The Siberia as an Experiential Place in the Weltanschauung of Evgenii Evtushenko

Evgenii Evtushenko reflects his own modified family histories with those of Siberians to analyze the discarded and forgotten land of Siberia in Iagodnye mesta. In this respect, the main purposes of this study focus on the establishment of his own identity as a Siberian rather than the reflection of dissident movement against the Soviet regime, supported from the viewpoint of most western literary circle. He goes on the journey of finding his own roots by means of setting the place of the work in Siberia, giving the specific Siberian nature to the characters, and describing the Siberian pride. In the novel of Evtushenko, Siberia is depicted as a place where lived strong and courageous, simple and honest people. In addition, the author describes the shamanistic ideas of the soul through the portrayal of the revival movement of national culture and traditions in Siberia as well as in the Soviet Union. The special characteristics of Evtushenko, however, are in the fact that he presents the rituals of shamanistic beliefs not as simple superstition but as cultural heritage of humanity. The author not only relates the Siberian shamanistic belief on death with the theory of the Soviet scientist Tsiolkovskii but also recognizes Siberia as an origin of the spirit of humanity depending on the perspective of archaeologist Iurii Mochanov and, thereby, criticizes Darwin`s theory of evolution in the novel. He emphasizes that the life of a human being cannot be separated from humanity by introducing a circular system of the world, in which we understand human life by connecting the lives of individuals with those of the whole human beings