Tolstoyan text in the work of Andrei Bely

The paper explores the creative heritage of Andrei Bely, with a focus on the elements of the text created by Leo Tolstoy as a personal literary supertext. This text is argued to be founded on a myth about Leo Tolstoy that has evolved for a century and a half, gaining significance in the early 20th century as Tolstoy’s spiritual influence becomes more recognized and his tragic exile is comprehended. The analysis examines the structure of the myth, identifying typical mythologemes created and reproduced by Bely and reflecting his poetic worldview and personal attitude to the works and personality of Loe Tolstoy. The analysis covers the lyrics, articles, and memoirs of Bely in the context of the problem under study. Emphasis is placed on the uniqueness of the representation of Tolstoy’s text in the creative heritage of Bely, which stems from the similarity of worldviews, sacralization of the great image of the writer, and rejection of criticism and profanation of this image in fiction, publicism, and memoirs of his contemporaries. Unlike other modernist movements, the Symbolists did not aim to overthrow the idols of the past. On the contrary, they defended a certain continuity of tradition, especially concerning such a distinctive author as Bely. However, their desire to protect Tolstoy’s authority also contributed to the creation of a biographical myth about the writer. The paper also explores the peculiarities of the perception of this myth in the culture and literature of the first third of the twentieth century.