On the origins and specificity of one motive. To the 110TH anniversary of the publication of V.V. Rozanov’s «When the boss are gone...»
For the first time, the book by V. V. Rozanov «When the Bosses Are Gone ...» (1910) is the subject to analyze. The article notes the specificity of the book (a collection of articles), which received a genre status in the Russian culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the book contains both previously published articles and the ones, which were rejected by editors. In addition to the genre affiliation, other features of this book are revealed; the article summarizes and defines the development of the author’s political views on contemporary events in the country, which he welcomed and encouraged in his literary word; Rozanov’s historiosophy is analyzed. The author of the article commented on the compositional structure of the collection, revealed the semantic links between the articles, as well as the basis that unites them – the essence of «authorities» as a specific phenomenon of Russian life. The synonymous series of «bosses» is suggested: «bureaucracy», «government», «power». The article identifies the sources of the problems of the «bosses»: these are the works of N.A. Lyubimov and Vl.S. Soloviev, with which V.V. Rozanov conducts internal dialogue, representing the «bosses» as a part of the political life in the country of 1901 1906 and noting the weakening of the authoritarian position. The book’s artistic layout is analyzed, the sources of replica drawings on the cover and at the end of the collection are established, and the relationship between these drawings and the book’s content is revealed. It is particularly noted that already in 1914 V.V. Rozanov felt remorse about the publication of this book, and in 1917 he came to realize the catastrophic consequences of the events that he had once been so happy about.