Распутин

The motive of a person’s self-destruction is analyzed in the article on the material of V. Rasputin’s late short stories. These works show the signs of the anthropological crisis which is perceived by the writer not just as a threat of a distant future but as a danger hanging over humankind in the here and now.

At the turn of the century in their journalistic works Ch. Aitmatov and V. Rasputin reflect on historiosophic issues, identify challenges the humanity faces on the eve of the millennium, look for ways out of the anthropological crisis. In the article the viewpoints of the two writers with the ‘universal points of view’ are compared, and the main motives of their journalistic heritage are singled out.