Наумлюк, М. В. Региональная литература Кольского Севера XX-XXI века в аспекте идентичности и мультикультурности. Страницы истории и современность / М. В. Наумлюк ; М-во образования и науки Рос. Федерации, Мурм. гос. гуманитар. ун-т. - Мурманск, 2013.

§ 3. The Russian North, the national character and the October Revolution through the eyes of European writers: Nexe, Grieg, Jung At the beginning of the XX century works about Russian High North by European authors appeared in regional literature. The view of western writers on Kola North and Russian man in the High North is the important subject in litera ture. It lets us consider main aspects of national identity as they are reflected in the mind of a man who belongs to another culture. Revolution events of 1917 attracted western writers to the Kola Peninsula: Norwegian Nordal Grieg, Danish Martin Andersen Nex 0 , and German Franz Jung. They tried to reflect key events in the world history through Russian revo lution interpretation, depict creation/birth of new life and understand national uniqueness of people who had high hope in tragic circumstances of post war world destruction. It is interesting that western writers, who visited the Kola North and Murmansk in the first half of XX century, saw people who possessed not only physical and spiritual health but also remarkably talented ones. Ideal ized, embellished image of Russian man is not common for western literature. In 1922 a famous Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexo (1869-1954) was trying to reach the IV Komintem congress in Moscow via Murmansk and here, in the Kola Peninsula, he felt as if he was born again for the world. He was struck by high hopes of the people, not only Russian, in soon and better tomor row amidst destruction and famine of the Civil War. Landlord who got used to good hotel amenities, he spends a night on the ground underneath “thin and loose hair of a dwarf birch”. In the morning he sees a town with log houses, without streets, a bay packed with semi-sunken ships, sheep, pigs, poorly dressed children, train coaches crowded by uncommonly friendly people of all nationalities: Tartars, Finns, Russians, Turks, Chinese... The writer observes in surprise how people of Murmansk play football, round dance, do exercises after work. He sees strong dapper bodies, firm muscles, and asks a question: “Where do they get from? Where are those skeletons with chattering bones put by the world press not only in famine regions of Russia but also all over it? Where is that suppressed and terrorized people?” Nexo compares his impressions on Rus sia those on Germany that survived revolution and war and there “people’s faces are grey, the people are skinny and their heads are hopelessly bowed because... day by day it is getting worse and worse”. The writer expected to find Russia in its collapse but “everyone is playing, laughing, dancing here: I cannot see any one who is under the pressure of an invisible burden”. He assumes it is a feeling of freedom and belief in better tomorrow for which they work that gives vital powers to the people living in the North. Nex 0 compares European practicality and Russian spirituality. In his understanding, faith of Russians is similar to uni versal law of life that causes growth and makes all the being origins move. As for material progress, in Nexa’s opinion, it is not capable to give birth to any thing new, and, hence, “the biggest thing we can do is to take our civilization to 86