1930s, relied heavily on Arctic theme. The plots that make up the domestic Arctic epos are well known. There isn’t full-fledged narrative about the polar heroine among them, although a request for its appearance was formed at a certain
period in Soviet culture, and even attempts to create it were made. This lacuna
deserves to attract the research interest. The Arctic discourse of the 1920–1930s.
largely anticipated the space theme of the 1960s; the absence in the pantheon of
the Soviet conquerors of the Arctic “polar Tereshkova” has a certain meaning.</p>
<p class="text-align-justify">In fact, European women in the Soviet Arctic appeared from the beginning
of the 1920s. As a rule, these were wives who supported their husbands-
explorers and remained in their shadow. In the literature canonizing polar heroes
these women are not often mentioned, and their rare stories are noticeably tailored to the plot of the wives of the Decembrists. Nina Demme, “the world’s
first woman – polar explorer”, as Soviet media called her, tried to create a completely different story about herself. Demme sought not only to compete
with men on an equal footing in the Arctic world, but also to prove her own –
female – superiority. However, the legend did not work out. The article discusses the attempt to canonize the woman – polar explorer and the reasons for its
failure.</p>
The new concept of heroism, created in the Soviet world in the
1930s, relied heavily on Arctic theme. The plots that make up the domestic Arctic epos are well known. There isn’t full-fledged narrative about the polar heroine among them, although a request for its appearance was formed at a certain
period in Soviet culture, and even attempts to create it were made. This lacuna
deserves to attract the research interest. The Arctic discourse of the 1920–1930s.
largely anticipated the space theme of the 1960s; the absence in the pantheon of
the Soviet conquerors of the Arctic “polar Tereshkova” has a certain meaning.
In fact, European women in the Soviet Arctic appeared from the beginning
of the 1920s. As a rule, these were wives who supported their husbands-
explorers and remained in their shadow. In the literature canonizing polar heroes
these women are not often mentioned, and their rare stories are noticeably tailored to the plot of the wives of the Decembrists. Nina Demme, “the world’s
first woman – polar explorer”, as Soviet media called her, tried to create a completely different story about herself. Demme sought not only to compete
with men on an equal footing in the Arctic world, but also to prove her own –
female – superiority. However, the legend did not work out. The article discusses the attempt to canonize the woman – polar explorer and the reasons for its
failure.
Список литературы
Frank S. Russkie travelogi serediny 1930-kh godov [Russian travelogues of
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pervoy treti XX veka [Quick Looks: A New Reading of Russian Travelogues in
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Frank S. Teplaya Arktika: k istorii odnogo starogo literaturnogo motiva
[Warm Arctic: the Story of an Old Literary Motive]. New Literary Review,
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(in Russ.)
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(in Russ.)
Kantorovich V. Nina Demme. New World, 1936, no. 10, p. 144–159.
(in Russ.)
Kaufman R. B. Na soveshchanii zhen polyarnikov [At the Conference of the
Polar Explorers' Wives]. Soviet Arctic, 1936, no. 7, p. 108–109. (in Russ.)
Mineev A. I. Pyat' let na ostrove Vrangelya [Five years on Wrangel Island].
Leningrad, 1936, 444 p. (in Russ.)
Mukhanov L. V stranu ledyanogo molchaniya [To the Country of Icy Silence]. Arkhangelsk, 1932, 180 p. (in Russ.)
Rikhter Z. Na «Litke» k ostrovu Vrangelya. Zapiski uchastnika spasatel'noy
ekspeditsii [On “Litke” to Wrangel Island. Notes of the Rescue Expedition participant]. Moscow, 1931, 88 p. (in Russ.)
Not Female Arctic: The Plot of the Polar Heroine in Soviet Culture of
the 1920–1930s С. 338–350. DOI 10.25205/2307-1737-2020-1-338-350