The Semantic Potential of the Koshchei Archetype in Modern Russian Cinema

Abstract

The article surveys the evolution of Koshchei figure in Russian cinema from Soviet movie fairy tales to the present day. It proves the dependence of the growing sophistication of the character’s distinctive features and the type of the role model on the cultural peculiarities and the demands of times. The author analyzes the significance of Koshchei's death and the change of attitude to it as an important step in adapting the folklore image for modern audiences. In the final part of the article, the author comes to the conclusion that alongside with the complexity of Koshchei's image, the addition of new role models previously uncharacteristic of the character and the possibilities of a different outcome of the story, the process of simplification of plot patterns in the films themselves is noticeable. There is a change from some plot templates (fairy tale) to other ones (film genre templates).