Чародеи и чародейство в легенде о Разине

Throughout history Stepan Razin was the hero in numerous oral and written stories, composed at different times and in different places. This wealth of material allows us to reconstruct the formation of his legend, both in literature and in folklore. The contemporary or near contemporary responses to the uprising led by Razin, and to his captivity and execution, show how “primary” historical sources were tacitly shaped and reshaped by tradition and popular imagination, which privileged certain types of narratives. Among the latter, “demonological” and “apocalyptic” models take a prominent place. Therefore we have two types of folk narratives: in the first, Razin the brigand is successful because, in fact, he is a sorcerer, and that defines his destiny in this and in the other world (Razin as a “walking dead”, his ghost still watching over hidden treasures etc.). In the second, Razin's posthumous existence is intertwined with eschatologies either as future savior who will prevent the world's destruction (the positive pattern), or as a great sinner who awaits Last Judgment, sometimes even as the destroyer of the world (the negative pattern). Both “demonological” and “apocalyptic” models of interpretation are absent in literary versions of Razin's story, or evoked only as “popular beliefs” and superstitions. The authors of historical novels attempt to rationalize the hero's “magical” abilities and attribute his power to his strong personality or even to his “magnetic” qualities. Still, these authors walk a thin line between historical “reality” and metaphor, particularly when they touch upon subjects such as “love-magic” when Razin falls under the spell of a woman, even if only in the metaphorical sense.