The article discusses the thematic core of V.V. Veresaev’s novel Without a Road (Без дороги, 1894). A detailed analysis of the prose lead the author to believe that the depiction of the epidemic in the protagonist‘s diary has become a catalyst for Veresayev’s own views. The way in which the character perceives the epidemic and the aid for the sick focuses on the rudeness, passivity, mistrust displayed by “the people” towards “the intelligentsia.” The “people’s” aggressive resistance to the protagonist leads him to a mental crisis and, ultimately, death. The depiction of the course of the epidemic revealed the inadequacy of Narodnik notions of the unilateral responsibility of the intelligentsia for the ignorance and misery of “people.” The protagonist of this prose can thus be considered a specific subtype of the so-called superfluous man; although he himself is active, he is doomed to failure not only through his own fault (accepting an unviable ideological premise), but to a far greater extent through the fault of those who are unwilling to accept his help and who have punished him for his altruistic activity.

This article analyses Leonid Andreyev´s novel The Yoke of War. The authors of the study point out the gradual transition from “objective” diary records to highly subjective records that show an ambivalent attitude towards the war as a cause for damaging changes on the home front. The main character, whose thoughts are rational at the beginning, experiences a lot of personal and social catastrophes generated directly or indirectly by the war. Gradually, he comes to the conclusion that neither he as an individual (as a “cell”) nor other people of his type have any impact on the course of history; he sees that the war is killing both enemies and “our people”. Contradictory changes in the character’s inner world show his doubts about patriotism and the righteousness of the “people”, while his belief that war only benefits a small group of greedy entrepreneurs grows. Feeling that the war cannot have a happy ending, the main character is no longer able to act rationally. He accepts all losses – personal and social – and comes to a purely emotional feeling about the universal unfairness of war. The only remaining possibility is to help wounded soldiers. Andreyev depicts a broad range of issues that thematically concern the experience and destiny of an individual, his inner transformation, the fate of his family members, and the destiny of both real and abstract society. The novel touches upon certain philosophical issues concerning such notions as patriotism, Russia’s fate, the sense of belonging to the masses, and being an individual. In this way, the novel can be regarded as a philosophical and panhuman view of World War I. Following the traditions of classical Russian literature to a considerable extent, Andreyev is concerned with questions based not on narrow class or national foundations but on panhuman ones.

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Over the last two decades, students of the Russian language have tended to analyse and interpret the texts of literary works in an overly simplistic manner. Such analysis tends to refer only to the text itself, sometimes only to the plot. It was the recognition of this fact which provided us with the inspiration to prepare a new reading-book concerned with Russian literature, which motivates the students not only to read literary works, but also to gain knowledge on how to read, understand and interpret a literary work. Initial feedback concerning the use of the reading-book has shown the concept to be successful.

Based on the authors’ experience in analyzing and interpreting Russian works of art in a Slovak university, the paper identifies some of the difficulties that arise in the process of teaching Russian literature, culture and the Russian language. The conducted research pays attention to the discursive factors of the study of works of fiction, while relying on the theoretical foundations of the world-famous researchers of discourse. First of all, the authors focus on five codes highlighted by one of the representatives of structuralism and poststructuralism, the French philosopher, literary critic, esthetician and semioticist – R. Bart. Deciphering individual codes of literary works can motivate students of the Russian language and literature to read independently, which develops their critical thinking, broadens the horizons of knowledge, and also contributes to their professional and personal growth. In classes on the interpretation of texts of fiction in the framework of teaching Russian as a foreign language, various difficulties are often encountered, in particular, with the decoding of the named codes. The purpose of this paper is to comment on these difficulties, highlight the factors associated with the interpretation of the elements of literary discourse, and also offer some solutions which teachers can implement to help Slovak students studying Russian as a foreign language get rid of these difficulties. The article can become an incentive for further observations in this area, contribute to an increase in the effectiveness of teaching Russian literature of the 18th – 21st centuries in Slovak universities.