The article is devoted to the analysis and interpretation of the myth of “devilry” in the works of the modern Russian poet T. Yu. Kibirov. The myth of “devilry”, which goes back to the poem “Demons” by Alexander Pushkin (1830), has a special place in the history of Russian literature of the 19th and 21st centuries. V. A. Grekhnev identified its main components, and D. M. Magomedova traced the path of myth in post-Pushkin literature, from M. Yu. Lermontov to M. A. Bulgakov. At the same time, the life of the Pushkin-Dostoyevsky myth of “demonic” in post-symbolist literature, in independent Russian literature of the 20th century and modern literature remains unexplored. The author of the article, referring to the material of T. Yu. Kibirov’s “Message to Lev Rubinstein” (1989), “Give me a deconstruction! Gave…”, “Good for Chesterton — he lived in England”, “Historiosophical centon”, “We did not sell Christ”, “Happy New Year” etc., the poem “Kara-Baras”, dramatic experiments “The night before and after Christmas”, “Victory over Phoebus”, the chronicles “Lada, or Joy”, reveals elements of similarity with the traditions of A. S. Pushkin and F. M. Dostoevsky: images of empty darkness and chaos, loss of the path, value orientations, an appeal to the symbolism of the ballad genre, presented in a serious, playful, ironic tone. The classical tradition contains important keys and values for understanding new reality and becomes an integral part of the artistic language of its description. At the same time, fidelity to the classics is devoid of a sense of exclusivity, loud pathos, moralism, often includes idyllic, sentimental, humorous tones. The poet’s return to the classical literary tradition occurs after oblivion or denial of its values in Soviet times, which gave rise to the cultural problems of the post-Soviet period. In the course of the work, the methods of comparative literary criticism, intertextual analysis, mythopoetic and historical and cultural studies were used.
