Russian-Belarusian Borderland in Memories of S.V. Kovalevskaya

Purpose of the study. The theme of the borderland is one of the leading discourses. The Russian-Belarusian borderland is a special cultural phenomenon. This paper attempts to analyze the image of the Russian-Belarusian borderland on the basis of the published memoirs of the first Russian woman mathematician Sofia Vasilievna Kovalevskaya (Korvin-Krukovskaya), whose childhood and adolescence were spent on the Polibino estate, Vitebsk province (now Pskov region).

Conclusions. The Russian-Belarusian borderland of the 1850-1860s appears in «Memoirs» by S.V. Kovalevskaya deep province, living according to the traditions of the previous era. A red thread running through the text is the paternalistic image of an educated and fair landowner, the example of which is Father Vasily Vasilyevich Korin-Krukovskoy. The ethno-confessional environment of the Polibino estate and the entire Nevelsk district, bordering the Pskov province, is quite diverse and includes Polish, Belarusian and Russian elements. Historical memory of S.V. Kovalevskoy links this territory with Lithuania, not Russia. The «Polish Question» plays an important role for the nobility of this territory, which has a negative attitude towards Russian officers taking part in restoring order. Memories once again emphasize the fact that the formation of a teenager occurs under the influence of family, teachers and the environment.