Surgut State Pedagogical University, Surgut, Russian Federation, koralina-1@yandex.ru
ABSTRACT
Introduction: in the culture of the northern peoples, fire has traditionally been endowed with anthropomorphic features and sacred semantics, acting as a life-creating and unifying force. In modern literature, this image undergoes a number of transformations that remain
not fully understood. Based on the story of the Nenets writer Yu. K. Vella “Give Fire” (1971), the article examines how the symbol traditionally sacred to the culture of the Nenets and Khanty peoples is transferred to the Soviet context. The archaic functions of fire
(life-creating, unifying, regenerating) are reinterpreted through the image of the propaganda brigade, the “fire – cold” opposition, and the numerical code.
Objective: to reveal the mechanism of transformation of the archaic image of fire in the artistic system of the story of the Nenets writer.
Research materials: Yu. K. Vella’s story “Give Fire”.
Results and novelty of the research: as a result of the analysis, it was found that the re-mythologization of the fiery element takes place in Vella’s work. The image of fire loses the anthropomorphic features characteristic of traditional culture, but retains key mythological functions, which are filled with new content: fire is identified with Komsomol enthusiasm, creative energy, and spiritual collective unity. For the first time in the scientific literature, the transformation of the fiery element in the work of Yu. Vella are represented through spatial images, the “fire – cold” opposition, which is realized on a psychological level, as well as a numerical code correlated with the archaic model of the world order and organizing the plot. It is shown that the Prometheus propaganda team acts as an archetypal version of the cultural hero in the Soviet context.
Key words: Nenets literature, Yu. K. Vella, story “Give Fire”, fire symbolism, mythopoetics
Acknowledgments: the research was supported by a grant from the Scientific and Technological Development Fund of the Khanty- Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, project № 2025-609-08 “Literary Landscape of Yugra” (leader D. V. Larkovich).
For citation: Terentyeva D. D. Symbolism of the fire element in the story by Y. Vella “Give Fire” // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2026; 16 (2/65): 286–293. DOI: 10.30624/2220-4156-2026-16-2-286-293