THE CAUCASUS IN THE NOVEL “HERO OF OUR TIME” IN THE RECEPTION OF THE RESEACHERS FROM THE USA
The article gives the detailed analysis of the perception of Caucasus in the novel “Hero of our time” by the researches from the USA. The subject is investigated in the chronological and conceptual context, showing the different angles of interest: most researches in the first instance see the problem of the empire creation and the treatment of local people, in the second instance they are interested in the perception of the Caucasus war by Russian officers and some of them highlight the Caucasus as the beautiful illustration to the novel scenes. The opinions of the researchers from the USA with regards to the perception of the Caucasus war by Lermontov are divided. Some of them see him being insensitive to the topic of colonization, while other authors find that he has made significant progress and put Russian literature on a completely different way of depicting the Caucasian war.