Open Access“Dyatlov pass”: structure, dynamics and semiotics of mythosphere
Author(s) -
Vladimir Lebedev,
А. М. Прилуцкий
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vestnik slavânskih kulʹtur
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2073-9567
DOI - 10.37816/2073-9567-2021-60-97-113
Subject(s) - semiotics , mythology , phenomenon , popularity , mysticism , sociology , aesthetics , literature , epistemology , history , philosophy , psychology , art , social psychology
The study is the first to analyze mythology associated with the death of the tourist group of Igor Dyatlov in February 1959. The event caused considerable public excitement which contributed to the emerging of a specific “Dyatlov's mythology”. The authors do not pay special attention to the circumstances of the death of Dyatlov's group, since the focus is on the study of semiotics, dynamics and structuring of Dyatlov`s mythological discourse. The authors analyze the influence of conspiratorial and nostalgic myth on the shaping of modern Dyatlov's mythology. An analysis of its specificity allows concluding that Dyatlov's mythology is transforming into a para-religious phenomenon similar to the civil religion. At the same time, Dyatlov's artifacts serve as relics, excursions to Dyatlov pass become similar to pilgrimages, and various mystical versions of events are gaining popularity among researchers. The community investigating the death of this group is strictly structured. It includes leaders — keepers of the information, “initiated ones”, “large audience of concerned” at the bottom of the pyramid, and 'heretics' outside the structure. The study is performed in line with semiotic and hermeneutic approaches using the apparatus of the theory of semiotic drift.