Development of Manas studies in the Soviet period
The article considers the formation of Manas studies - a trend in the epic studies of Kyrgyzstan, the main stages of its development. On the basis of the review in diachronic plan the main problems that faced the researchers of the epos «Manas» in different years of its study are identified: the principles of collecting and recording of the epos «Manas»; the time of the epos; the principles of compilation and publication of the collection of works on the epos; methods for compiling a consolidated version of the epos; principles of translation of the epos into Russian; principles of academic publication of the epos; approaches to creating an encyclopedia of the epos. The study touches upon the problem of the relationship between the state, power and folklore, typical for the Soviet space, revealing the general patterns of this process, consisting in attempts to create «Soviet folklore» that meets ideological guidelines, as well as the nihilistic rejection and condemnation of several national epics of the peoples of the USSR - «Geser», «Edige», «Manas», «Alpamysh», etc. The role of researchers who contributed to the development of the science of the epos «Manas» is defined. A number of leading Russian and Kazakh scholars - literary scholars, linguists, historians and ethnographers - in different periods of their career included the epos «Manas» in the orbit of their scientific interests and, thus, subjected themselves to political persecution and persecution. The paper provides the names of the scholars who fell into the millstone of terror for their involvement in the study and popularization of the epos. The study shows the achievements of domestic folklorists in the development of methods and approaches in the study of the epic «Manas», its poetics and textology. Significant milestones on the way to the formation of the epic of Manas were the prepared academic publications of two versions of the epos «Manas», encyclopedias on the epos, the series «The epos of the peoples of the USSR», several collections of works by scholars on the epos, with materials and documents related to different aspects of the epos.