The Russian North: Mental images of Literary and Geographical Travel in the early works of Mikhail Prishvin

The subject of the research for the author of the article was M. M. Prishvin’s description of his impressions on traveling through the Russian North in his early works i.e. in the book of essays ‘‘In the Land of Fearless Birds’’ and ‘‘Following the Magic Bun’’. The analysis of the literary and geographical aspects of the writer’s work allowed us to identify the peculiarities of the formation of geographical images in the Russian geographical and cultural environment and theirreflection on the character and mentality of indigenous peoples. Such an analysis is aimed, first of all, at rethinking the writer’s legacy and the influence of his ideological and creative principles on modern literature, literary geography, as well as the study of geographical and cultural space today. The writer’s research interest is manifested in a sincere and deep immersion in the local culture – in the way of life, the ideation of the northern peoples, the folklore basis, and everyday details. In Prishvin’s worksspecial emphasis is given to the interaction of spaces of different levels and content – literary and geographical, the inner world of a person and the surroundingspace, the space of the author, and the external space depicted by him. The results obtained help to construct a multi-complex picture of the culture of the Russian North through the prism of M.M. Prishvin’s writing talent.