ukrainian vocabulary, which he actively used. Received: 12.08.2024. Revised: 08.12.2024. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Wang Jingshu. Ukrainisms in Russian: Problems of Definition, Origins of Adoption in the 19th Century // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 262–280 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.11
interaction between Russian and Ukrainian languages
Ukrainianisms in the works by N. V. Gogol
Special Сlitics at the Absolute Beginning of a Non-Interrogative Sentence in Slovenian Dialects
The work analyzes and maps an innovative phenomenon of modern Slovenian dialectal syntax – the placement of special clitics at the absolute beginning of non-interrogative sentences. 2505 pages of dialect speech records from 288 settlements were analyzed. The characteristics of special clitics and their acceptable positions in non-interrogative sentences in the modern Slovenian language are listed. The history of studying the issue by Slovenian researchers is examined. Using statistical and linguogeographic (areal) methods, the frequency and maximum number of clitics at the absolute beginning of non-interrogative sentences are determined. Based on the collected data, it is concluded that in all Slovenian dialects, as in the modern Slovenian standard language, the position after the first constituent is still the main location of special clitics in a non-interrogative sentence, and the frequency of their initial position is 24%, varying noticeably among dialects. At the absolute beginning of non-interrogative sentences, clitics are found throughout the Slovenian language space, forming a continuous dispersed area in which zones of relatively high frequency are distinguished. Both verbal and pronominal clitics can be located in this position, with most Slovene dialects allowing up to four clitics in a cluster. However, in the Lower Carniolan dialects, no more than two special clitics are noted in initial position. Received: 13.01.2025. Revised: 08.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Gromova M. M. Special Сlitics at the Absolute Beginning of a Non-Interrogative Sentence in Slovenian Dialects // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 248–261 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.10
At the Interection of Science and Propaganda: National Question Studies in Interwar Poland (Concepts, Institutions, Personalities)
The article is devoted to the history of the scientific and propaganda background of Polish national policy in the interwar period. Poland’s political course developed under a strong influence of the ideology of prometheism, which was created by supporters of Marshal J. Pilsudski. This ideology was supposed to unite the small nations of Eastern Europe around Poland and to contribute to the disintegration of Russia. There are practically no descriptions of specific organizations in which this ideology was formed and honed in in the Russian historical literature. In this article, the author tries to partially fill in this gap. This study is devoted to the history of specific scientific institutions which were to study various aspects of the national question in connection with Promethean ideas. Their characteristic feature was the exploitation of a serious scientific base to solve specific political problems. The Oriental Institute, the Institute for the Study of the National Question, the Ukrainian Scientific Institute in Warsaw, and the Scientific Research Institute of Eastern Europe in Vilno combined the functions of research, often commissioned by the authorities for propaganda activities, and also collaborated with law enforcement agencies in the training of intelligence and sabotage personnel. The article provides an overview of the goals and objectives of these organizations, lists their leaders, and describes key moments in their history. Received: 27.12.2024. Revised: 31.01.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Korotkova D. A. At the Interection of Science and Propaganda: National Question Studies in Interwar Poland (Concepts, Institutions, Personalities) // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–1. P. 211–247 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.09
Institute for Study and Analysis of Eastern Europe
Institute for the Study of the National Question
The Problem of Publishing the Works of the Russian Slavists in the 1920s: “Printing in Our Department is in Decline”
The article examines, for the first time in scholarship, the situation with the publication of works on the Slavic studies in the 1920s. The study is based on archival documents and, above all, the correspondence of members of the Department of the Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences. The revolutionary events and the Civil War affected the publishing activities of the Department; its periodicals, the journal Izvestia ORYAS and Sbornik ORYAS, ceased to be published. The printing of works by the prominent Slavists of the past, prepared before the revolution, was suspended. The correspondence of scientists demonstrates the difficulties or practical impossibility of publishing on the Slavic studies. The end of the Civil War and the transition of the state policy to the NEP led to some improvement in publishing, and the Department was able to publish several issues of the Izvestia and Sbornik. However, the assessment of the situation in the 1922–1923 remained unfavorable, which was reflected in the report of the Department’s activities for this period. The report noted the large volumes of works approved for publication that could not be published, often due to funding issues, and also noted the “resistance on the part of the authorities to everything Slavic.” The overall conclusion of the report was pessimistic – “the humanities are dying in Russia.” New European Slavic journals that began to appear in the mid-1920s provided significant assistance in the publishing of the Russian Slavists works: “Slavia,” “Revue des ètudes slaves,” “Juzhnoslovenski filolog,” and “Zeitschrift für slavische Philologie.” Received: 10.02.2025. Revised: 25.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Robinson M. A. The Problem of Publishing the Works of the Russian Slavists in the 1920s: “Printing in Our Department is in Decline” // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 181–210 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.08
Department of Russian Language and Literature, the Academy of Sciences
foreign publications on the Slavic studies
The Visegrad Group in the Contemporary Security Policy of the Czech Republic
The Visegrad Group, founded in 1991 and uniting four Central European countries – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – has gone through several periods of increased and decreased activity of its members in cooperation on security issues over more than three decades of its existence. After 2022, calls to question the very expediency of cooperation in the Visegrad format began to be heard more and more often in the Czech establishment and among experts. This article, for the first time in Russian historical science, analyzes new strategic documents of the Government of the Czech Republic and transcripts of meetings of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on security, as well as joint statements of the Visegrad Four in order to determine the significance of interaction with the three neighboring countries in the context of security policy for the Czech Republic. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the conceptual role of the Czech Republic in the NATO and EU security systems, including the degree of the Czech Republic's involvement in global and regional security and defense projects in Europe. A structural analysis of the links within the Visegrad Group has made it possible to identify two main areas in the security sphere around which the Czech Republic's interaction with its partners in the association is currently concentrated. Firstly, this is cooperation on defense issues, including joint exercises and the formation of common combat units; secondly, this is a coordinated policy regarding the fight against illegal migration in the region. Received: 17.12.2024. Revised: 03.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Ankhimiuk M. Yu. The Visegrad Group in the Contemporary Security Policy of the Czech Republic // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 161–180. (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.07
The Hungarian Experience of Building Socialism in the Era of János Kádár in a Historical Retrospective
The Hungarian Communist politician János Kádár, having come to power with direct Soviet military support in November 1956 in the days of a deep internal political crisis in the country, had to fully comply with the will of Moscow at the early stage of his tenure as the head of the government. However, having consolidated his power and proven to the Soviet leaders that he was in complete control of the situation in Hungary, he could allow himself more independence in foreign and domestic policy. Since the early 1960s, the regime has steadily developed along the path of liberalization in accordance with the declared principle “whoever is not against us is with us”. In 1968, an economic reform was launched aimed at making the economy more efficient, but in 1972–1974 it was forced to be curtailed due to internal contradictions and ongoing Soviet pressure. With the refusal of reforms, the Hungarian model of socialism entered a period of crisis; it was only possible to maintain the already achieved level of welfare and to minimize public discontent with the help of a growing external debt. The specifics of this model, however, ensured a fairly smooth transition to an entirely different model in the context of a “change of systems” at the turn of the 1980s – 1990s. Received: 09.12.2024. Revised: 12.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Stykalin A. S. The Hungarian Experience of Building Socialism in the Era of János Kádár in a Historical Retrospective // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 139–160 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.06
On the History of PPR – FRG Treaty of 1970: From the Conflict of Interests to First Contacts (Late 1940s – Early 1960s)
The issue of the recognition of the Oder–Neisse line as the western border of Polish People’s Republic (PPR) was one of the most important problems in the international relations in the Central and Eastern Europe after the World War II. The solution of the problem was complicated by the creation of two German states, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic, which didn’t recognize each other. PPR managed to sign Treaty of Zgorzelec with GDR in 1950, which legalize the Oder–Neisse line as the western border between the two states. This border wasn’t recognized by Konrad Adenauer, the chancellor of FRG and the ruling coalition of CDU / CSU. At the same time the government of the FRG was ready to develop Polish-German relations in economy and culture, from time to time reminding to the PPR about non-recognition of the Oder–Neisse line as the Polish western border. Adenauer’s tactic was implemented through the exchange with the Polish side by the public declarations and publications in press as well as through the contacts between the government of the PPR and Berthold Beitz, the influential businessman and unofficial emissary of the chancellor. The PPR supported ties with Beitz, but on the main issue its position remained firm and unchangeable: first the recognition the Oder–Neisse line as the border and only then the establishment of diplomatic relations. The PPR could pursue such a policy due to the Soviet Union, which had been defending the Oder–Neisse line as the western Polish-German border since 1945. Received: 25.06.2024. Revised: 17.09.2024. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Noskova A. F. On the History of PPR – FRG Treaty of 1970: From the Conflict of Interests to First Contacts (Late 1940s – Early 1960s) // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 105–138 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.05
the history of the Soviet foreign policy
On the Concept of Soviet Ukrainianization in Modern Ukrainian Science
The article analyzes the perceptions of Soviet korenization/Ukrainianization in the nationalized version of Ukrainian history. The main focus is on the generalizing academic works of modern Ukrainian historians, which were written by professional historians during the last 30 years. The works of the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine are analyzed. This institute is one of the leading scientific institutions and a partner of the state in the professional historical environment. The problem of Soviet Ukrainianization is extremely politicized and interpreted in the context of the nationalist narrative and the national liberation struggle. The basic principles of the concept of Soviet Ukrainianization are as follows: forced Ukrainianization due to the narrow base of the Bolshevik party in the republic, contradictory and inconsistent policy, and the leading role of national forces in promoting the Ukrainianization course. For a long time, the influence of Ukrainianization on the national and cultural development of Ukrainians was recognized. However, in the 2021 work entitled “Ukraine and Ukrainians in the post-imperial period (1917‒1939)” the Bolsheviks are denied any positive influence on the nation-forming processes in the Ukrainian SSR. Received: 24.07.2024. Revised: 03.03.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Borisyonok E. Yu. On the Concept of Soviet Ukrainianization in Modern Ukrainian Science // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 82–104 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.04
“Eastern Borderlands” in the Political Thought of Leon Wasilewski
The article examines the views of the Polish political and public figure Leon Wasilewski (1870–1936) on the formation of the eastern border of the Polish state, recreated after the First World War, and analyzes his publications on the national question of the peoples living on the “eastern borderlands” of the interwar Poland. Leon Wasilewski as an associate of Jozef Pilsudski was a recognized expert on the national question. The position on Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian issues, formed at that time by Polish publicists including Wasilewski, was influenced by historical relations between the Poles and these peoples. Polish politicians considered it fair to restore the border of the “historical Poland” in the east to the state before the partitions of 1772–1795. Such a historical approach contradicted the position of the victorious powers, which, when creating the Polish state, sought to include only ethnographically Polish territories in its composition. However, after the end of the Polish-Soviet war, according to the Riga Peace Treaty of 1921, the ethnographically Ukrainian and Belarusian territories were recognized as part of Poland, and in 1922 the Vilnius region was annexed by Poland. L. Wasilewski’s journalism devoted to Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian problems reflects his recognition of independent national existence for these peoples, but his attitudes towards Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians were completely different. Received: 21.12.2024. Revised: 31.01.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Pavlov P. A. “Eastern Borderlands” in the Political Thought of Leon Wasilewski // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 65–81 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.03
the formation of national states in Eastern Europe
The Y. D. Romanovsky Memo Regarding His Attempt to Avert the Bulgarian-Serbian Conflict in the Spring of 1913
The article introduces a memorandum, presumably written by a former Russian military agent in Bulgaria, Yuri (George) Dmitrievich Romanovsky in exile in 1943, into scientific circulation. In the spring of 1913, St. Petersburg realized that official Sofia and Belgrade could destroy the Balkan Alliance and start a war over the partition of Macedonia. The note in question covers Romanovsky’s attempt in April–May 1913 to offer the Russian emperor and the Foreign Minister a solution to the Bulgarian-Serbian conflict over Macedonia. He proposed concessions to Bulgaria in favor of Serbia with compensations in Thrace. According to the document, Bulgarian diplomacy positively welcomed this proposal, and only the intransigence of the Serbian Prime Minister N. Pasic and Russian Envoy to Belgrade N. G. Hartwig disrupted the peaceful settlement. The initiator of the note was the Bulgarian lawyer S. Balamezov, who claimed that when publishing diplomatic documents, the reports containing the described proposal were edited. On the basis of published and archival documents, the reliability of the information provided is analyzed, the texts of the published and original letters of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry to the envoy in Sofia are compared, the correspondence of the Bulgarian representative in St. Petersburg with his superiors is considered. As a result, it becomes obvious that the conversations described in the note by Romanovsky in St. Petersburg could theoretically have taken place. However, there is no confirmation of the story about the readiness of both St. Petersburg and Sofia to agree to the exchange of Macedonian lands for Thracian ones, which raises the question of the purpose of the appearance of this document. Acknowledgements The research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No 23-28-01062 “The Balkan Strife of 1912–1913 and Russian society”, https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-01062/. Received: 08.11.2024. Revised: 09.02.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Gusev N. S. The Y. D. Romanovsky Memo Regarding His Attempt to Avert the Bulgarian-Serbian Conflict in the Spring of 1913 // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1–2. P. 47–64. DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.02
As the Russo-Turkish war of 1672–1681 was coming to its end, the Ottoman Empire lost the interest in supporting the sultan’s puppet, the Right-Bank Cossack hetman Yurii Kchmelnitsky. The latter was threatened by imminent overthrow and replacement by an ottoman administrator as rumors about it were circulating since the beginning of 1680. In this situation, Kchmelnitsky, in the fall of 1680, supported the spread of information about the potential Ottoman invasion of Kiev in the spring of 1681. Ivan Samojlovich, the hetman of the Left-Bank Ukraine, was very worried by any information about Ottoman military preparations, which former prisoners of war and spies delivered to Baturin. Its highly likely that the sultan’s court actively supported the rumors about its intentions to invade Kiev to make Russia more compliant during the peace negotiations. In reality, the Porte and Crimea strived for peace, which was concluded in the beginning of the 1681. Kchmelnitsky’s fate was sealed. He was overthrown and sent to Constantinople. Received: 05.03.2025. Revised: 12.03.2025. Accepted: 18.03.2025. Citation Kochegarov K. A. The Last Days of Yurii Kchmelnitsky // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No. 1–2. P. 12–46 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073- 5731.2025.1-2.01
International Scientific Conference “Woman in Politics, Culture and History in the Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Space”
International Conference “Woman in Politics, Culture and History in the Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Space”, September 17, 2024. Received: 21.09.2024. Citation Pilko N. S., Lobacheva Yu. V. International Scientific Conference “Woman in Politics, Culture and History in the Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Space” // Slavic Almanac. 2024. No 3–4. P. 555–559 (in Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2024.3-4.32
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