"Art" #1, 2001

The literary section of the magazine offers a selection of poetry by the young poetess Andzhelika Elfimova entitled "I voas maj" (And it will be May). As you read this poetry, you are reminded that the theme of love is truly inexhaustible. The same can be said for the works of Elena Solov'eva, whose debut, a cycle of verse called, "The Man from the Moon", we now present to the reader. Keeping with the magazine's tradition of conversation, the well-known Komi writer Egor Rochev shares his thoughts openly with the readers. Furthermore, you can familiarise yourselves with E. Rochev's new stories. And a meeting with the protagonists of Valerii Komyshev's crime novel, "The Assassination Attempt that Never Was," also awaits. February 27th 2001 marked the 80th anniversary of the birth of the composer and folklorist, Prometei Chistalev. The publication of Ekaterina Samarina's, "It All Started with an Accordion" in the "Ethno-Archive" section honours this date. In the Studies section, the experienced reader will delight at the article by Petersburg ethnologist Aleksandr Ostrovskii entitled, "Mythological Thinking as a Representative of Traditional Culture." A. Ostrovskii is well-known as the first translator and publisher of the works of the French structuralist Claude Levi-Strauss in Russian and his article deals with the application of structural analysis methodology in relation to Russian folk culture. In the same section is the article by our staff writer Aleksandr Kotylev, "A Monk's Dialogue with Power." The Art-Fact section contains Mikhail Gertsman's "The Morozov Phenomenon" article, dedicated to the memory of Viktor Morozov, the artistic director of the "As'ia Kya" ensemble who is unfortunately no longer with us.

American academic William Brumfield, professor at the universities of Tulane and Berkeley is best known as a philologist and Slavonic scholar. However, a passion for photographing Russian architectural monuments has led to the professor's becoming known also as one of the few popularizers of masterpieces of Russian architecture in the West. The professor has kindly provided the magazine with permission to publish his article, "Frozen Moments" and photographs. Professor Nikolai Gromov, the St. Petersburg art critic, has provided the magazine with the article by our countryman, the artist Engels Kozlov. In the Review section, the reader can find articles by E. Kozlova, P. Romanova, G. Tiraspol'skii, N. Miroshnichenko, all dealing with various aspects of the literary life of the Republic of Komi.

Translated by Desmond Tumulty