Memory and Narration in "Kapustin Iar" by Svetlana Vasilenko: Exploring a Hermeneutics of Existence in Contemporary Russian Literature

In contemporary Russian literature, from the late 1990s to the present, writers have maintained a sustained interest in the Soviet past, which continues to undergo a process of revision and reinterpretation. This past is often considered, either directly or indirectly, responsible for the crisis of conscience in present-day Russia and the fragmentation of individual identity. Traumatic historical events and the ways in which they are processed thus become the subject of profound re-elaboration, often expressed through narratives characterised by layers of memory. Drawing on an overview of Russian literature since the 1990s, this essay advances an interpretative hypothesis regarding the novel "Kapustin Iar" (2020) by Svetlana Vasilenko. The analysis focuses on the presence and significance of a narrative principle that functions as a formative authorial element within the complex dialectic between social and autobiographical memory.