mise en abyme

Initially, the article brings together two areas. The first is thematic: attention is paid to some, albeit discreet, glimpses of current, topical, acutely political issues in Radichkov’s fiction prose from the 1960s–1970s. But even more important is the second – the poetic one: the techniques through which the political theme enters the narrative. It is here that the concept of autotextuality is introduced as a key operational concept. From here on, we proceed to examine the ways in which it operates in Radichkov’s prose. Two such forms are examined – of a folkloric and a specifically literary type, with the emphasis on the latter. The “soft”, veiled, elusive subversion of this technique is examined on a two-fold level: first, in relation to the ideological norms of the era, and second – in relation to literary (linguistic) norms.