CHEKHOV''S RAVINES
The article interrogates the chronotope of the ravine which is virtually unexplored in Russian literature of the 19th century (I. S. Turgenev, I. A. Goncharov, L. N. Tolstoy), and mainly in A. P. Chekhov's prose (Thieves, Gusev, In a native corner, In the ravine). Semantics of the absolute turn inherent in the ravine as a cultural sign evolves into Chekhov's works corresponding to the general evolution of his work in its last period to the universal capacity never seen before. The way the ravine is transformed by Chekhov in his works clearly and succinctly reveals the logic of Chekhov's creative evolution on the whole. Conclusions drawn in the article are based on coherent and versatile comparative analysis of the texts presenting primary literary and figurative motifs which embody the concept basis of Chekhov's works (life, death, everything / nothing, and other) along with chronotopos and narration analysis.