Historical Geography Journal ISSN 2782-6511 (Print) | ISSN 3034-5286 (Online)

Liubov V. Mashtakova
Candidate of Philological Sciences, National Chengchi University (China, Taipei); Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Science (Russia, Ekaterinburg)
ORCID: 0000-0001-9664-6110
E-mail: lika170288@mail.ru

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UDC 929:82
DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-1-90-99

ABSTRACT. The article presents a coherent comparative analysis of the poetry collections of the early 20th century Orenburg poet Lev V. Isakov in the framework of the study of the regional identity (how the identity was sought, constructed, and promoted by its actors). Isakov’s five poetry collections are considered as a way of establishing the self-identification of a “region’s poet”, the poet of the Orenburg region in that case. As the analysis shows, the theme the poet and the crowd is developed in the first collection, Isakov’s main character is a sensitive lyricist who is misunderstood by critics. The second collection reinforces the theme of the steppe, native nature. In the third collection, irony over youthful hopes appears, and there are also prose feuilletons in it. In the fourth collection, for the first time, the poet is called ulyunshe, that is, elenshi, enshi (Kazakhian singer, akyn), the number of translations from Eastern languages is increased, and the Kyrgyz theme is clear. Finally, in the fifth collection, the image of a lyrical poet, a collector of folklore, is finally consolidated, revealing to the reader the nature of the outskirts of the empire, the originality of the steppe peoples’ culture, while not feeling himself on the periphery of the capitals. Thus, from the first collection focused on European and Russian poetry of the late 19th century, neo-Romanticism, impressionism and lyrical experiences unrelated to a specific locus (the steppe), Isakov moves on to eastern and steppe themes, the predominance of steppe images and motifs, with each new collection the territorial identity of the “poet of the region” is clearly manifested.

KEYWORDS: Lev V. Isakov, Orenburg region’s poetry, Ural literature, regional identity, literary process in the Urals, early 20th century literature

For citation: Mashtakova L. V. Becoming a “Region’s Poet”: The Case of Lev V. Isakov / Istoriko-geograficheskiy zhurnal [Historical Geography Journal], 2026, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 90–99. DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-1-90-99 (In Russian).

Received 20 January 2026
Accepted 22 April 2026

© 2026 The Author

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