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Martial's Epigrams and Mikhail Čulkov's prose works of fiction Mixail Čulkov's prose is one of the most commented on works of eighteenth century Russian literature. Strangely enough though, not much attention has been yet paid to the study of its intertextuality. As for the study of its antique intertextuality, it hasn't been done at all, though the famous Soviet scholar V. P. Stepanov mentioned its importance. One could probably find ideological causes to explain this lack of attention. During the Soviet period, Čulkov's works were thought to illustrate the genius of ignorant popular Russian writers, who were not supposed to have had any knowledge of classical literature. Still, it seems to me that Čulkov knew some of the Greek and Latin Classics quite well, even if he might have read some of them only partially and/or in translation. As for Martial's Epigrams, since they hadn't yet been translated in eighteenth-century Russia, I think that Čulkov might have read them directly in Latin, for he had studied the language at Moscow University's Gymnasium. Indeed many common elements can be found in both authors' set of themes. In particular, I am referring to the theme of the poet's poverty and his constant moaning about it. This theme is found in both works through the use of similar motifs (the poet constantly talks about money, complains about the worn state of his coat, advises younger poets against choosing this profession, complains about the lack of a patron, resents Apollo and the Muses that chose him, and envies uneducated but rich people). I don't agree with A. V. Západov, who thought these motifs could be linked to the rise of a culture specific to the middle class in eighteenth century Russia (there was no such a class yet), nor with John Garrard, who related them to Čulkov's own biography (biography was not yet considered as good material for fictional prose). I think the motives have an intertextual origin. They come from Martial's Epigrams and feed Culkov's set of themes at the same time as they introduce auto-irony into his prose. They also contribute to transforming the voice of the narrator into quite a new figure in the Russian literature of that time: the author, seen as a character taking part in the fiction. Thus, the Epigrams, which were precisely the ideal material for Čulkov's satirical journals (epigrams are always short, lively and comic, they describe a conventional reality which is well adapted to 18th century Russian literature, which doesn't dare or want to describe the world around), provided technical assistance to the rise of fictional prose in Russia. All this demonstrates that Martial's works were known in eighteenth-century Russia, and that fictional prose didn't rise in opposition to the culture of Classicism, but absorbed it and turned it into its own set of themes. Finally, the fact that Čulkov hid his debt to Martial seems to me to be specific of Russian prose of that time, which, unlike poetry, refuses to consider literary citation as an esthetic function, and regards this dissimulation as characteristic of its own esthetics.

Russian folk theatre : erudite culture, popular culture? It has often been denied that Russian folk theatre has any originality. On the one hand, the many influences on this theatre and the contributions to which it is indebted must be studied, and, on the other hand, this theatre has to be reset in its historical context and among the whole range of shows for festivals (both rural and urban). All of these various influences are nonetheless integrated into a cohesive compositional scheme, which includes three main protagonists (dramatise personae) : the killer / the victim / the mediator. The killing, which is often comical (sometimes tragic), is followed by a burial (or a resurrection), which is always comical. There is a rapid succession of short scenes, and of characters to be eliminated. The language of the plays confirms this observation. The interpretation of this basic structure suggests that the borrowed elements, whether foreign or urban (erudite culture) are integrated, assimilated and blended into the popular culture, which may here be considered either as more archaic or as dominant.

Between myth and history : the city and the cross in the pilgrimage of Krastova gora in Bulgaria The pilgrimage of Krastova gora in Southern Bulgaria is a propitious case for studying the ways historical myths are used in setting up and promoting devotional sites. As a matter of fact the founding legend of this Eastern-Orthodox pilgrimage is staged as an echo of the fall of Constantinople under the Ottomans (1453) reflecting both the historical process of Islamization and the presence of Muslims and Christians which is characteristic of the Rhodopes area. The study proceeds mainly through the analysis of texts collected from the pilgrims' booklets, the only authorized source to which most of the pilgrims usually refer when narrating or organizing their pilgrimage experience. The first section of the paper introduces the local history and the present context of the pilgrimage. In the core section of the study, the author, in analysing the separate themes and the structure of the founding legend, is ultimately led to define the pattern of this type of pseudo-historical construction. As to the methodology, this study combines an ethnographical approach with a historical proceeding, which points to the interaction between oral and written traditions as well as exploring the linkage system between the legendary themes and the present religious discourse.

About the Setting up of Malevič's architectural system In 1924, at the fourteenth Venice Biennale, Malevič exhibits six 'planits' (the name he gives to his architectural drawings) together with paintings of a Black Square, a Black Cross and a Black Circle. An analysis of these works must consider them as an ensemble and as works in dialogue with one another. Within Malevič's suprematist system the straight line links the second and third dimensions. This straight line, the 'forming element' of his plastic system, is the key to analyzing the relations between Malevič's painting and his architectural drawings. Iťs the vector of his process. By compressing this line, Malevič constructs the square; the intersection of the two lines yields the cross; and by rotation of his prior configuration he arrives at the circle. Then transferred to the third dimension, this same element produces complex volumetric configurations. Malevič's architectural drawings place the spectator in 'aerial' space, each planit is viewed from below. At this point, his work passes beyond its purely visual role and enters into the spiritual sphere. The spectator is lifted out of terrestrial preoccupations and thus recognizes the philosophy of suprematist painting.