Эволюция образа сельского священника в раннем творчестве НиколаяЛескова: от 'Погасшего дела' к 'Ð—Ð°ÑÑƒÑ Ðµ'

The purpose of the paper is to compare Nikolai Leskov's debut short story 'A Case That Was Dropped' (1862) and its second redaction, published in 1869 and titled 'The Drought'. Comparative analysis covers major text elements, such as the title, motto, composition, time and place of the action, characters, etc. Special attention is paid to the central figure of the story, i.e. the rural priest, and the changes to his image introduced in the second version of the text in which Leskov emphasized his significance and elaborated his psychological profile. As the paper suggests, the writer also examined the most acute ecclesiastical problems of the 1860s, including peasant superstitions and the attempts to eradicate them, as well as the low social status of the clergymen, and the disdainful attitude of the Russian nobility towards Church ministers. The paper concludes with the assessment that the second redaction of the story exposes the evolution of Leskov's talent and his journey towards making a priest the lead character of the novel The Cathedral Clergy.