THE TRADITIONS OF THE GENRE OF THE MILITARY STORY IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE OF THE XIX-XX CENTURIES

Abstract

The genre of the military story is a kind of historical genre based on a folk legend presented as a fact. The military story is characterized by a teleological plot, in particular, related to the ideology of "Moscow – the Third Rome", and a didactic orientation. The general motives of military stories include prayer-a request for help, the motive of the intercession of heavenly powers, the motive of the "mortal cup", the rite of farewell kissing. The military story includes the folklore genre of lamentation, the book genre of vision, and Christian symbols. The "Legend of the Mamaev Massacre" uses the image of a vine as a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven, numerical symbols are associated with church worship. In Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, the white color becomes a symbol of redemptive sacrifice, the sun is a sign of the presence of divine help. Here, as in the Old Russian military stories, the rite of farewell kissing is shown. Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The White Guard correlates with The Tale of Batu's Devastation of Ryazan. The city in these works symbolizes the human soul, gripped by vices. The destruction of Kiev in Bulgakov's novel, in the context of St. Augustine's work, is perceived as the completion of the old and the transition to a new, more perfect dispensation, which is associated with the "Moscow text." Elena's prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary is heard in Bulgakov's novel, and her brother is granted life. Russia is represented in Russian literature as the inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos, as a Christian power that is under the protection of heavenly powers.

Extended Abstract

This article, investigates the continuity of the ancient Russian genre of the military tale (voinskaya povest) in major Russian novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, specifically in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Mikhail Bulgakov’s The White Guard. It posits that the military tale, a variety of historical genre based on folk legend presented as fact, establishes a foundational set of motifs, symbols, and ideological frameworks that are subsequently revived and recontextualized in later national narratives. Characterized by a teleological plot and a didactic orientation, often linked to the ideologeme "Moscow – the Third Rome," the genre employs recurring elements including prayer for help, the motif of heavenly intercession, the "mortal cup," and the rite of farewell kissing.

The analysis demonstrates how these traditional components are integrated into the modern novels. In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the author identifies the symbolic use of white color as representing redemptive sacrifice and the sun as a sign of divine presence during the Battle of Borodino. Furthermore, the novel incorporates the rite of farewell kissing between characters, mirroring the ritual found in Old Russian texts like The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu and The Legend of the Mamai Massacre. The dating of key events in Tolstoy’s narrative to significant feast days of the Theotokos further aligns the novel’s structure with the spiritual chronology of the military tale.

Bulgakov’s The White Guard is explicitly correlated with The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu. In both works, the city functions as a symbol of the human soul gripped by vice, and its destruction is interpreted not as an ultimate end but as a necessary passage toward a new, more perfect dispensation—a concept traced to St. Augustine’s The City of God and connected to the "Moscow text." The article highlights the presence of numerical symbolism, visions of a heavenly host, and, crucially, a prayer by the character Elena to the Most Holy Theotokos, which is heard and results in her brother’s life being spared. This intervention reinforces a central tenet of the tradition: Russia is portrayed as the inheritance of the Theotokos, a Christian power under the protection of heavenly forces.

The article concludes that the traditions of the military tale in the novels of Tolstoy and Bulgakov are intrinsically linked to the enduring Russian national concept of Moscow as the Third Rome. Russia is consistently depicted in this literary continuum as a power engaged in spiritual warfare for the Orthodox faith. The shared motifs of prayer, celestial intercession, sacrificial symbolism, and the participation of a heavenly army create a coherent transhistorical narrative. Ultimately, the genre affirms a cycle of destruction and renewal, wherein a ravaged city is always restored as a more perfect Christian entity, sustained by the belief in Russia’s divine patronage.