On the (Re)construction of Identity in the Conditions of Russian-Jewish Borderland (Based on the Story “Apples from Shlitzbutter’s Garden” by Dina Rubina)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the issues of identity formed in the Russian-Jewish borderland. The study discusses Dina Rubina’s short story “Iabloki iz sada Shlitsbutera” (“Apples from Shlitzbutter’s Garden”) as an autobiographical tale that reflects the actual processes of reconstructing the identity of the author-hero, a representative of the Great Aliyah, a person living at the crossroads of cultures. The author concludes that there is no fixed and unchanging identity. Particularly in the conditions of a cultural borderland and in watershed moments (repatriation), identity evolves and is subject to constant reconstruction.

Keywords

• identity
• identity reconstruction
• Russian-Jewish borderland
• Russian-language literature in Israel
• the prose of Dina Rubina